Executing a simple powershell command on the command line

Question

I try to run a simple powershell command by setting a variable and printing it.

This is what I want to do:

powershell -command "& {$name=\"hi\"; echo $name}"

But it fails with:

The string is missing the terminator: ".
   + CategoryInfo          : ParserError: (:) [], ParentContainsErrorRecordException
   + FullyQualifiedErrorId : TerminatorExpectedAtEndOfString

The invoke operator (&) works fine with commands such as:

 powershell -command "& {&echo hi}"

I read about the invoking operator and how to execute commands with -command option and executing scripts with -File option etc. They are working as expected. But my attempts to do the same for setting a variable and printing it as above doesn't work. I suspect -command works with only commands. Any idea how to achieve what I do above?

CB. · Accepted Answer · 2013-11-04 15:35:35Z

3

from a DOS shell this works:

powershell -command "& {$name='hi'; echo $name}"

but also your code works.

From a Powershell console use this:

powershell -command {$name='hi'; echo $name}

answered Nov 4, 2013 at 15:35

CB.

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1 Comment

user2953070 Over a year ago

My bad! My actual command is bit more complicated. What I posted was a simplified example. I had the invoking operator inside the command block which caused the problem. Thanks for the help!

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