PowerShell Commands

New-LocalUser

New-LocalUser [-Name*] <String> [-AccountExpires <DateTime>] [-AccountNeverExpires] [-Confirm] [-Description<String>] [-Disabled] [-FullName <String>] -NoPassword* [-UserMayNotChangePassword] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
New-LocalUser [-Name*] <String> [-AccountExpires <DateTime>] [-AccountNeverExpires] [-Confirm] [-Description<String>] [-Disabled] [-FullName <String>] -Password* <SecureString> [-PasswordNeverExpires][-UserMayNotChangePassword] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]

The New-LocalUser cmdlet creates a local user account. This cmdlet creates a local user account or a local user account that is connected to a Microsoft account.

Parameters

-AccountExpires <DateTime>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Specifies when the user account expires. To obtain a DateTime object, use the Get-Date cmdlet. If you do not specify this parameter, the account does not expire.

-AccountNeverExpires [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Indicates that the account does not expire.

-Confirm [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.

-Description <String>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Specifies a comment for the user account. The maximum length is 48 characters.

-Disabled [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Indicates that this cmdlet creates the user account as disabled.

-FullName <String>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Specifies the full name for the user account. The full name differs from the user name of the user account.

-Name <String>

  • This value is required
  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Specifies the user name for the user account.

If you create a local user account that is connected to a Microsoft account, specify the user name in the following format: `MicrosoftAccount\`<user name>@`Outlook.com` for a user of a Microsoft account on Outlook.com.

If you create a local user account for the local system, the user name can contain up to 20 uppercase characters or lowercase characters. A user name cannot contain the following characters:

" / \ [ ] : ; | = , + * ? < > @

A user name cannot consist only of periods (.) or spaces.

-NoPassword [<SwitchParameter>]

  • This value is required
  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Indicates that the user account does not have a password.

-Password <SecureString>

  • This value is required
  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Specifies a password for the user account. You can use `Read-Host -GetCredential`, Get-Credential, or ConvertTo-SecureString to create a SecureString object for the password.

If you omit the Password and NoPassword parameters, New-LocalUser prompts you for the new user's password.

-PasswordNeverExpires [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Indicates whether the password expires.

-UserMayNotChangePassword [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Indicates that the user cannot change the password on the user account.

-WhatIf [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.

<CommonParameters>

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug,ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, WarningVariable,OutBuffer, PipelineVariable, and OutVariable.

Inputs
System.String, System.DateTime, System.Boolean, System.Security.SecureString
You can pipe a string, a DateTime object, a Boolean value, or a secure string to this cmdlet.
Outputs
System.Management.Automation.SecurityAccountsManager.LocalUser
This cmdlet returns a LocalUser object. This object provides information about the user account.
Examples
  1. Create a user account:
    PS C:\> New-LocalUser -Name "User02" -Description "Description of this account." -NoPassword
    
       Name    Enabled  Description
       ----    -------  -----------
       User02  True     Description of this account.

    This command creates a local user account. The command does not specify the AccountExpires parameter. Therefore, the account does not expire.

  2. Create a user account that has a password:
    PS C:\> $Password = Read-Host -AsSecureString
    PS C:\>  New-LocalUser "User03" -Password $Password -FullName "Third User" -Description "Description of this account."
    
       Name    Enabled  Description
       ----    -------  -----------
       User03  True     Description of this account.

    The first command prompts you for a password by using the Read-Host cmdlet. The command stores the password as a secure string in the $Password variable.

    The second command creates a local user account by using the password stored in $Password. The command specifies a user name, full name, and description for the user account.

  3. Create a user account that is connected to a Microsoft account:
    PS C:\> New-LocalUser -Name "MicrosoftAccount\usr [email protected]" -Description "Description of this account."
    

    This command creates a local user account that is connected to a Microsoft account. This example uses a placeholder value for the user name of an account at Outlook.com. Because the account is connected to a Microsoft account, do not specify a password.

Additional Notes
 * A user name cannot be identical to any other user name or group name on the computer. A user name cannot 
 consist only of periods (.) or spaces. A user name can contain up to 20 uppercase characters or lowercase 
 characters. A user name cannot contain the following characters:

 " / \ [ ] : ; | = , + * ? < > @ * A password can contain up to 127 characters. The PrincipalSource property is 
 a property on LocalUser , LocalGroup , and LocalPrincipal * objects that describes the source of the object. 
 The possible sources are as follows:

 - Local

 - Active Directory

 - Azure Active Directory group

 - Microsoft Account PrincipalSource is supported only by Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, and later versions 
 of the Windows operating system. For earlier versions, the property is blank.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. It is attributed to Microsoft Corporation and can be found here.

PowerShell Commands