PowerShell is a system administration tool that lets you automate tasks on your computer. It can be used from the command line and within Windows PowerShell, but it’s also an incredibly powerful tool for automation not just in computing but more broadly across any industry. In this article, we’ll show how to run a PowerShell script from the command line as well as create custom functions with ease
The “how to run a powershell script from command line” is a tutorial that will show you how to run a PowerShell script from the Command Line.
You’ve come to the correct blog article if you’re new to the PowerShell scripting language and want to learn how to launch a PowerShell script. This blog will serve as a tutorial for running scripts in various methods, as well as a few complications that may arise.
Prerequisites
This post will show you how to install and execute PowerShell on your local machine. Please make sure you have the following requirements in place before beginning this post if you want to follow along.
- A PC running Windows 10 with Administrator rights.
- Version 5 or above of Windows PowerShell is required. PowerShell v7 is also an option. Because Windows PowerShell is already included in the operating system, this course will concentrate on it.
- Any text editor will do.
Dealing with the Policy of Execution
If you’re attempting to run a Windows PowerShell script for the first time, you can run into a typical issue. A script “cannot be loaded because executing scripts is disabled on this system,” PowerShell would most likely produce an error message.
Understanding and Managing PowerShell Execution Policies
PS> .GetServices.ps1 File C:TempGetServices.ps1 cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system. For more information, see about_Execution_Policies at https:/go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135170. At line:1 char:1 .GetServices.ps1 ~~~~~ CategoryInfo : SecurityError: (:) [], PSSecurityException FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnauthorizedAccess
When you attempt to execute a PowerShell with the execution policy set to Restricted, Signed remotely, or All signatures have been obtained., PowerShell displays the error notice above.
Restricted
For Windows client machines, the default policy is Restricted. If this is your first time using PowerShell, your default policy will most likely be to prohibit all scripts.
Individual commands may still be run on a terminal, but not script files. Any file ending in.ps1xml,.psm1, or.ps1 is subject to the limitation.
Unrestricted
Unrestricted enables you to execute any script; however, if the script was obtained from the internet, it will notify you before executing it. For non-Windows devices, this is normally the default setting.
Signed remotely
Signed remotely policy allows you to run any script that is either (a) digitally signed or (b) any script written on your local computer with or without a signature.
If you download a script from the internet that isn’t signed, you’ll need to unblock it. By right-clicking on the file and selecting Properties, you may do so. For that specific script file, you might use the Unblock-File PowerShell cmdlet.
Using a Signed remotely policy would be an ideal option when running a script downloaded from the internet.
All signatures have been obtained.
All signatures have been obtained. requires all the scripts to be signed digitally by a trusted publisher. This includes the scripts downloaded from the internet and written locally on your computer.
Changing the Execution Policy for PowerShell
To alter the execution policy, follow these steps:
- To make the policy modifications, open Windows PowerShell using Run as Administrator to ensure you have the highest permissions.
How to Run PowerShell as an Administrator is a related topic.
In the Start Menu, type PowerShell.
2. Run the PowerShell command below to set your computer’s execution policy once it’s open. As previously stated, there are three main sorts of execution policies. This tutorial makes advantage of RemoteSigned’s handy but yet secure execution policy.
Set the execution policy to RemoteSigned since this guide assumes you got the GetServices.ps1 script file from the Internet.
Before PowerShell will execute a PowerShell script obtained from the Internet, you must cryptographically sign it using the RemoteSigned execution policy.
3. An output should appear asking you to confirm the action. To confirm the policy change, type Y and press Enter.
Changes in Execution Policy You can use the execution policy to protect yourself against programs you don’t trust. Changing the execution policy might put you at risk of the security concerns indicated in the about Execution Policies help topic at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135170. Do you wish to modify the policy for execution? [Y] [A] Yes Yes to Everything [N] [L] is not an option. No to everything [S] [?] Suspend (The default value is “N”):
Follow the instructions below to learn about alternative ways to execute the PowerShell script on your machine.
Running a PowerShell Script
To illustrate how to launch a PowerShell script, you’ll need a script file. If you don’t have one, you can get one by downloading this ZIP file and extracting the PS1 file within. GetServices.ps1 is a basic script file that you’ll find within.
Write-Output “Computer Services Listing” Get-Service
A.ps1 extension should be added to every PowerShell script.
How to Use the Console
There are a number different methods to run a PowerShell script file after you’ve finished writing it. The PowerShell console is one of the most used methods.
To do so:
- As illustrated above, open the PowerShell console.
2. Using the Set-Directory PowerShell cmdlet or the cd alias, go to the file system location where your script is stored. The script for this lesson may be located in the C:Temp directory.
3. Use the dot (.) notation to run the script. PowerShell is a shell that searches for command names as well. To distinguish between a PowerShell command and a script, the script must be preceded by a dot. The current directory is represented by this dot.
Running a PowerShell Script from the Command Line via the PowerShell Location
If you can’t or don’t want to use the PowerShell terminal to execute scripts, you may use the command line instead (command prompt).
To launch scripts from the command prompt, open the PowerShell executable (powershell.exe) using the PowerShell location of C:Program FilesWindowsPowerShellpowershell.exe and supply the script path as an argument.
By simply supplying parameters when launching the PowerShell executable, such as powershell.exe -Parameter ‘Foo’ -Parameter2 ‘Bar,’ you may execute scripts with parameters in any environment.
You may use cmd.exe to run a PowerShell script like the one below. This example starts the engine and passes it the C:TempGetServices.ps1 script location.
Notice how the sample below runs the script using the PowerShell location path. If the folder isn’t in your PATH, you’ll have to do this.
CMD> C:Program FilesWindowsPowerShellpowershell.exe “C:TempGetServices.ps1”
PowerShell 7 utilizes a distinct executable called pwsh.exe, which is commonly found in C:Program FilesPowerShell7pwsh.exe.
Below is a helpful YouTube video that explains how to run a script from a batch file using cmd.exe.
Using the PowerShell Interactive Shell (ISE)
You’ll probably use a script editor like the PowerShell ISE or Visual Studio (VS) Code if you’re writing your own scripts or editing others’. Because the ISE is included with Windows, we’ll concentrate on that technique in this article.
To use the ISE to run a script, follow these steps:
- Open PowerShell ISE by going to the Start Menu and searching for it.
In the Start Menu, type PowerShell ISE.
2. Select File Open and locate your script.
Script may be opened from the File menu.
3. To run the script, click the green run button while the script is open. This button will run the script in the bottom-mounted PowerShell terminal.
PowerShell ISE is used to run the script.
The Output of the Sample Script
A PowerShell script may sometimes produce results. This occurs when the script you’re running is designed to return objects, which is a core feature of PowerShell.
Understanding PowerShell Objects (Back to Basics)
The following is what you’ll see if you execute the example GetServices.ps1 script. This script uses the Get-Service cmdlet to get a list of all the services installed on your local Windows machine.
PS> .GetScripts.ps1 Listing Computer Services Status Name DisplayName —— —- ———– Running aakore Acronis Agent Core Service Stopped AarSvc_1b668d Agent Activation Runtime_1b668d Running AcronisActivePr… Acronis Active Protection Service Running AcronisCyberPro… Acronis Cyber Protection Service Running AcrSch2Svc Acronis Scheduler2 Service Running AdobeARMservice Adobe Acrobat Update Service Running AdobeUpdateService AdobeUpdateService Running AGMService Adobe Genuine Monitor Service Running AGSService Adobe Genuine Software Integrity Se… —-Truncated—-
Using a PowerShell Script to Run a PowerShell Script from Within a Script
Assume you have two scripts and want one of them to call the other. Maybe you’ve got a script named GetUser. ps1 and ResetPassword, respectively. ps1. Inside the GetUser method. You want to run the ResetPassword ps1 script. ps1 is used to change a user’s password.
You’d add a line to the calling script (GetUser.ps1) to run the other script, exactly as you’d call it from the command line.
As you can see below, you have a few choices. Unless you have a special need to execute the script in another PowerShell session, you should usually run the other script inside the same session or scope to keep things simple.
## Execute powershell.exe in a new session to run the other script. ResetPassword.ps1 ## To execute the other script concurrently with this one. ResetPassword.ps1
The “run powershell script as administrator” is a command-line tool that allows users to run PowerShell scripts. The “run powershell script as administrator” will allow the user to run the script as an administrator.
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