Create, Modify And Remove User In Active Directory Using PowerShell

Create a Single User in Active Directory

The PowerShell New-ADUser CMDlet is used for creating a user in Active Directory.

PowerShell offers multiple ways to not only create a single user but to create Active Directory user objects in bulk. The CMDlet New-ADUser doesn’t have many mandatory parameters but you can use optional parameters while creating a new user.

  • Using the OtherAttributes parameter, you can change property values that are not related to cmdlet parameters. The attribute name needs to be enclosed in single quotes when using this parameter.
  • To create a user, you must give the SamAccountName parameter.
  • The container or organizational unit (OU) for the new user is specified using the Path parameter. When the Path option is not used, the cmdlet creates a user object in the domain’s default user object container.

The following techniques describe various ways to build an object using this cmdlet:

  • With the New-ADUser command, use the OtherAttributes parameter to specify the parameters and values and to set any additional values.
  • A new user can be created from a template. Use the Instance parameter to create a new user or copy an existing one to the new object. The object used in the Instance parameter is used as a template.
  • To create Active Directory user objects in bulk, combine the Import-Csv cmdlet with the New-ADUser cmdlet.
    • Import a CSV file with a list of object properties to construct custom objects using the Import-Csv cmdlet.
    • The New-ADUser cmdlet can then be used to construct user objects by passing these objects through its pipeline.

The following shows examples of the different parameters that can be used:

New-ADUser –SamAccountName “username” –DisplayName “username” –givenName “Username” –Surname “surname” –AccountPassword (ReadHost –AsSecureString “Message”) –Enabled $true –Path ‘CN=Users,DC=Doc,DC=Com’ –CannotChangePassword $false –ChangePasswordAtLogon $true –PasswordNeverExpires $false -EmailAddress “email” –EmployeeID “ID” –Department “string” example of the different parameters used

Below are the descriptions of parameters used in the above CMDlet:

Parameter Description
AccountExpirationDate Specify the account’s expiration date
AccountPassword Specify the account’s password
AuthType Select the authentication type when running the command
CannotChangePassword Prevent the account owner from changing the password (usually used for service accounts)
ChangePasswordAtLogon Force the user to change the account password at the next login
City Specify the city for the user account
Company Specify the company for the user account
Confirm Get a confirmation prompt to run the cmdlet
Country Specify the country for the user account
Credential Run the command with alternative credentials
Department Specify the user’s department
Description Specify a description for the user account
DisplayName Specify the display name of the account
EmailAddress Specify the account’s email address
EmployeeID Specify the user’s employee ID
Enabled Enable the user account
Instance Create a user account based on an existing account, such as one with the same department and title properties as the account you are creating
Manager Specify the manager of the user account
Office Specify the office attribute of the user account
Organization Specify the user’s organization
OtherAttributes Specify the value for an attribute for which there is no corresponding parameter in the cmdlet, such as the extensionAttribute1 to 15 attributes
PasswordNeverExpires Force the account’s password to never expire
PasswordNotRequired Specify that the account, such as a service account, does not require a password
Path Specify the OU path to create the user account in
SamAccountName Specify the account’s SAMAccountName attribute, a logon name used to support clients and servers running earlier versions of Windows, such as Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95 or LAN Manager
Server Connect to an alternate DC while running the command
State Specify the user’s US state
StreetAddress Specify the user’s address
Title Specify the user’s title
Type Specify the user object’s type, such as a normal user or an inetOrgPerson user
UserPrincipalName Specify the account’s userPrincipalName (UPN), which is typically the name that the user will use to log on/td>
WhatIf See what the output of the cmdlet would be without actually running it

After executing the command, PowerShell will ask for the password.

Enter the password and the user will be created.

enter password

Tag » Active Directory Add User Powershell