AvoidDynamicallyCreatingVariableNames.md

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

AvoidDynamicallyCreatingVariableNames

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 a specific scope, option, or visibility is required, put the dictionary (hash table) in that scope and apply the appropriate option or visibility. For 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