How to run an EXE file in PowerShell with parameters with spaces and quotes

When PowerShell sees a command starting with a string it just evaluates the string, that is, it typically echos it to the screen, for example:

PS> "Hello World"
Hello World

If you want PowerShell to interpret the string as a command name then use the call operator (&) like so:

PS> & 'C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe'

After that you probably only need to quote parameter/argument pairs that contain spaces and/or quotation chars. When you invoke an EXE file like this with complex command line arguments it is usually very helpful to have a tool that will show you how PowerShell sends the arguments to the EXE file. The PowerShell Community Extensions has such a tool. It is called echoargs. You just replace the EXE file with echoargs - leaving all the arguments in place, and it will show you how the EXE file will receive the arguments, for example:

PS> echoargs -verb:sync -source:dbfullsql="Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;" -dest:dbfullsql="Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass

Arg 0 is <-verb:sync>
Arg 1 is <-source:dbfullsql=Data>
Arg 2 is <Source=mysource;Integrated>
Arg 3 is <Security=false;User>
Arg 4 is <ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;>
Arg 5 is <-dest:dbfullsql=Data>
Arg 6 is <Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated>
Arg 7 is <Security=false;User>
Arg 8 is <ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb; computername=10.10.10.10 username=administrator password=adminpass>

Using echoargs you can experiment until you get it right, for example:

PS> echoargs -verb:sync "-source:dbfullsql=Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;"
Arg 0 is <-verb:sync>
Arg 1 is <-source:dbfullsql=Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;>

It turns out I was trying too hard before to maintain the double quotes around the connection string. Apparently that isn't necessary because even cmd.exe will strip those out.

BTW, hats off to the PowerShell team. They were quite helpful in showing me the specific incantation of single & double quotes to get the desired result - if you needed to keep the internal double quotes in place. :-) They also realize this is an area of pain, but they are driven by the number of folks are affected by a particular issue. If this is an area of pain for you, then please vote up this PowerShell bug submission.

For more information on how PowerShell parses, check out my Effective PowerShell blog series - specifically item 10 - "Understanding PowerShell Parsing Modes"

UPDATE 4/4/2012: This situation gets much easier to handle in PowerShell V3. See this blog post for details.

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Just add the & operator before the .exe name. Here is a command to install SQL Server Express in silence mode:

$fileExe = "T:\SQLEXPRADV_x64_ENU.exe"
$CONFIGURATIONFILE = "T:\ConfSetupSql2008Express.ini"

& $fileExe  /CONFIGURATIONFILE=$CONFIGURATIONFILE

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I had spaces in both command and parameters, and this is what worked for me:

$Command = "E:\X64\Xendesktop Setup\XenDesktopServerSetup.exe"
$Parms = "/COMPONENTS CONTROLLER,DESKTOPSTUDIO,DESKTOPDIRECTOR,LICENSESERVER,STOREFRONT /PASSIVE /NOREBOOT /CONFIGURE_FIREWALL /NOSQL"

$Parms = $Parms.Split(" ")
& "$Command" $Parms

It's basically the same as Akira's answer, but this works if you dynamically build your command parameters and put them in a variable.

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There are quite a few methods you can use to do it.

There are other methods like using the Call Operator (&), Invoke-Expression cmdlet etc. But they are considered unsafe. Microsoft recommends using Start-Process.

Method 1

A simple example

Start-Process -NoNewWindow -FilePath "C:\wamp64\bin\mysql\mysql5.7.19\bin\mysql" -ArgumentList "-u root","-proot","-h localhost"

In your case

Start-Process -NoNewWindow -FilePath "C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe" -ArgumentList "-verb:sync","-source:dbfullsql=`"Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;`"","-dest:dbfullsql=`"Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;`"","computername=10.10.10.10","username=administrator","password=adminpass"

In this method you separate each and every parameter in the ArgumentList using commas.

Method 2

Simple Example

Start-Process -NoNewWindow -FilePath "C:\wamp64\bin\mysql\mysql5.7.19\bin\mysql" -ArgumentList "-u root -proot -h localhost"

In your case

Start-Process -NoNewWindow -FilePath "C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe" -ArgumentList "-verb:sync -source:dbfullsql=`"Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;`" -dest:dbfullsql=`"Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;`",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass"

This method is easier as it allows to type your parameters in one go.

Note that in powershell to represent the quotation mark ( " ) in a string you should insert the grave accent ( ` ) (This is the key above the Tab key in the US keyboard). -NoNewWindow parameter is used to display the new process in the current console window. By default Windows PowerShell opens a new window.

References : Powershell/Scripting/Start-Process

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This worked for me:

& 'D:\Server\PSTools\PsExec.exe' @('\\1.1.1.1', '-accepteula', '-d', '-i', $id, '-h', '-u', 'domain\user', '-p', 'password', '-w', 'C:\path\to\the\app', 'java', '-jar', 'app.jar')

Just put paths or connection strings in one array item and split the other things in one array item each.

There are a lot of other options here: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/7703.powershell-running-executables.aspx

Microsoft should make this way simpler and compatible with command prompt syntax.

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See this page: https://slai.github.io/posts/powershell-and-external-commands-done-right/

Summary using vshadow as the external executable:

$exe = "H:\backup\scripts\vshadow.exe"
&$exe -p -script=H:\backup\scripts\vss.cmd E: M: P:

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In case somebody is wondering how to just run an executable file:

..... > .\file.exe

or

......> full\path\to\file.exe

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You can use:

Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe" -ArgumentList "-verb:sync -source:dbfullsql="Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;" -dest:dbfullsql="Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass"

The key thing to note here is that FilePath must be in position 0, according to the Help Guide. To invoke the Help guide for a commandlet, just type in Get-Help <Commandlet-name> -Detailed . In this case, it is Get-Help Start-Process -Detailed.

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I was able to get my similar command working using the following approach:

msdeploy.exe -verb=sync "-source=dbFullSql=Server=THESERVER;Database=myDB;UID=sa;Pwd=saPwd" -dest=dbFullSql=c:\temp\test.sql

For your command (not that it helps much now), things would look something like this:

msdeploy.exe -verb=sync "-source=dbfullsql=Server=mysource;Trusted_Connection=false;UID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;" "-dest=dbfullsql=Server=mydestsource;Trusted_Connection=false;UID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass

The key points are:

Use quotes around the source argument, and remove the embedded quotes around the connection string

Use the alternative key names in building the SQL connection string that don't have spaces in them. For example, use "UID" instead of "User Id", "Server" instead of "Data Source", "Trusted_Connection" instead of "Integrated Security", and so forth. I was only able to get it to work once I removed all spaces from the connection string.

I didn't try adding the "computername" part at the end of the command line, but hopefully this info will help others reading this now get closer to their desired result.

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New escape string in PowerShell V3, quoted from New V3 Language Features:

Easier Reuse of Command Lines From Cmd.exe

The web is full of command lines written for Cmd.exe. These commands lines work often enough in PowerShell, but when they include certain characters, for example, a semicolon (;), a dollar sign ($), or curly braces, you have to make some changes, probably adding some quotes. This seemed to be the source of many minor headaches.

To help address this scenario, we added a new way to “escape” the parsing of command lines. If you use a magic parameter --%, we stop our normal parsing of your command line and switch to something much simpler. We don’t match quotes. We don’t stop at semicolon. We don’t expand PowerShell variables. We do expand environment variables if you use Cmd.exe syntax (e.g. %TEMP%). Other than that, the arguments up to the end of the line (or pipe, if you are piping) are passed as is. Here is an example:

PS> echoargs.exe --% %USERNAME%,this=$something{weird}
Arg 0 is <jason,this=$something{weird}>

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I use this simple, clean and effective method.

I place arguments in an array, 1 per line. This way it is very easy to read and edit. Then I use a simple trick of passing all arguments inside double quotes to a function with 1 single parameter. That flattens them, including arrays, to a single string, which I then execute using PS's 'Invoke-Expression'. This directive is specifically designed to convert a string to runnable command. Works well:

# function with one argument will flatten 
# all passed-in entries into 1 single string line
Function Execute($command) {
    # execute:
    Invoke-Expression $command;
    # if you have trouble try:
    # Invoke-Expression "& $command";
    # or if you need also output to a variable
    # Invoke-Expression $command | Tee-Object -Variable cmdOutput;
}

#  ... your main code here ...

# The name of your executable app
$app = 'my_app.exe';
# List of arguments:
# Notice the type of quotes - important !
# Those in single quotes are normal strings, like 'Peter'
$args = 'arg1',
        'arg2',
        $some_variable,
        'arg4',
        "arg5='with quotes'",
        'arg6',
        "arg7 \ with \ $other_variable",
        'etc...';
    
# pass all arguments inside double quotes
Execute "$app $args";
  

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I tried all of the suggestions but was still unable to run msiexec.exe with parameters that contained spaces. So my solution ended up using System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo:

# can have spaces here, no problems
$settings = @{
  CONNECTION_STRING = "... ..."
  ENTITY_CONTEXT = "... ..."
  URL = "..."
}

$settingsJoined = ($settings.Keys | % { "$_=""$($settings[$_])""" }) -join " "
$pinfo = New-Object System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo
$pinfo.WorkingDirectory = $ScriptDirectory
$pinfo.FileName = "msiexec.exe"
$pinfo.RedirectStandardError = $true
$pinfo.RedirectStandardOutput = $true
$pinfo.UseShellExecute = $false
$pinfo.Arguments = "/l* install.log /i installer.msi $settingsJoined"
$p = New-Object System.Diagnostics.Process
$p.StartInfo = $pinfo
$p.Start() | Out-Null
$stdout = $p.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd()
$p.WaitForExit()

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You can run exe files in powershell different ways. For instance if you want to run unrar.exe and extract a .rar file you can simply write in powershell this:

$extract_path = "C:\Program Files\Containing folder";
$rar_to_extract = "C:\Path_to_arch\file.rar"; #(or.exe if its a big file)  
C:\Path_here\Unrar.exe x -o+ -c- $rar_to_extract $extract_path;

But sometimes, this doesn't work so you must use the & parameter as shown above: For instance, with vboxmanage.exe (a tool to manage virtualbox virtual machines) you must call the paramterers outside of the string like this, without quotes:

> $vmname = "misae_unrtes_1234123"; #(name too long, we want to change this)
> & 'C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe' modifyvm $vmname --name UBUNTU;

If you want to call simply a winrar archived file as .exe files, you can also unzip it with the invoke-command cmdlet and a Silent parameter /S (Its going to extract itself in the same folder than where it has been compressed).

> Invoke-Command -ScriptBlock { C:\Your-path\archivefile.exe /S };

So there are several ways to run .exe files with arguments in powershell.

Sometimes, one must find a workaround to make it work properly, which can require some further effort and pain :) depending on the way the .exe has been compiled or made bi its creators.

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Cmd can handle running a quoted exe, but Powershell can't. I'm just going to deal with running the exe itself, since I don't have it. If you literally need to send doublequotes to an argument of an external command, that's another issue that's been covered elsewhere.

1) add the exe folder to your path, maybe in your $profile

$env:path += ';C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\'
msdeploy

2) backquote the spaces:

C:\Program` Files\IIS\Microsoft` Web` Deploy\msdeploy.exe

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This worked for me:

PowerShell.exe -Command "& ""C:\Some Script\Path With Spaces.ps1"""

The key seems to be that the whole command is enclosed in outer quotes, the "&" ampersand is used to specify another child command file is being executed, then finally escaped (doubled-double-) quotes around the path/file name with spaces in you wanted to execute in the first place.

This is also completion of the only workaround to the MS connect issue that -File does not pass-back non-zero return codes and -Command is the only alternative. But until now it was thought a limitation of -Command was that it didn't support spaces. I've updated that feedback item too.

http://connect.microsoft.com/PowerShell/feedback/details/750653/powershell-exe-doesn-t-return-correct-exit-codes-when-using-the-file-option

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An alternative answer is to use a Base64 encoded command switch:

powershell -EncodedCommand "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"

When decoded, you'll see it's the OP's original snippet with all arguments and double quotes preserved.

powershell.exe -EncodedCommand

Accepts a base-64-encoded string version of a command. Use this parameter
to submit commands to Windows PowerShell that require complex quotation
marks or curly braces.

The original command:

 C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe -verb:sync -source:dbfullsql="Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;" -dest:dbfullsql="Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass"

It turns into this when encoded as Base64:

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

and here is how to replicate at home:

$command = 'C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe -verb:sync -source:dbfullsql="Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;" -dest:dbfullsql="Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass"'
$bytes = [System.Text.Encoding]::Unicode.GetBytes($command)
$encodedCommand = [Convert]::ToBase64String($bytes)
$encodedCommand

#  The clip below copies the base64 string to your clipboard for right click and paste.
$encodedCommand | Clip

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For the executable name, the new-alias cmdlet can be employed to avoid dealing with spaces or needing to add the executable to the $PATH environment.

PS> new-alias msdeploy "C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe"
PS> msdeploy ...

To list or modify PS aliases also see

PS> get-alias
PS> set-alias

From Jeffery Hicks Aarticle

Other answers address the arguments.

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If you just need to run a file in the current directory and don't feel like spelling out the entire path use Get-Location:

& "$(Get-Location)\example.exe" arg1 arg2 arg3

Note the & at the start. Spaced arguments are to be placed after the quotes.

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I had the following code working perfect on my laptop:

& $msdeploy `
-source:package="$publishFile" `
-dest:auto,computerName="$server",includeAcls="False",UserName="$username",Password="$password",AuthType="$auth" `
-allowUntrusted  `
-verb:sync  `
-enableRule:DoNotDeleteRule `
-disableLink:AppPoolExtension  `
-disableLink:ContentExtension  `
-disableLink:CertificateExtension  `
-skip:objectName=filePath,absolutePath="^(.*Web\.config|.*Environment\.config)$" `
-setParam:name=`"IIS Web Application Name`",value="$appName"

Then when I tried to run that directly on one server I started getting those errors "Unrecognized argument ...etc.... All arguments must begin with "-". "

After trying all possible workarounds (no success), I found out that Powershell on the server (Windows 2008 R2) was version 3.0, while my laptop has 5.0. (you can use "$PSVersionTable" to see version).

After upgrading Powershell to latest version it started working again.

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So, I ran into a similar problem and chose to solve it this way instead:

Escape your quote (") characters with a backtick (`) Surround your new expression with quotes (") Using the call operator (&), issue the command invoke-expression on the new string

Example solution:

& { invoke-expression "C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe -verb:sync -source:dbfullsql=`"Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;`" -dest:dbfullsql=`"Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;`",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass`"" }

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To transfer a batch script using exiftool.exe to a powershell script I had the challange to give '-s, "-s and even ${Filename} to the command and on the other hand fill out variables in these parameters.

For a start: The replacement in using 'echochars' is brilliant. It clearly shows what is grouped as a single parameter and what ends up as the next parameter.

In powershell it is similar to perl (and unix scripting): the used quotes have their meaning.

strings between "-s. The string will be interpreted (variables filled)

Strings between '-s. The string will not be interpreted (or verry limited)

the escape character is ` (the back-quote). The next character looses its special meaning. Comparable with the \ (back stroke) on unix/linux/perl.

Some examples:

${ExifArgs} += "-if `"`${FileName} !~ /desktop.ini/i`""
${ExifArgs} += '-dateFormat "%Y\%Y%m\%Y%m%d_%H%M%S"'
${ExifArgs} += ('"' + "-FileName<${NewFotos}\${SourceName}\" + '${DateTimeOriginal}_${ImageWidth}x${ImageHeight}_${Model;s/ //g}_${FileName;s/^.*([0-9]{4})[^0-9].*$/\1/}.%e' + '"')

A call to echoargs with the above, produces the next output (numbers are hacked for privacy):

Arg 11 is <-if>
Arg 12 is <${FileName} !~ /desktop.ini/i>
Arg 13 is <-dateFormat>
Arg 14 is <%Y\%Y%m\%Y%m%d_%H%M%S>
Arg 15 is <-FileName<D:\Pictures\NewFotos\${DateTimeOriginal}_${ImageWidth}x${ImageHeight}_${Model;s/ //g}_${FileName;s/^.*([0-9]{4})[^0-9].*$/\1/}.%e>

See how the first line produces arg 11 and 12: the outher "-s are removed to store the entire line in the array. The inner "-s, quoted by the `-s are there to keep the argument together (while the -if is the previous argument)

The second shows arg 13 and 14: the use of "-s between '-s. No need to escape using `-s.

In the last line (producing arg 15): the single string is constructed by using powershell ()-s and +-s to concatenate a couple of strings to a single string. It uses both " and ' delimited strings to have som ${}-s filled out by powershell and some for exiftool. And yes, some powershell special characters are transvered into the archuments.

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