Get-ADUser : The term 'Get-ADUser' is not recognized

You’re trying to manage AD users using PowerShell and you receive the below error message:

Get-ADUser : The term 'Get-ADUser' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again. At line:1 char:1 + Get-ADUser jonas.watt.boolsen + ~~~~~~~~~~ + CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (Get-ADUser:String) [], CommandNotFoundException + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

This error message means that the Active Directory module for PowerShell is not loaded, and therefore, the command “get-aduser” is not recognized.

To fix this issue and manage AD users, computers, and groups with PowerShell, you must install the Active Directory PowerShell module.

The Active Directory PowerShell module is part of the AD DS Tools, a subset of RSAT (Remote Server Administration Tools).

The AD DS Tools package includes other components like Active Directory Users & Computers.

With Easy365Manager, you can extend Active Directory Users & Computers to include Office 365 administration.

It’s a huge time saver when you, e.g., can manage Office 365 licenses directly in AD user properties:

How to Install the AD PowerShell Module on Windows 10

To install the AD DS Tools on Windows 10 version 1809 or later, use the following command:

Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT.ActiveDirectory* -Online | Add-WindowsCapability -Online

If you’re running a previous version of the Windows client, you must manually download and install RSAT.

How to Install the AD PowerShell Module on Windows Server

On Windows Server 2008 and later, you can install the Active Directory PowerShell module via add/remove features in Server Manager.

Start Server Manager and select Add roles and features:

Select Role-based or feature-based installation and click Next:

Select your server and click Next:

Skip the Roles Selection section by clicking Next:

Expand Remote Server Administration Tools, expand Role Administration Tools, expand AD DS and AD LDS Tools and select the Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell. Then click Next:

After a while, the AD module for PowerShell is installed, and you can start a new PowerShell prompt and verify the installation of the module:

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-Module -ListAvailable Active*

    Directory: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules

ModuleType Version    Name                                ExportedCommands
---------- -------    ----                                ----------------
Manifest   1.0.1.0    ActiveDirectory                     {Add-ADCentralAccessPolicyMember, Add-ADComputerServiceAccount, Add-ADDomainControllerPasswordReplicationPolicy, Add-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicySubject...}

AD and Office 365 Management on Steroids

“Easy365Manager is the missing link between on-premises and Office 365.” – Martin Duggan, Technology Infrastructure Lead, Cornerstone, UK.

Easy365Manager is a snap-in to Active Directory Users & Computers that extends the properties of users and groups with new tabs.

When Easy365Manager is installed, you get two new tabs on user properties:

The new tabs give you access to loads of Office 365 configurations, including Office 365 license management, mailbox type, mail quotas, mailbox delegation, etc.

This means you no longer have to switch between AD Users & Computers, the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, the Exchange Online Admin Center, and Azure AD Connect. Instead, everything is managed within AD Users & Computers.

With Easy365Manager, you can even configure calendar permissions – something that can normally only be done via complex PowerShell scripting:

Since Easy365Manager can configure your mail properties, you no longer need your on-premises Exchange Server.

Removing your on-premises Exchange Server gives you 100% protection from future zero-day exploits – a real threat that has affected hundreds of thousands of organizations in 2021 alone.

See a list of all Easy365Manager features here.

Get started in a few minutes by downloading the fully-functional 30-day trial here.

Active Directory Module PowerShell Commands

If you want to know what commands are available in the Active Directory module, use the following command:

PS C:\> (Get-Module -Name ActiveDirectory).ExportedCommands | ft Key Key --- 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