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AvoidDynamicallyCreatingVariableNames.md

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description Avoid dynamic variable names, instead use a hash table or similar dictionary type.
ms.date 04/21/2026
ms.topic reference
title AvoidDynamicVariableNames

AvoidDynamicVariableNames

Severity Level: Information

Description

Do not create variables with a dynamic name, this might introduce conflicts with other variables and is difficult to maintain.

How

Use a hash table or similar dictionary type to store values with dynamic keys.

Example

Wrong

'One', 'Two', 'Three' | ForEach-Object -Begin { $i = 1 } -Process {
    New-Variable -Name "My$_" -Value ($i++)
}
$MyTwo # returns 2

Correct

$My = @{}
'One', 'Two', 'Three' | ForEach-Object -Begin { $i = 1 } -Process {
    $My[$_] = $i++
}
$My.Two # returns 2

When it concerns a specific scope, option or visibility, put the concerned dictionary (hash table) in that scope, option or visibility. In example, if the values should be read only and available in the script scope, put the hash table in the script scope and make it read only.:

New-Variable -Name My -Value @{} -Option ReadOnly -Scope Script
'One', 'Two', 'Three' | ForEach-Object -Begin { $i = 1 } -Process {
    $Script:My[$_] = $i++
}
$Script:My.Two # returns 2