Write-Output

Print a message (Write-Output vs Write-Host)

beginner Text and objects Aliases echowrite

Write-Output

PS> Write-Output 'Backup finished'

Both commands show text, but they are not the same:

	`Write-Output`	`Write-Host`
Goes down the pipeline	Yes	No
Can be saved with `>` or `Out-File`	Yes	No
Colors	No	`-ForegroundColor`
Use it for	Results	Messages for the person watching

In a script, a bare value on its own line is the same as Write-Output. So 'Done' prints "Done."

For progress or warnings, there are also Write-Verbose, Write-Warning, and Write-Progress, which people can turn off or redirect.

Try this

Write-Host 'Checking disks...' -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Output 'C: ok' | Out-File -FilePath .\report.txt
Get-Content -Path .\report.txt

Only "C: ok" ends up in the file.

Shell	What you might type
bash / zsh	`echo 'Backup finished'`
cmd.exe	`echo Backup finished`