Check certificate files in a folder
Documentation: Microsoft Learn
Get-ChildItem recurses through $Path with a -Filter of *.cer and reports each match with its full path, last write time, and size.
The script
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$Path = "C:\Sample"
Get-ChildItem $Path -Filter *.cer -Recurse | Select-Object FullName,LastWriteTime,Length- Stage 1$Path
Positional values or no named parameters - Stage 2Select-Object
Positional values or no named parameters
How it works
Get-ChildItem recurses through $Path with a -Filter of *.cer and reports each match with its full path, last write time, and size.
Adapting it
The -Filter parameter accepts a single pattern, so switch to -Include with an array covering pfx, pem, and crt, and remember that -Include needs -Recurse or a trailing wildcard on the path before it does anything.
If the result is unexpected
Certificate files in a folder cannot be read consistently.
File formats, private-key protection and passwords differ between exported certificate containers.
- Identify each file format and inspect its public certificate metadata using the appropriate reader.
Validate the result
Readable files report expected subject, thumbprint and expiry; protected or invalid files are reported separately.
Keep the check reliable
Do not log certificate passwords or export private keys merely to complete an inventory.
