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Enter-PSHostProcess

  • Reference
Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Core

Connects to and enters into an interactive session with a local process.

Syntax

Enter-PSHostProcess
     [-Id] <Int32>
     [[-AppDomainName] <String>]
     [<CommonParameters>]
Enter-PSHostProcess
     [-Process] <Process>
     [[-AppDomainName] <String>]
     [<CommonParameters>]
Enter-PSHostProcess
     [-Name] <String>
     [[-AppDomainName] <String>]
     [<CommonParameters>]
Enter-PSHostProcess
     [-HostProcessInfo] <PSHostProcessInfo>
     [[-AppDomainName] <String>]
     [<CommonParameters>]
Enter-PSHostProcess
     -CustomPipeName <String>
     [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Enter-PSHostProcess cmdlet connects to and enters into an interactive session with a local process. Beginning in PowerShell 6.2, this cmdlet is supported on non-Windows platforms.

Instead of creating a new process to host PowerShell and run a remote session, the remote, interactive session is run in an existing process that is already running PowerShell. When you are interacting with a remote session on a specified process, you can enumerate running runspaces, and then select a runspace to debug by running either Debug-Runspace or Enable-RunspaceDebug.

The process that you want to enter must be hosting PowerShell (System.Management.Automation.dll). You must be either a member of the Administrators group on the computer on which the process is found, or you must be the user who is running the script that started the process.

After you have selected a runspace to debug, a remote debug session is opened for the runspace if it is either currently running a command or is stopped in the debugger. You can then debug the runspace script in the same way you would debug other remote session scripts.

Detach from a debugging session, and then the interactive session with the process, by running exit twice, or stop script execution by running the existing debugger quit command.

If you specify a process by using the Name parameter, and there is only one process found with the specified name, the process is entered. If more than one process with the specified name is found, PowerShell returns an error, and lists all processes found with the specified name.

To support attaching to processes on remote computers, the Enter-PSHostProcess cmdlet is enabled in a specified remote computer, so that you can attach to a local process within a remote PowerShell session.

Examples

Example 1: Start debugging a runspace within the PowerShell ISE process

In this example, you run Enter-PSHostProcess from within the PowerShell console to enter the PowerShell ISE process. In the resulting interactive session, you can find a runspace that you want to debug by running Get-Runspace, and then debug the runspace.

PS C:\> Enter-PSHostProcess -Name powershell_ise
[Process:1520]: PS C:\Test\Documents>

Next, get available runspaces within the process you have entered.
PS C:\> [Process:1520]: PS C:\>  Get-Runspace
Id    Name          InstanceId                               State           Availability
--    -------       -----------                              ------          -------------
1     Runspace1     2d91211d-9cce-42f0-ab0e-71ac258b32b5     Opened          Available
2     Runspace2     a3855043-cb16-424a-a616-685360c3763b     Opened          RemoteDebug
3     MyLocalRS     2236dbd8-2105-4dec-a15a-a27d0bfaacb5     Opened          LocalDebug
4     MyRunspace    771356e9-8c44-4b70-9de5-dd17cb41e48e     Opened          Busy
5     Runspace8     3e517382-a97a-49ba-9c3c-fd21f6664288     Broken          None

The runspace objects returned by Get-Runspace also have a NoteProperty called ScriptStackTrace of
the running command stack, if available.Next, debug runspace ID 4, that is running another user's
long-running script. From the list returned from Get-Runspace, note that the runspace state is
Opened, and Availability is Busy, meaning that the runspace is still running the long-running
script.

PS C:\> [Process:1520]: PS C:\>  (Get-Runspace -Id 4).ScriptStackTrace
Command                    Arguments                           Location
-------                    ---------                           --------
MyModuleWorkflowF1         {}                                  TestNoFile3.psm1: line 6
WFTest1                    {}                                  TestNoFile2.ps1: line 14
TestNoFile2.ps1            {}                                  TestNoFile2.ps1: line 22
<ScriptBlock>              {}                                  <No file>

Start an interactive debugging session with this runspace by running the Debug-Runspace cmdlet.

PS C:\> [Process: 1520]: PS C:\>  Debug-Runspace -Id 4
Hit Line breakpoint on 'C:\TestWFVar1.ps1:83'

At C:\TestWFVar1.ps1:83 char:1
+ $scriptVar = "Script Variable"
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Process: 1520]: [RSDBG: 4]: PS C:\> >

After you are finished debugging, allow the script to continue running without the debugger attached
by running the exit debugger command. Alternatively, you can quit the debugger with the q or Stop
commands.

PS C:\> [Process:346]: [RSDBG: 3]: PS C:\> > exit
[Process:1520]: PS C:\>

When you are finished working in the process, exit the process by running the Exit-PSHostProcess
cmdlet. This returns you to the PS C:\> prompt.

PS C:\> [Process:1520]: PS C:\>  Exit-PSHostProcess
PS C:\>

Parameters

-AppDomainName

Specifies an application domain name to connect to if omitted, uses DefaultAppDomain. Use Get-PSHostProcessInfo to display the application domain names.

Type:String
Position:1
Default value:DefaultAppDomain
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-CustomPipeName

Gets or sets the custom named pipe name to connect to. This is usually used in conjunction with pwsh -CustomPipeName.

This parameter was introduced in PowerShell 6.2.

Type:String
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-HostProcessInfo

Specifies a PSHostProcessInfo object that can be connected to with PowerShell. Use Get-PSHostProcessInfo to get the object.

Type:PSHostProcessInfo
Position:0
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Id

Specifies a process by the process ID. To get a process ID, run the Get-Process cmdlet.

Type:Int32
Position:0
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Name

Specifies a process by the process name. To get a process name, run the Get-Process cmdlet. You can also get process names from the Properties dialog box of a process in Task Manager.

Type:String
Position:0
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Process

Specifies a process by the process object. The simplest way to use this parameter is to save the results of a Get-Process command that returns process that you want to enter in a variable, and then specify the variable as the value of this parameter.

Type:Process
Position:0
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

Inputs

Process

Notes

Enter-PSHostProcess cannot enter the process of the PowerShell session in which you are running the command. You can, however, enter the process of another PowerShell session, or a PowerShell ISE session that is running at the same time as the session in which you are running Enter-PSHostProcess.

Enter-PSHostProcess can enter only those processes that are hosting PowerShell. That is, they have loaded the PowerShell engine.

To exit a process from within the process, type exit, and then press Enter.