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Wait-Debugger

  • Reference
Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility

Stops a script in the debugger before running the next statement in the script.

Syntax

Wait-Debugger []

Description

Stops the PowerShell script execution engine at the point immediately after the Wait-Debugger cmdlet and waits for a debugger to be attached.

Caution

Make sure you remove the Wait-Debugger lines after you are done. A running script appears to be hung when it's stopped at a Wait-Debugger.

For more information about debugging in PowerShell, see about_Debuggers.

Examples

Example 1: Insert breakpoint for debugging

The file dbgtest.ps1 contains a function Test-Condition. The Wait-Debugger command was inserted in the function to stop the script execution at that point. When you run the function, the script stops at the Wait-Debugger line and enters the command-line debugger. The l command lists the script lines, and you can use other debugger commands to inspect the script state.

function Test-Condition {
    [CmdletBinding()]
    param (
        [Parameter(Mandatory)]
        [string]$Name,
        [string]$Message = "Hello, $Name!"
    )

    if ($Name -eq $env:USERNAME) {
        Write-Output "$Message"
    } else {
        # Remove after debugging
        Wait-Debugger

        Write-Output "$Name is not the current user."
    }
}

PS D:\> Test-Condition Fred
Entering debug mode. Use h or ? for help.

At D:\temp\test\dbgtest.ps1:13 char:9
+         Wait-Debugger
+         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[DBG]: PS D:\>> l

    8:
    9:      if ($Name -eq $env:USERNAME) {
   10:          Write-Output "$Message"
   11:      } else {
   12:          # Remove after debugging
   13:*         Wait-Debugger
   14:
   15:          Write-Output "$Name is not the current user."
   16:      }
   17:  }

[DBG]: PS D:\>> $env:USERNAME
User01
[DBG]: PS D:\>> exit
PS D:\>

Notice that output from the l shows that the script execution is stopped at the Wait-Debugger on line 13.

Example 2: Insert breakpoint for debugging a DSC resource

In this example, the Wait-Debugger command was inserted in the CopyFile method of a DSC resource. This is similar to using Enable-RunspaceDebug -BreakAll in a DSC resource but breaks at a specific point in the script.

[DscResource()]
class FileResource
{
    [DscProperty(Key)]
    [string] $Path

    [DscProperty(Mandatory)]
    [Ensure] $Ensure

    [DscProperty(Mandatory)]
    [string] $SourcePath

    [DscProperty(NotConfigurable)]
    [Nullable[datetime]] $CreationTime


    [void] Set() {
        $fileExists = $this.TestFilePath($this.Path)
        if ($this.ensure -eq [Ensure]::Present) {
            if (! $fileExists) {
               $this.CopyFile()
            }
        } else {
            if ($fileExists) {
                Write-Verbose -Message "Deleting the file $($this.Path)"
                Remove-Item -LiteralPath $this.Path -Force
            }
        }
    }

    [bool] Test() {
        $present = Test-Path -LiteralPath $this.Path
        if ($this.Ensure -eq [Ensure]::Present) {
            return $present
        } else {
            return (! $present)
        }
    }

    [FileResource] Get() {
        $present = Test-Path -Path $this.Path
        if ($present) {
            $file = Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath $this.Path
            $this.CreationTime = $file.CreationTime
            $this.Ensure = [Ensure]::Present
        } else {
            $this.CreationTime = $null
            $this.Ensure = [Ensure]::Absent
        }
        return $this
    }

    [void] CopyFile() {
        # Testing only - Remove before deployment!
        Wait-Debugger

        if (! (Test-Path -LiteralPath $this.SourcePath)) {
            throw "SourcePath $($this.SourcePath) is not found."
        }
        if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $this.Path -PathType Container) {
            throw "Path $($this.Path) is a directory path"
        }
        Write-Verbose "Copying $($this.SourcePath) to $($this.Path)"
        Copy-Item -LiteralPath $this.SourcePath -Destination $this.Path -Force
    }
}

Inputs

None

You can't pipe objects to this cmdlet.

Outputs

None

This cmdlet returns no output.