Set-Acl

Changes the security descriptor of a specified resource, such as a file or a registry key.

Syntax

Set-Acl [-Path] <string[]> [-AclObject] <ObjectSecurity> [-Exclude <string[]>] [-Filter <string>] [-Include <string[]>] [-PassThru] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [-UseTransaction] [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Set-Acl cmdlet changes the security descriptor of a specified resource, such as a file or a registry key, to match the values in a security descriptor that you supply.

To use Set-Acl, use the Path parameter to identify the resource whose security descriptor you want to change, and use the AclObject parameter to supply a security descriptor that has the values you want to apply. Set-Acl uses the value of the AclObject parameter as a model and changes the values in the resource's security descriptor to match the values in the AclObject parameter.

Parameters

-AclObject <ObjectSecurity>

Specifies an ACL with the desired property values. Set-Acl changes the ACL of resource specified by the Path parameter to match the values in the specified security object.

You can save the output of a Get-Acl command in a variable and then use the AclObject parameter to pass the variable, or type a Get-Acl command.

Required?	true
Position?	2
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	true (ByValue)
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Exclude <string[]>

Omits the specified items. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as "*.txt". Wildcards are permitted.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Filter <string>

Specifies a filter in the provider's format or language. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. The syntax of the filter, including the use of wildcards, depends on the provider. Filters are more efficient than other parameters, because the provider applies them when retrieving the objects, rather than having Windows PowerShell filter the objects after they are retrieved.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Include <string[]>

Changes only the specified items. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as "*.txt". Wildcards are permitted.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-PassThru

Returns an object representing the security descriptor. By default, this cmdlet does not generate any output.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Path <string[]>

Identifies the resource whose security descriptor you want to change. Enter the path to a resource, such as a path to a file or registry key. Wildcards are permitted.

If you pass a security object to Set-Acl (either by using the AclObject parameter or by passing an object from Get-Acl to Set-Acl), and you omit the Path parameter (name and value), Set-Acl uses the path that is included in the security object.

Required?	true
Position?	1
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	true (ByPropertyName)
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before executing the command.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-WhatIf

Describes what would happen if you executed the command without actually executing the command.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-UseTransaction

Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see about_Transactions.

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value	none
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

<CommonParameters>

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Verbose, -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -OutBuffer, and -OutVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

Inputs and Outputs

The input type is the type of the objects that you can pipe to the cmdlet. The return type is the type of the objects that the cmdlet returns.

Inputs

System.Security.AccessControl.ObjectSecurity

You can pipe a security descriptor to Set-Acl.

Outputs

None or security object

By default, Set-Acl does not generate any output. However, if you use the -Passthru parameter, it generates a security object. The type of the security object depends on the type of the resource.

Notes

The Set-Acl cmdlet is supported by the Windows PowerShell file system and registry providers. As such, you can use it to change the security descriptors of files, directories, and registry keys.

When specifying multiple values for a parameter, use commas to separate the values. For example, "<parameter-name> <value1>, <value2>".

Example 1

C:\PS>$DogACL = get-acl c:\dog.txt

C:\PS>set-acl -path C:\cat.txt -AclObject $DogACL

These commands copy the values from the security descriptor of the Dog.txt file to the security descriptor of the Cat.txt file. When the commands complete, the security descriptors of the Dog.txt and Cat.txt files are identical.

The first command uses the Get-Acl cmdlet to get the security descriptor of the Dog.txt file. The assignment operator (=) stores the security descriptor in the value of the $DogACL variable. 

The second command uses Set-Acl to change the values in the ACL of Cat.txt to the values in $DogACL.

The value of the Path parameter is the path to the Cat.txt file. The value of the AclObject parameter is the model ACL, in this case, the ACL of Dog.txt as saved in the $DogACL variable.

Example 2

C:\PS>get-acl c:\dog.txt | set-acl -path C:\cat.txt

This command is almost the same as the command in the previous example, except that it uses a pipeline operator to send the security descriptor retrieved in a Get-Acl command to a Set-Acl command.

The first command uses the Get-Acl cmdlet to get the security descriptor of the Dog.txt file. The pipeline operator (|) passes an object that represents the Dog.txt security descriptor to the Set-Acl command.

The second command uses Set-Acl to apply the security descriptor of  Dog.txt to Cat.txt. When the command completes, the ACLs of the Dog.txt and Cat.txt files are identical.

Example 3

C:\PS>$newACL = get-acl file0.txt

C:\PS>get-childitem c:\temp -recurse -include *.txt -force | set-acl -aclobject $newacl

These commands apply the security descriptors in the File0.txt file to all text files in the C:\Temp directory and all of its subdirectories.

The first command gets the security descriptor of the File0.txt file in the current directory and uses the assignment operator (=) to store it in the $newACL variable.

The first command in the pipeline uses the Get-ChildItem cmdlet to get all of the text files in the C:\Temp directory. The Recurse parameter extends the command to all subdirectories of C:\temp. The Include parameter limits the files retrieved to those with the ".txt" file name extension. The Force parameter gets hidden files, which would otherwise be excluded. (You cannot use "c:\temp\*.txt", because the Recurse parameter works on directories, not on files.)

The pipeline operator (|) sends the objects representing the retrieved files to Set-Acl command, which applies the security descriptor in the AclObject parameter to all of the files in the pipeline.

In practice, it is best to use the Whatif parameter with all Set-Acl commands that can affect more than one resource. In this case, the second command in the pipeline would be "set-acl -aclobject $newacl -whatif". This command lists the files that would be affected by the command. After reviewing the result, you can run the command again without the Whatif parameter.