Today we’ll show you how to install and use the Windows PowerShell Active Directory Module. PowerShell AD Module is a part of the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT). RSAT includes all necessary management tools, command-line utilities, and Windows PowerShell modules to manage Windows Server infrastructure. You can use the RSAT-AD-PowerShell cmdlets to perform basic AD management tasks and get different information on domain users, computers, groups, and other objects. You can install RSAT-AD-PowerShell on Windows Server hosts and workstations running desktop OS versions (Windows 11, 10, 8.1, and 7).
Install PowerShell Active Directory Module on Windows Server
The Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell first appeared on Windows Server 2008 R2. It is automatically deployed on Windows Server after you installed the ADDS role (Active Directory Domain Services) when promoting a server to the domain controller. You can install this module manually on any member Windows server or workstation.
You can install the Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell on Windows Server 2019/2016/2012 R2 using the Add Roles and Features Wizard from the Server Manager. It is enough to start the wizard and at the step when selecting features, you need to select the item Remote Server Administration Tools > Role Administration Tools > AD DS and AD LDS Tools > Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell;
You can also install this module using PowerShell. Open the PowerShell console as an administrator and run the following commands:
Import-Module ServerManager Add-WindowsFeature -Name "RSAT-AD-PowerShell" –IncludeAllSubFeature
You can also use DISM to install the AD PowerShell module on Windows:
DISM /online /enable-feature /featurename:RSATClient-Roles-AD DISM /online /enable-feature /featurename:RSATClient-Roles-AD-DS DISM /online /enable-feature /featurename:RSATClient-Roles-AD-DS-SnapIns
To check the installation status of a module, use the command:
Get-WindowsFeature RSAT-AD-PowerShell
Hint. If you are using the PowerShell Core 7.x (pwsh.exe), keep in mind that the Active Directory module is fully natively compatible with this version of PoSh. But first, you need to install the WindowsCompatibility module:
Install-Module -Name WindowsCompatibility
Hint. A different PowerShell module is used to manage objects in the Azure Active Directory — Azure Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell.
Installing the AD PowerShell Module on Windows 10 and 11
In Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7, to install the RSAT-AD-PowerShell module, first you must install the appropriate version of RSAT. RSAT is available for installation for Professional, Education, and Enterprise Windows editions (Windows Home or Single Language are not supported).
On modern Windows 10 builds (1809 and newer) the RSAT became a part of Features on Demand (FoD). You can install AD RSAT Tools from the Settings menu (Settings > Apps > Manage Optional Features > Add features > RSAT: Active Directory Domain Services and Lightweight Directory Tools > Install).
Or from the PowerShell console:
Add-WindowsCapability –online –Name “Rsat.ActiveDirectory.DS-LDS.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0”
You will need to make sure that your security policies, firewalls, and proxies are allowed to access Microsoft Update servers on the Internet to download and install FOD components.
On Windows 11, you can install the Active Directory RSAT package from Settings > Apps > Optional Features > Add an optional feature > type Active Directory in the search box and select the RSAT: Active Directory Domain Services and Lightweight Directory Tools feature > Next > Install.
Or you can install the module from the elevated PowerShell console:
Get-WindowsCapability -Name Rsat.ActiveDirectory.DS-LDS.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0 -Online | Add-WindowsCapability -Online
You don’t have to reboot Windows after installing RSAT.
In order to RSAT module on Windows 7, 8.1, and Windows 10 (up to build 1803) you need to download and install a special MSU package See how to install Remote Server Administration Tools on Windows.
Then you need to enable the module (Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows Features On or Off > Remote Server Administration Tools > Role Administration Tools > AD DS and AD LDS Tools > Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell).
Or using PowerShell:
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName RSATClient-Roles-AD-Powershell
Importing PowerShell Active Directory Module on Windows
The RSAT-AD-PowerShell module is automatically imported into your PowerShell session. However, on legacy versions of Windows (Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2), you may get an error when running any cmdlet from the Active Directory PowerShell module:
Get-ADComputer: The ‘Get-ADComputer’ command was found in the module ‘ActiveDirectory’, but the module could not be loaded. For more information, run ‘Import-Module ActiveDirectory’.
In this case, you need to manually import the module into the PowerShell session with the command:
Import-Module activedirectory
Also, you can import the module from a remote computer/server (with installed RSAT-AD-PowerShell module) and import it into your PowerShell session (using the PSRemoting):
$S = New-PSSession -ComputerName MyDomainController Export-PSsession -Session $S -Module ActiveDirectory -OutputModule RemoteAD Import-Module RemoteAD -Force
Now you can use all cmdlets of the RSAT-AD-PowerShell module from a remote computer as if you had it installed locally. However, implicit remoting will actually work here, and all PowerShell cmdlets will be executed remotely.
The session will be active until you close the PowerShell console. You can also close the session (Disconnect-PSSession -Session $S) or remove it (Remove-PSSession -Session $S).
Now you can use the Active Directory module remotely without installing it on your computer.
To confirm the AD PoSh module is installed and imported to the PowerShell session on Windows, run the command:
Get-Module ActiveDirectory
You can display the list of available AD PowerShell module cmdlets for interacting with Active Directory as follows:
Get-Command -Module ActiveDirectory
Different versions of Windows (RSAT) have a different number of cmdlets available:
get-command -Module activedirectory|measure
- Windows Server 2008 R2 — 76 cmdlets;
- Windows Server 2012 — 135 cmdlets;
- Windows Server 2012 R2/2016/2019/2022 — 147 cmdlets.
The following is a complete list of AD PowerShell Module cmdlets in Windows Server 2019:
Add-ADCentralAccessPolicyMember Add-ADComputerServiceAccount Add-ADDomainControllerPasswordReplicationPolicy Add-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicySubject Add-ADGroupMember Add-ADPrincipalGroupMembership Add-ADResourcePropertyListMember Clear-ADAccountExpiration Clear-ADClaimTransformLink Disable-ADAccount Disable-ADOptionalFeature Enable-ADAccount Enable-ADOptionalFeature Get-ADAccountAuthorizationGroup Get-ADAccountResultantPasswordReplicationPolicy Get-ADAuthenticationPolicy Get-ADAuthenticationPolicySilo Get-ADCentralAccessPolicy Get-ADCentralAccessRule Get-ADClaimTransformPolicy Get-ADClaimType Get-ADComputer Get-ADComputerServiceAccount Get-ADDCCloningExcludedApplicationList Get-ADDefaultDomainPasswordPolicy Get-ADDomain Get-ADDomainController Get-ADDomainControllerPasswordReplicationPolicy Get-ADDomainControllerPasswordReplicationPolicyUsage Get-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy Get-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicySubject Get-ADForest Get-ADGroup Get-ADGroupMember Get-ADObject Get-ADOptionalFeature Get-ADOrganizationalUnit Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership Get-ADReplicationAttributeMetadata Get-ADReplicationConnection Get-ADReplicationFailure Get-ADReplicationPartnerMetadata Get-ADReplicationQueueOperation Get-ADReplicationSite Get-ADReplicationSiteLink Get-ADReplicationSiteLinkBridge Get-ADReplicationSubnet Get-ADReplicationUpToDatenessVectorTable Get-ADResourceProperty Get-ADResourcePropertyList Get-ADResourcePropertyValueType Get-ADRootDSE Get-ADServiceAccount Get-ADTrust Get-ADUser Get-ADUserResultantPasswordPolicy Grant-ADAuthenticationPolicySiloAccess Install-ADServiceAccount Move-ADDirectoryServer Move-ADDirectoryServerOperationMasterRole Move-ADObject New-ADAuthenticationPolicy New-ADAuthenticationPolicySilo New-ADCentralAccessPolicy New-ADCentralAccessRule New-ADClaimTransformPolicy New-ADClaimType New-ADComputer New-ADDCCloneConfigFile New-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy New-ADGroup New-ADObject New-ADOrganizationalUnit New-ADReplicationSite New-ADReplicationSiteLink New-ADReplicationSiteLinkBridge New-ADReplicationSubnet New-ADResourceProperty New-ADResourcePropertyList New-ADServiceAccount New-ADUser Remove-ADAuthenticationPolicy Remove-ADAuthenticationPolicySilo Remove-ADCentralAccessPolicy Remove-ADCentralAccessPolicyMember Remove-ADCentralAccessRule Remove-ADClaimTransformPolicy Remove-ADClaimType Remove-ADComputer Remove-ADComputerServiceAccount Remove-ADDomainControllerPasswordReplicationPolicy Remove-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy Remove-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicySubject Remove-ADGroup Remove-ADGroupMember Remove-ADObject Remove-ADOrganizationalUnit Remove-ADPrincipalGroupMembership Remove-ADReplicationSite Remove-ADReplicationSiteLink Remove-ADReplicationSiteLinkBridge Remove-ADReplicationSubnet Remove-ADResourceProperty Remove-ADResourcePropertyList Remove-ADResourcePropertyListMember Remove-ADServiceAccount Remove-ADUser Rename-ADObject Reset-ADServiceAccountPassword Restore-ADObject Revoke-ADAuthenticationPolicySiloAccess Search-ADAccount Set-ADAccountAuthenticationPolicySilo Set-ADAccountControl Set-ADAccountExpiration Set-ADAccountPassword Set-ADAuthenticationPolicy Set-ADAuthenticationPolicySilo Set-ADCentralAccessPolicy Set-ADCentralAccessRule Set-ADClaimTransformLink Set-ADClaimTransformPolicy Set-ADClaimType Set-ADComputer Set-ADDefaultDomainPasswordPolicy Set-ADDomain Set-ADDomainMode Set-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy Set-ADForest Set-ADForestMode Set-ADGroup Set-ADObject Set-ADOrganizationalUnit Set-ADReplicationConnection Set-ADReplicationSite Set-ADReplicationSiteLink Set-ADReplicationSiteLinkBridge Set-ADReplicationSubnet Set-ADResourceProperty Set-ADResourcePropertyList Set-ADServiceAccount Set-ADUser Show-ADAuthenticationPolicyExpression Sync-ADObject Test-ADServiceAccount Uninstall-ADServiceAccount Unlock-ADAccount
Using RSAT-AD-PowerShell Module
The PowerShell AD module provides an administrator with many opportunities for interacting with Active Directory objects and automating tasks (this is especially useful when performing bulk actions aimed at a large number of AD objects). You can perform all the basic operations with the AD directory:
- Get all AD properties and object attributes;
- Change object properties;
- Manage AD groups;
- Create new directory objects, etc.
The cmdlets from the Active Directory module interact with Active Directory Web Services (ADWS) on the domain controller. This role is installed on a domain controller during the promotion from a domain member server to a domain controller. The module accesses the Active Directory Web Services via TCP port 9389 (check that this port is open on the firewall).
Hint. Check if the ADWS service is running on the domain controller and is responding on port 9389 (Test-NetConnection DC01 -port 9389). Learn more about the Unable to find a default server with Active Directory Web Services running error.
If your computer is joined to an AD domain, the AD PowerShell cmdlets find the nearest domain controller to connect to based on the LogonServer environment variable. However, you can connect to any other domain controller using the -Server parameter (available on most cmdlets). For example:
Get-ADUser a.smith -Server nydc01.theitbros.com
Let’s look at a few examples of using the cmdlets of the RSAT-AD-PowerShell module.
- To get the list of AD domain controllers, run the command:
Get-ADDomainController –filter *| format-table
- You can create several AD users at once, you can import AD users from CSV. Use it together with the New-ADUser cmdlet.
To get information about an AD user, use the Get-ADUser cmdlet:Get-ADUser –identity t.muller –properties *
A similar cmdlet to display all computer attributes in AD:
Get-ADComputer –identity dc01 –properties *
- Use the New-ADGroup cmdlet to create an Active Directory group. For example, to create a new group named ItalyUsers in the specific OU, run the command:
New-ADGroup -Path "OU=Groups,OU=Italy,DC=theitbros,DC=com" -Name "ItalyUsers" -GroupScope Global -GroupCategory Distribution
- To get the AD group info, use the Get-ADGroup cmdlet:
Get-ADGroup ItalyUsers
- If you want to add a user or computer to an AD group, use the Add-ADGroupMember cmdlet:
Add-ADGroupMember –Identity ‘NY_Managers’ -Members s.adams,d.thumb,p.muller
- Use the New-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet to create an Active Directory OU:
New-ADOrganizationalUnit -Name "France" - Use the Unlock-ADAccount cmdlet to unlock account in Active Directory domain:
Get-ADUser -Identity bjackson | Unlock-ADAccount
- Or you can use the Set-ADAccountPassword to change domain user password or reset it:
$newPass=Read-Host "Enter the new user password" –AsSecureString Set-ADAccountPassword bjackson -NewPassword $newPass
- Check AD replication status for all domain controllers in the specific Active Directory site:
Get-ADReplicationFailure -scope SITE -target London | Format-Table Server, FirstFailureTime, FailureClount, LastError, Partner
- Find and disable AD accounts that have not logged in to the domain for more than 120 days:
Search-ADAccount -AccountInactive -TimeSpan 120 –UsersOnly| Disable-ADAccount
- For detailed help on any cmdlet from the AD-PoSh module, use the Get-Help command:
get-help set-aduser
If the computer is not a part of the Active Directory domain, the following warning appears when you try importing the AD-PoSh module:
WARNING: Error initializing default drive: ‘Unable to find a default server with Active Directory Web Services running’.
In this case, you need to specify the AD domain controller and user credentials to connect to it.
First of all, you need to get the user’s credentials to access the domain. Any authenticated domain user can view almost all AD objects properties (excluding protected Active Directory attributes).
$cred = Get-Credential
For example, to get the user’s info from the DC named TOR-DC01 under saved credentials, use the command:
get-aduser postfixsrv –server nydc01 -Credential $cred
As you can see, you have received the AD account info.
So now you can use the PowerShell cmdlets to manage and query Active Directory.
5 comments
This is a fantastic article. I’ve referred to it several times to install the Active Directory modules on multiple Windows servers and Win7 PC.
Thanks for writing it!
Installed fine and connected once but won’t make connection to my server any more and I can’t remove it. Tried Remove-PSSession -Id 1 and Remove-Module RemoteAD but it remains even after restart. Every time I start PowerShell it does this.
For Windows 10 builds 1909 and later, replace the command `Add-WindowsCapability –online –Name “Rsat.ActiveDirectory.DS-LDS.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0”` with simply `Add-WindowsCapability –online –Name “Rsat.ActiveDirectory.DS-LDS.Tools”`. You don’t need the specific version # at the end; it will likely throw an error.
Excellent! Helped me a lot. Thank you!
Any way to install RSAT on a Windows 10 machine, but hide all the AD “modules” like AD Users and Computers, but we want to leverage the AD Powershell module only. Installing RSAT AD Tools on a few thousands machines just for the AD PowerShell module, seems silly.
Ideally it would be nice to be able to ONLY install the AD Powershell module to leverage its capabilities, but now allowing users to SEE all the “other modules”