Remove-ADGroup

  • Reference
Module:
ActiveDirectory

Removes an Active Directory group.

Syntax

Remove-ADGroup
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [-AuthType <ADAuthType>]
      [-Credential <PSCredential>]
      [-Identity] <ADGroup>
      [-Partition <String>]
      [-Server <String>]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Remove-ADGroup cmdlet removes an Active Directory group object. You can use this cmdlet to remove security and distribution groups.

The Identity parameter specifies the Active Directory group to remove. You can identify a group by its distinguished name, GUID, security identifier, Security Account Manager (SAM) account name, or canonical name. You can also set the Identity parameter to an object variable such as $<localADGroupObject>, or you can pass an object through the pipeline to the Identity parameter. For example, you can use the Get-ADGroup cmdlet to retrieve a group object and then pass the object through the pipeline to the Remove-ADGroup cmdlet.

If the ADGroup is being identified by its distinguished name, the Partition parameter is automatically determined.

For Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) environments, the Partition parameter must be specified except in the following two conditions:

  • The cmdlet is run from an Active Directory provider drive.
  • A default naming context or partition is defined for the AD LDS environment. To specify a default naming context for an AD LDS environment, set the msDS-defaultNamingContext property of the Active Directory directory service agent object (nTDSDSA) for the AD LDS instance.

Examples

Example 1: Remove a group by name

PS C:\> Remove-ADGroup -Identity SanjaysReports
Confirm
Are you sure you want to perform this action?
Performing operation "Remove" on Target "CN=SanjayReports,DC=Fabrikam,DC=com".
[Y] Yes  [A] Yes to All  [N] No  [L] No to All  [S] Suspend  [?] Help (default is "Y"):

This command removes the group that has SAM account name SanjaysReports.

Example 2: Get filtered groups and remove them

PS C:\> Get-ADGroup -Filter 'Name -like "Sanjay*"' | Remove-ADGroup
Confirm
Are you sure you want to perform this action?
Performing operation "Remove" on Target "CN=SanjaysReports,DC=Fabrikam,DC=com".
[Y] Yes  [A] Yes to All  [N] No  [L] No to All  [S] Suspend  [?] Help (default is "Y"):

This command gets all groups whose name starts with Sanjay and then removes them.

Parameters

-AuthType

Specifies the authentication method to use. The acceptable values for this parameter are:

  • Negotiate or 0
  • Basic or 1

The default authentication method is Negotiate.

A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection is required for the Basic authentication method.

Type:ADAuthType
Accepted values:Negotiate, Basic
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.

Type:SwitchParameter
Aliases:cf
Position:Named
Default value:False
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Credential

Specifies the user account credentials to use to perform this task. The default credentials are the credentials of the currently logged on user unless the cmdlet is run from an Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell provider drive. If the cmdlet is run from such a provider drive, the account associated with the drive is the default.

To specify this parameter, you can type a user name, such as User1 or Domain01\User01 or you can specify a PSCredential object. If you specify a user name for this parameter, the cmdlet prompts for a password.

You can also create a PSCredential object by using a script or by using the Get-Credential cmdlet. You can then set the Credential parameter to the PSCredential object.

If the acting credentials do not have directory-level permission to perform the task, Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell returns a terminating error.

Type:PSCredential
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Identity

Specifies an Active Directory group object by providing one of the following values. The identifier in parentheses is the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) display name for the attribute. The acceptable values for this parameter are:

  • A distinguished name
  • A GUID (objectGUID)
  • A security identifier (objectSid)
  • A Security Account Manager account name (sAMAccountName)

The cmdlet searches the default naming context or partition to find the object. If two or more objects are found, the cmdlet returns a non-terminating error. This parameter can also get this object through the pipeline or you can set this parameter to an object instance.

Type:ADGroup
Position:0
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Partition

Specifies the distinguished name of an Active Directory partition. The distinguished name must be one of the naming contexts on the current directory server. The cmdlet searches this partition to find the object defined by the Identity parameter.

In many cases, a default value will be used for the Partition parameter if no value is specified. The rules for determining the default value are given below. Note that rules listed first are evaluated first and once a default value can be determined, no further rules are evaluated.

In AD DS environments, a default value for Partition will be set in the following cases:

  • If the Identity parameter is set to a distinguished name, the default value of Partition is automatically generated from this distinguished name.
  • If running cmdlets from an Active Directory provider drive, the default value of Partition is automatically generated from the current path in the drive.
  • If none of the previous cases apply, the default value of Partition will be set to the default partition or naming context of the target domain.

In AD LDS environments, a default value for Partition will be set in the following cases:

  • If the Identity parameter is set to a distinguished name, the default value of Partition is automatically generated from this distinguished name.
  • If running cmdlets from an Active Directory provider drive, the default value of Partition is automatically generated from the current path in the drive.
  • If the target AD LDS instance has a default naming context, the default value of Partition will be set to the default naming context. To specify a default naming context for an AD LDS environment, set the msDS-defaultNamingContext property of the Active Directory directory service agent (DSA) object (nTDSDSA) for the AD LDS instance.
  • If none of the previous cases apply, the Partition parameter will not take any default value.
Type:String
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Server

Specifies the Active Directory Domain Services instance to connect to, by providing one of the following values for a corresponding domain name or directory server. The service may be any of the following: Active Directory Lightweight Domain Services, Active Directory Domain Services or Active Directory Snapshot instance.

Specify the Active Directory Domain Services instance in one of the following ways:

Domain name values:

  • Fully qualified domain name
  • NetBIOS name

Directory server values:

  • Fully qualified directory server name
  • NetBIOS name
  • Fully qualified directory server name and port

The default value for this parameter is determined by one of the following methods in the order that they are listed:

  • By using the Server value from objects passed through the pipeline
  • By using the server information associated with the Active Directory Domain Services Windows PowerShell provider drive, when the cmdlet runs in that drive
  • By using the domain of the computer running Windows PowerShell
Type:String
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-WhatIf

Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.

Type:SwitchParameter
Aliases:wi
Position:Named
Default value:False
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

Inputs

None or Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADGroup

A group object is received by the Identity parameter.

Outputs

None

Notes

  • This cmdlet does not work with an Active Directory Snapshot.
  • This cmdlet does not work with a read-only domain controller.
  • By default, this cmdlet has the Confirm parameter set, which prompts you to confirm before a removal of the specified object type can occur. To bypass prompting for confirmation before removal, you can specify -Confirm:$False when using this cmdlet.