How to get PowerShell to keep a command window open? - windows

Question

When I run a program on PowerShell it opens a new window and before I can see the output, the window closes. How do I make it so PowerShell keeps this window open?

Answer 1

Try doing:
start-process your.exe -NoNewWindow
Add a -Wait too if needed.

Answer 2

The OP seemed satisfied with the answer, but it doesn't keep the new window open after executing the program, which is what he seemed to be asking (and the answer I was looking for). So, after some more research, I came up with:
Start-Process cmd "/c `"your.exe & pause `""

Answer 3

I was solving a similar problem few weeks ago. If you don't want to use & (& '.\program.exe') then you can use start process and read the output by start process (where you read the output explicitly).
Just put this as separate PS1 file - for example (or to macro):
param (
$name,
$params
)
$process = New-Object System.Diagnostics.Process
$proInfo = New-Object System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo
$proInfo.CreateNoWindow = $true
$proInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = $true
$proInfo.RedirectStandardError = $true
$proInfo.UseShellExecute = $false
$proInfo.FileName = $name
$proInfo.Arguments = $params
$process.StartInfo = $proInfo
#Register an Action for Error Output Data Received Event
Register-ObjectEvent -InputObject $process -EventName ErrorDataReceived -action {
foreach ($s in $EventArgs.data) { Write-Host $s -ForegroundColor Red }
} | Out-Null
#Register an Action for Standard Output Data Received Event
Register-ObjectEvent -InputObject $process -EventName OutputDataReceived -action {
foreach ($s in $EventArgs.data) { Write-Host $s -ForegroundColor Blue }
} | Out-Null
$process.Start() | Out-Null
$process.BeginOutputReadLine()
$process.BeginErrorReadLine()
$process.WaitForExit()
And then call it like:
.\startprocess.ps1 "c:\program.exe" "params"
You can also easily redirect output or implement some kind of timeout in case your application can freeze...

Answer 4

If the program is a batch file (.cmd or .bat extension) being launched with cmd /c foo.cmd command, simply change it to cmd /k foo.cmd and the program executes, but the prompt stays open.
If the program is not a batch file, wrap it in a batch file and add the pause command at the end of it. To wrap the program in a batch file, simply place the command in a text file and give it the .cmd extension. Then execute that instead of the exe.

Answer 5

With Startprocess and in the $arguments scriptblock, you can put a Read-Host
$arguments = {
"Get-process"
"Hello"
Read-Host "Wait for a key to be pressed"
}
Start-Process powershell -Verb runAs -ArgumentList $arguments

Answer 6

pwsh -noe -c "echo 1"