PowerShell execute command (.exe) with arguments safely (e.g. with spaces).

README.md

PowerShell execute command with arguments safely

In my opinion this is the best way for executing external commands from PowerShell with arguments in a safe manner - via the use of an array to hold the arguments.

Consider this one a PowerShell gem to keep in the toolbox.

Note

The example below makes use of EchoArgs.exe - a small utility that simply echoes back arguments passed to it. Utility is part of the PowerShell Community Extensions, or the exe alone can be downloaded at https://ss64.com/ps/EchoArgs.exe.

Example

Running example.ps1 yields the following output:

.\example.ps1
Arg 0 is <-switch>
Arg 1 is <-key1>
Arg 2 is <value>
Arg 3 is <-key2>
Arg 4 is <value with spaces>
Arg 5 is </D>
Arg 6 is </S>
Arg 7 is <another argument with spaces>

Note that arguments with spaces are correctly passed to EchoArgs.exe without the need for quoting or escaping.

Second call to EchoArgs.exe will pipe all output to output.txt.

Reference

• https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh847746.aspx

example.ps1

Set-StrictMode -Version Latest

$cmdPath = "$PSScriptRoot\EchoArgs.exe"
$cmdArgList = @(
	"-switch",
	"-key1","value",
	"-key2","value with spaces"
	"/D","/S"
	"another argument with spaces"
)

& $cmdPath $cmdArgList
& $cmdPath $cmdArgList >"$PSScriptRoot\output.txt"