Running EXE file with environment variable in path (PowerShell)

Question

I want to run some executable on Windows using PowerShell. Path to this executable should be resolved with environment variable.

For example

running command

C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe

as

$Env:SystemRoot\system32\cmd.exe

I have tried this option and it raises following exception

At line:1 char:16
+ $Env:SystemRoot\system32\cmd.exe
+                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unexpected token '\system32\cmd.exe' in expression or statement.
    + CategoryInfo          : ParserError: (:) [], ParentContainsErrorRecordException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnexpectedToken

What is the right way to do it?

In short: An executable path that is _quoted_ or contains _variable references_ must - for syntactic reasons - be invoked with `&`, the [call operator](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_Operators#call-operator-); see the linked duplicate for details. — mklement0, Jun 29 '22 at 14:17

scaler · Accepted Answer · 2022-06-30T07:57:22.810

3

Tell the powershell to call the command by putting an ampersand in front

& $Env:SystemRoot\system32\cmd.exe

edited Jun 30 '22 at 07:57

answered Jun 29 '22 at 13:38

scaler

417
1
9

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 29 '22 at 13:39

2

You can use call operator

& "$Env:SystemRoot\system32\cmd.exe"

answered Jun 29 '22 at 13:39

Puelloc

101
3

Thanks for adding a source! I will have a look at it – pL3b Jun 29 '22 at 13:43
As an aside: While it never hurts to enclose variable-based paths in `"..."`, it isn't strictly necessary if the path doesn't contain spaces (or other PowerShell metacharacters), such as in this case. – mklement0 Jun 29 '22 at 14:23

Running EXE file with environment variable in path (PowerShell)

2 Answers2