Share Windows Folder using PowerShell

This blog article shows you how to share a folder in Windows using PowerShell.

Here’s a complete PowerShell script to share the folder C:\shared on Windows Server 2022 (or Windows 10/11) with read-only permissions for the built-in group Everyone.

Run this script as Administrator

# Run as Administrator

# Define the folder to share

$FolderPath = “C:\shared”

# Share name (how it will appear on the network)

$ShareName = “shared”

# Description (optional)

$Description = “Read-only shared folder”

# Check if the folder exists; create it if it doesn’t

if (-Not (Test-Path $FolderPath)) {

    New-Item -Path $FolderPath -ItemType Directory | Out-Null

    Write-Host “Created folder: $FolderPath” -ForegroundColor Yellow

}

# Share the folder with Read permission for Everyone

try {

    # Remove the share if it already exists (to avoid conflicts)

    if (Get-SmbShare -Name $ShareName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {

        Remove-SmbShare -Name $ShareName -Force

        Write-Host “Existing share ‘$ShareName’ removed.” -ForegroundColor Yellow

    }

    # Create the new share with Read permission for Everyone

    New-SmbShare -Name $ShareName `

                 -Path $FolderPath `

                 -Description $Description `

                 -ReadAccess “Everyone” `

                 -FullAccess “Administrators”  # Optional: keep full control for admins

    Write-Host “Folder ‘$FolderPath’ successfully shared as ‘\\$(hostname)\$ShareName’ with read-only access for Everyone.” -ForegroundColor Green

}

catch {

    Write-Error “Failed to create share: $_”

}

# Optional: Verify the share was created

Get-SmbShare -Name $ShareName | Format-List Name, Path, Description, ShareState

Also: Bulk Users Creation using PowerShell Windows

What This Script Does

• Ensures the C:\shared folder exists (creates it if missing).
• Creates a network share named shared.
• Grants read-only access to Everyone.
• Gives full control to Administrators (recommended so admins can still manage files).
• Overwrites any existing share with the same name.

Source code download: https://github.com/chanmmn/powershell/tree/main/2025/sharefolder?WT.mc_id=DP-MVP-36769

Reference:  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/smbshare/get-smbshare?view=windowsserver2025-ps?WT.mc_id=DP-MVP-36769