Working with Items

The Sitecore PowerShell Extensions (SPE) module provides powerful cmdlets for managing Sitecore content items. This section covers everything you need to know about working with items programmatically.

Quick Start

The core item management cmdlets mirror standard PowerShell conventions:

Cmdlet	Purpose	Example
Get-Item	Retrieve a single item	Get-Item -Path "master:\content\home"
Get-ChildItem	Retrieve children and descendants	Get-ChildItem -Path "master:\content" -Recurse
New-Item	Create a new item	New-Item -Path "master:\content\home" -Name "Page" -ItemType "Sample/Sample Item"
Set-ItemProperty	Update item properties	Set-ItemProperty -Path "master:\content\home" -Name "Title" -Value "Welcome"
Copy-Item	Duplicate an item	Copy-Item -Path "master:\content\home\source" -Destination "master:\content\home\target"
Move-Item	Transfer an item	Move-Item -Path "master:\content\home\old" -Destination "master:\content\home\new"
Remove-Item	Delete or recycle an item	Remove-Item -Path "master:\content\home\demo" -Permanently

Documentation Topics

Fundamentals

Before working with items, understand these foundational concepts:

• Providers - PowerShell providers and navigating Sitecore databases

• Variables - Built-in variables available in SPE scripts

Core Item Operations

Learn how to perform essential item operations:

• Retrieving Items - Find items by path, ID, query, or URI

• Editing Items - Update properties, work with field types, and manage versions

• Creating and Removing Items - Create new items and delete existing ones

• Moving and Copying Items - Transfer and duplicate items

Specialized Operations

Handle specific aspects of item management:

• Item Languages - Add, remove, and manage language versions

• Item Renderings - Work with presentation details and renderings

• Item Security - Manage item permissions and access control

Advanced Topics

Optimize your scripts and follow best practices:

• Best Practices - Performance optimization, bulk operations, and coding patterns

Common Patterns

Pattern: Find and Update Items

# Find all items of a specific template and update a field
Get-ChildItem -Path "master:\content\home" -Recurse |
    Where-Object { $_.TemplateName -eq "Sample Item" } |
    ForEach-Object {
        $_.Title = "Updated Title"
    }

Pattern: Bulk Create Items

# Create multiple items from a data source
$data = Import-Csv "C:\data\pages.csv"
foreach($row in $data) {
    New-Item -Path "master:\content\home" -Name $row.Name -ItemType "Sample/Sample Item"
}

Pattern: Copy Content Between Databases

# Copy an item tree from master to web
$sourceItem = Get-Item -Path "master:\content\home\campaign"
Copy-Item -Path $sourceItem.ProviderPath -Destination "web:\content\home" -Recurse

Pattern: Audit and Report

# Generate a report of items modified in the last 7 days
$startDate = (Get-Date).AddDays(-7)
Get-ChildItem -Path "master:\content" -Recurse |
    Where-Object { $_.__Updated -gt $startDate } |
    Select-Object Name, ItemPath, __Updated, "__Updated by" |
    Show-ListView -Property Name, ItemPath, __Updated, "__Updated by"

Dynamic Parameters

SPE extends standard PowerShell cmdlets with dynamic parameters specific to Sitecore. These parameters appear based on context:

• Language - Specify language versions (-Language "en-US" or -Language *)

• Version - Specify item versions (-Version 2 or -Version *)

• Database - Target specific databases when using IDs

• Query - Execute Sitecore queries (query: or fast:)

• ID - Work with items by GUID

• Uri - Use ItemUri for complete item identification

See the Retrieving Items page for detailed parameter documentation.

Path Formats

SPE supports multiple path formats for flexibility:

# Provider path format (recommended)
Get-Item -Path "master:\content\home"

# Sitecore path format (also works)
Get-Item -Path "master:/sitecore/content/home"

# Mixed separators (both work)
Get-Item -Path "master:\content/home"
Get-Item -Path "master:/content\home"

Note: The /sitecore portion is optional when using provider paths.

Working with Field Types

SPE provides intelligent handling of Sitecore field types through automated PowerShell properties:

$item = Get-Item -Path "master:\content\home"

# DateTime fields return System.DateTime objects
$item.__Created                              # Returns DateTime
$item.__Created = [DateTime]::Now           # Assign DateTime

# Image fields accept item references
$item.Image = Get-Item "master:\media library\logo"

# Link fields accept item references
$item.Link = Get-Item "master:\content\home\page"

# Multilist fields accept arrays of items
$item.RelatedPages = Get-ChildItem "master:\content\home"

See Editing Items for comprehensive field type examples.

Performance Considerations

When working with large datasets, consider these performance tips:

• Use fast: queries instead of Get-ChildItem -Recurse when possible

• Leverage BulkUpdateContext for multiple updates

• Use SecurityDisabler judiciously for read operations

• Batch operations and provide progress feedback

See Best Practices for detailed performance guidance.

See Also

• Security - Securing SPE and managing users/roles

• Appendix - Common - Core cmdlet reference

• Appendix - Security - Security cmdlet reference

• Remoting - Automate item operations remotely

Getting Help

# List all item-related commands
Get-Command -Noun Item*

# Get help for a specific command
Get-Help Get-Item -Full
Get-Help Get-ChildItem -Examples

# Find commands by capability
Get-Command -Noun Item* | Where-Object { $_.Parameters.Keys -contains "Language" }