How to Count the Number of Users in a Group in AD using PowerShell

In this article, we will show you how to use the Get-ADGroupMember cmdlet in PowerShell to count the number of users in a group in Active Directory (AD). This is a useful task that can help you manage your AD environment and ensure that your groups have the appropriate number of members.

Step 1: Import the Active Directory PowerShell Module

Before you can use the Get-ADGroupMember cmdlet, you must first import the Active Directory PowerShell module. This module contains the cmdlets and other tools that you need to manage AD using PowerShell. To import the module, use the following command:

Import-Module ActiveDirectory

Step 2: Connect to the AD Domain

After you have imported the Active Directory PowerShell module, you must connect to your AD domain. This allows you to run commands against your AD environment and retrieve information about your groups and users. To connect to the domain, use the following command, replacing "domain_name" with the actual name of your AD domain:

Connect-ADServer -Server domain_name

Step 3: Get the Name of the Group to Count

Before you can count the number of users in a group, you need to know the name of the group. You can use the Read-Host cmdlet to prompt the user for the group name. This cmdlet takes the name of the prompt as its parameter, so you can use the following command to prompt the user for the group name:

$group = Read-Host "Enter the name of the group"

Step 4: Count the Number of Users in the Group

To count the number of users in the group, you can use the Get-ADGroupMember cmdlet. This cmdlet takes the name of the group as its parameter, so you can use the following command to get the members of the group:

$members = Get-ADGroupMember -Identity $group

This command will return a list