⚡ PowerShell 5.1+
Backup Local Groups List to JSON
Snapshots Local Groups from Win32_Group to a timestamped JSON file for later comparison or auditing.
Backup-GroupListToJson.ps1
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Backs up Local Groups (Win32_Group) to a timestamped JSON file.
.DESCRIPTION
Queries Win32_Group via WMI and writes Name, Description, Domain for every item to a
JSON file, useful as a point-in-time snapshot for change tracking.
.PARAMETER OutputFolder
Folder to write the JSON snapshot into. Created if it doesn't exist.
Defaults to the current directory.
.EXAMPLE
.\Backup-GroupListToJson.ps1 -OutputFolder C:\Snapshots
#>
[CmdletBinding()]
param(
[string]$OutputFolder = '.'
)
if (-not (Test-Path $OutputFolder)) {
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $OutputFolder -Force | Out-Null
}
$items = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Group | Select-Object Name, Description, Domain
$timestamp = Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd-HHmmss'
$outPath = Join-Path $OutputFolder "group-snapshot_$timestamp.json"
$items | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 3 | Out-File -FilePath $outPath -Encoding UTF8
Write-Host "Snapshot of Local Groups ($($items.Count) items) saved to $outPath" -ForegroundColor Green