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Environment variable, PowerShell session and started from CMD

I am trying to run a PowerShell command from a Command Prompt window (run as administrator) but it fails. Whereas, when I run the same command from a PowerShell window, it works fine.

Here is the command without error in a PowerShell window:

Powershell [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("HostIPv4", "192.168.255.14:", "Machine")

The command prompt window crashes:

C:\test>powershell [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("HostIPv4", "192.168.255.14:", "Machine")
At line:1 char:39
+ [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable(HostIPv4, 192.168.255.14:, Mach ...
+                                       ~
Missing ')' in method call.
At line:1 char:39
+ [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable(HostIPv4, 192.168.255.14:, Mach ...
+                                       ~~~~~~~~
Unexpected token 'HostIPv4' in expression or statement.
At line:1 char:47
+ [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable(HostIPv4, 192.168.255.14:, Mach ...
+                                               ~
Missing argument in parameter list.
At line:1 char:73
+ ... ironment]::SetEnvironmentVariable(HostIPv4, 192.168.255.14:, Machine)
+                                                                         ~
Unexpected token ')' in expression or statement.
    + CategoryInfo          : ParserError: (:) [], ParentContainsErrorRecordException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : MissingEndParenthesisInMethodCall

What could be the problem?

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2 answers


PowerShell command line parsing removes double quotes, use single quotes:

powershell [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('HostIPv4', '192.168.255.14:', 'Machine')


Also note that you need to reopen a new process window to see the results (this is a known shell behavior, see also: C # Sets Environment Variable )

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iRon's helpful answer explains the problem and works , but I suggest taking an overall more robust approach to invoking PowerShell commands fromcmd.exe

  • Use-Command

    explicitly because in PSv6 the default will change to -File

    expecting a script filename, not a command.

  • Use-NoProfile

    to avoid unnecessary loading of PowerShell profiles and a more predictable runtime.

  • Double-quote the entire PowerShell command to protect it from potentially unwanted interpretation before cmd.exe

    .



powershell -NoProfile -Command "[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('HostIPv4', '192.168.255.14:', 'Machine')"

Using '

instead "

inside the command line is an easy way to avoid having to use inline characters "

, which works great here, but if you need inline "

(for string interpolations), avoid them as either \"

(sic) or """

(sic).

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