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Short description

Explains how to use the pwsh command-line interface. Displays the command-line parameters and describes the syntax.

Long description

For information about the command-line options for Windows PowerShell 5.1, see about_PowerShell_exe.

Syntax

Usage: pwsh[.exe]
    [-Login]
    [[-File] <filePath> [args]]
    [-Command { - | <script-block> [-args <arg-array>]
                  | <string> [<CommandParameters>] } ]
    [[-CommandWithArgs <string>] [<CommandParameters>]]
    [-ConfigurationFile <filePath>]
    [-ConfigurationName <string>]
    [-CustomPipeName <string>]
    [-EncodedCommand <Base64EncodedCommand>]
    [-ExecutionPolicy <ExecutionPolicy>]
    [-InputFormat {Text | XML}]
    [-Interactive]
    [-MTA]
    [-NoExit]
    [-NoLogo]
    [-NonInteractive]
    [-NoProfile]
    [-NoProfileLoadTime]
    [-OutputFormat {Text | XML}]
    [-SettingsFile <filePath>]
    [-SSHServerMode]
    [-STA]
    [-Version]
    [-WindowStyle <style>]
    [-WorkingDirectory <directoryPath>]

pwsh[.exe] -h | -Help | -? | /?

Parameters

All parameters are case-insensitive.

-File | -f

The value of File can be - or a filepath and optional parameters. If the value of File is -, then commands are read from standard input.

This is the default parameter if no parameters are present but values are present in the command line. The specified script runs in the local scope ("dot-sourced") of the new session, so that the functions and variables that the script creates are available in at new session. Enter the script filepath and any parameters. File must be the last parameter in the command, because all characters typed after the File parameter name are interpreted as the script filepath followed by the script parameters.

Typically, the switch parameters of a script are either included or omitted. For example, the following command uses the All parameter of the Get-Script.ps1 script file: -File .\Get-Script.ps1 -All

In rare cases, you might need to provide a Boolean value for a switch parameter. To provide a Boolean value for a switch parameter in the value of the File parameter, Use the parameter normally followed immediately by a colon and the boolean value, such as the following: -File .\Get-Script.ps1 -All:$False.

Parameters passed to the script are passed as literal strings, after interpretation by the current shell. For example, if you are in cmd.exe and want to pass an environment variable value, you would use the cmd.exe syntax: pwsh -File .\test.ps1 -TestParam %windir%

In contrast, running pwsh -File .\test.ps1 -TestParam $env:windir in cmd.exe results in the script receiving the literal string $env:windir because it has no special meaning to the current cmd.exe shell. The $env:windir style of environment variable reference can be used inside a Command parameter, since there it's interpreted as PowerShell code.

Similarly, if you want to execute the same command from a Batch script, you would use %~dp0 instead of .\ or $PSScriptRoot to represent the current execution directory: pwsh -File %~dp0test.ps1 -TestParam %windir%. If you use .\test.ps1 instead, PowerShell throws an error because it can't find the literal path .\test.ps1

Note

The File parameter can't support scripts using a parameter that expects an array of argument values. This, unfortunately, is a limitation of how a native command gets argument values. When you call a native executable (such as powershell or pwsh), it doesn't know what to do with an array, so it's passed as a string.

If the value of File is -, then commands are read from standard input. Running pwsh -File - without redirected standard input starts a regular session. This is the same as not specifying the File parameter at all. When reading from standard input, the input statements are executed one statement at a time as though they were typed at the PowerShell command prompt. If a statement doesn't parse correctly, the statement isn't executed. The process exit code is determined by status of the last (executed) command within the input. With normal termination, the exit code is always 0. When the script file terminates with an exit command, the process exit code is set to the numeric argument used with the exit command.

Similar to -Command, when a script-terminating error occurs, the exit code is set to 1. However, unlike with -Command, when the execution is interrupted with Ctrl+C the exit code is 0. For more information, see $LASTEXITCODE in about_Automatic_Variables.

Note

As of PowerShell 7.2, the File parameter only accepts .ps1 files on Windows. If another file type is provided an error is thrown. This behavior is Windows specific. On other platforms, PowerShell attempts to run other file types.

-Command | -c

The value of Command can be -, a script block, or a string. If the value of Command is -, the command text is read from standard input.

The Command parameter only accepts a script block for execution when it can recognize the value passed to Command as a ScriptBlock type. This is only possible when running pwsh from another PowerShell host. The ScriptBlock type may be contained in an existing variable, returned from an expression, or parsed by the PowerShell host as a literal script block enclosed in curly braces ({}), before being passed to pwsh.

pwsh -Command {Get-WinEvent -LogName security}

In cmd.exe, there is no such thing as a script block (or ScriptBlock type), so the value passed to Command is always a string. You can write a script block inside the string, but instead of being executed it behaves exactly as though you typed it at a typical PowerShell prompt, printing the contents of the script block back out to you.

A string passed to Command is still executed as PowerShell code, so the script block curly braces are often not required in the first place when running from cmd.exe. To execute an inline script block defined inside a string, the call operator & can be used:

pwsh -Command "& {Get-WinEvent -LogName security}"

If the value of Command is a string, Command must be the last parameter for pwsh, because all arguments following it are interpreted as part of the command to execute.

When called from within an existing PowerShell session, the results are returned to the parent shell as deserialized XML objects, not live objects. For other shells, the results are returned as strings.

If the value of Command is -, the commands are read from standard input. You must redirect standard input when using the Command parameter with standard input. For example:

@'
"in"

"hi" |
  % { "$_ there" }

"out"
'@ | pwsh -NoProfile -Command -

This example produces the following output:

in
hi there
out

When reading from standard input, the input is parsed and executed one statement at a time, as though they were typed at the PowerShell command prompt. If the input code doesn't parse correctly, the statement isn't executed. Unless you use the -NoExit parameter, the PowerShell session exits when there is no more input to read from standard input.

The process exit code is determined by status of the last (executed) command within the input. The exit code is 0 when $? is $true or 1 when $? is $false. If the last command is an external program or a PowerShell script that explicitly sets an exit code other than 0 or 1, that exit code is converted to 1 for process exit code. Similarly, the value 1 is returned when a script-terminating (runspace-terminating) error, such as a throw or -ErrorAction Stop, occurs or when execution is interrupted with Ctrl+C.

To preserve the specific exit code, add exit $LASTEXITCODE to your command string or script block. For more information, see $LASTEXITCODE in about_Automatic_Variables.

-CommandWithArgs | -cwa

This is an experimental feature added in 7.4.

Executes a PowerShell command with arguments. Unlike -Command, this parameter populates the $args built-in variable that can be used by the command.

The first string is the command. Additional strings delimited by whitespace are the arguments.

For example:

pwsh -CommandWithArgs '$args | % { "arg: $_" }' arg1 arg2

This example produces the following output:

arg: arg1
arg: arg2

Note

Argument parsing with quotes causes the example to fail if run from cmd.exe or powershell.exe. To run from those, you can use

REM Quoting required when run from cmd.exe
pwsh -CommandWithArgs "$args | % { ""arg: $_"" }" arg1 arg2

# Quoting required when run from powershell.exe
pwsh -CommandWithArgs '"$args | % { ""arg: $_"" }"' arg1 arg2

-ConfigurationName | -config

Specifies a configuration endpoint in which PowerShell is run. This can be any endpoint registered on the local machine including the default PowerShell remoting endpoints or a custom endpoint having specific user role capabilities.

Example: pwsh -ConfigurationName AdminRoles

-ConfigurationFile

Specifies a session configuration (.pssc) file path. The configuration contained in the configuration file will be applied to the PowerShell session.

Example: pwsh -ConfigurationFile "C:\ProgramData\PowerShell\MyConfig.pssc"

-CustomPipeName

Specifies the name to use for an additional IPC server (named pipe) used for debugging and other cross-process communication. This offers a predictable mechanism for connecting to other PowerShell instances. Typically used with the CustomPipeName parameter on Enter-PSHostProcess.

This parameter was introduced in PowerShell 6.2.

For example:

# PowerShell instance 1
pwsh -CustomPipeName mydebugpipe
# PowerShell instance 2
Enter-PSHostProcess -CustomPipeName mydebugpipe

-EncodedCommand | -e | -ec

Accepts a Base64-encoded string version of a command. Use this parameter to submit commands to PowerShell that require complex, nested quoting. The Base64 representation must be a UTF-16LE encoded string.

For example:

$command = 'dir "c:\program files" '
$bytes = [System.Text.Encoding]::Unicode.GetBytes($command)
$encodedCommand = [Convert]::ToBase64String($bytes)
pwsh -encodedcommand $encodedCommand

-ExecutionPolicy | -ex | -ep

Sets the default execution policy for the current session and saves it in the $env:PSExecutionPolicyPreference environment variable. This parameter does not change the persistently configured execution policies.

This parameter only applies to Windows computers. On non-Windows platforms, the parameter and the value provided are ignored.

-InputFormat | -inp | -if

Describes the format of data sent to PowerShell. Valid values are "Text" (text strings) or "XML" (serialized CLIXML format).

-Interactive | -i

Present an interactive prompt to the user. Inverse for NonInteractive parameter.

-Login | -l

On Linux and macOS, starts PowerShell as a login shell, using /bin/sh to execute login profiles such as /etc/profile and ~/.profile. On Windows, this switch does nothing.

Important

This parameter must come first to start PowerShell as a login shell. This parameter is ignored if it is passed in another position.

To set up pwsh as the login shell on UNIX-like operating systems:

  • Verify that the full absolute path to pwsh is listed under /etc/shells

    • This path is usually something like /usr/bin/pwsh on Linux or /usr/local/bin/pwsh on macOS
    • With some installation methods, this entry will be added automatically at installation time
    • If pwsh isn't present in /etc/shells, use an editor to append the path to pwsh on the last line. This requires elevated privileges to edit.

  • Use the chsh utility to set your current user's shell to pwsh:

    chsh -s /usr/bin/pwsh

Warning

Setting pwsh as the login shell is currently not supported on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), and attempting to set pwsh as the login shell there may lead to being unable to start WSL interactively.

-MTA

Start PowerShell using a multi-threaded apartment. This switch is only available on Windows. Using this parameter on non-Windows platforms results in an error.

-NoExit | -noe

Doesn't exit after running startup commands.

Example: pwsh -NoExit -Command Get-Date

-NoLogo | -nol

Hides the banner at startup of interactive sessions.

-NonInteractive | -noni

This switch is used to create sessions that shouldn't require user input. This is useful for scripts that run in scheduled tasks or CI/CD pipelines. Any attempts to use interactive features, like Read-Host or confirmation prompts, result in statement terminating errors rather than hanging.

-NoProfile | -nop

Doesn't load the PowerShell profiles.

-NoProfileLoadTime

Hides the PowerShell profile load time text shown at startup when the load time exceeds 500 milliseconds.

-OutputFormat | -o | -of

Determines how output from PowerShell is formatted. Valid values are "Text" (text strings) or "XML" (serialized CLIXML format).

Example: pwsh -o XML -c Get-Date

When called within a PowerShell session, you get deserialized objects as output rather plain strings. When called from other shells, the output is string data formatted as CLIXML text.

-SettingsFile | -settings

Overrides the system-wide powershell.config.json settings file for the session. By default, system-wide settings are read from the powershell.config.json in the $PSHOME directory.

Note that these settings aren't used by the endpoint specified by the -ConfigurationName argument.

Example: pwsh -SettingsFile c:\myproject\powershell.config.json

-SSHServerMode | -sshs

Used in sshd_config for running PowerShell as an SSH subsystem. It isn't intended or supported for any other use.

-STA

Start PowerShell using a single-threaded apartment. This is the default. This switch is only available on the Windows platform. Using this parameter on non-Windows platforms results in an error.

-Version | -v

Displays the version of this PowerShell executable. Additional parameters are ignored.

-WindowStyle | -w

Sets the window style for the session. Valid values are Normal, Minimized, Maximized and Hidden. This parameter only applies to Windows. Using this parameter on non-Windows platforms results in an error.

-WorkingDirectory | -wd | -wo

Sets the initial working directory by executing at startup. Any valid PowerShell file path is supported.

To start PowerShell in your home directory, use: pwsh -WorkingDirectory ~

-Help, -?, /?

Displays help for pwsh. If you are typing a pwsh command in PowerShell, prepend the command parameters with a hyphen (-), not a forward slash (/).