Timestamp on file name using PowerShell - powershell

Question

I have a path in a string,
C:\temp\mybackup.zip
I would like insert a timestamp in that script, for example,
C:\temp\mybackup 2009-12-23.zip
Is there an easy way to do this in PowerShell?

Answer 1

You can insert arbitrary PowerShell script code in a double-quoted string by using a subexpression, for example, $() like so:
"C:\temp\mybackup $(get-date -f yyyy-MM-dd).zip"
And if you are getting the path from somewhere else - already as a string:
$dirName = [io.path]::GetDirectoryName($path)
$filename = [io.path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($path)
$ext = [io.path]::GetExtension($path)
$newPath = "$dirName\$filename $(get-date -f yyyy-MM-dd)$ext"
And if the path happens to be coming from the output of Get-ChildItem:
Get-ChildItem *.zip | Foreach {
"$($_.DirectoryName)\$($_.BaseName) $(get-date -f yyyy-MM-dd)$($_.extension)"}

Answer 2

Here's some PowerShell code that should work. You can combine most of this into fewer lines, but I wanted to keep it clear and readable.
[string]$filePath = "C:\tempFile.zip";
[string]$directory = [System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($filePath);
[string]$strippedFileName = [System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($filePath);
[string]$extension = [System.IO.Path]::GetExtension($filePath);
[string]$newFileName = $strippedFileName + [DateTime]::Now.ToString("yyyyMMdd-HHmmss") + $extension;
[string]$newFilePath = [System.IO.Path]::Combine($directory, $newFileName);
Move-Item -LiteralPath $filePath -Destination $newFilePath;

Answer 3

I needed to export our security log and wanted the date and time in Coordinated Universal Time. This proved to be a challenge to figure out, but so simple to execute:
wevtutil export-log security c:\users\%username%\SECURITYEVENTLOG-%computername%-$(((get-date).ToUniversalTime()).ToString("yyyyMMddTHHmmssZ")).evtx
The magic code is just this part:
$(((get-date).ToUniversalTime()).ToString("yyyyMMddTHHmmssZ"))

Answer 4

Thanks for the above script. One little modification to add in the file ending correctly. Try this ...
$filenameFormat = "MyFileName" + " " + (Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd") **+ ".txt"**
Rename-Item -Path "C:\temp\MyFileName.txt" -NewName $filenameFormat

Answer 5

If you have the path on a variable ($pathfile) use this concrete line to get the TimeStamped Path:
(extracted from here: https://powershellexamples.com/home/Article/10/file-management-add-timestamp-to-file-name)
$pathFile = "C:\ProgramData\MyApp\file.txt"
$pathFileTimestamp = [System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($pathFile) + "\" + `
[System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($pathFile) + "_" + `
(get-date -format yyyyMMdd_HHmmss) + ([System.IO.Path]::GetExtension($pathFile))
Write-Host "Path+File: $pathFile"
Write-Host "Path+File with Timestamp: $pathFileTimestamp"
Above will return:
PS C:\> Path+File: C:\ProgramData\MyApp\file.txt
Path+File with Timestamp: C:\ProgramData\MyApp\file_20210328_022045.txt

Answer 6

Use:
$filenameFormat = "mybackup.zip" + " " + (Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd")
Rename-Item -Path "C:\temp\mybackup.zip" -NewName $filenameFormat

Answer 7

Another approach for renaming.
Set-Location C:\Folder_containing_zipfiles
Get-ChildItem -File | ForEach-Object { Rename-Item -Path $_.FullName -NewName
$_.Name.Replace('.zip',"_$(get-date -Format yyyy_MM_dd_hh_mm_ss).zip") }

Answer 8

use variable to rename existing file
Get-Content -Path '${{vars.LOG_PATH}}\eventMapper.log'
$filenameFormat = 'eventMapper-' + (Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-mm-dd-hh-mm') + '.log'
Rename-Item -Path '${{vars.LOG_PATH}}\eventMapper.log' -NewName $filenameFormat
file created --> eventMapper-2023-23-21-10-23.log

Answer 9

Date + Filename - NOT (Filename + Date) - otherwise it messes up file extension.
$filenameFormat = (Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd") + " " + "mybackup.zip"
Rename-Item -Path "C:\temp\mybackup.zip" -NewName $filenameFormat