How do I save a command output to a variable, and how do I use that variable as command parameter in Powershell?

Question

I'd like to replace a word inside a .cfg file with the name of the current user.

I know $env:username outputs the current user.

This is what I got:

(Get-Content -path path\example.cfg -Raw) -replace 'TEST','current_user' | Set-Content path\example.cfg

I'm trying to replace the word "TEST" with the current user.

Mathias R. Jessen · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-26 19:22:41Z

2

Just replace your literal string 'current_user' with $env:username and you're good to go :)

(Get-Content -path path\example.cfg -Raw) -replace 'TEST',$env:username | Set-Content path\example.cfg

Note that -replace is a regex operator, so we can even qualify the word we're looking for:

(Get-Content -path path\example.cfg -Raw) -replace '\bTEST\b',$env:username | Set-Content path\example.cfg

\b means "word boundary" in regex, and will help you avoid partially replacing TEST in words like "HOTTEST" or "TESTICULAR"

answered May 26, 2020 at 18:24

Mathias R. Jessen

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