How to run PowersShell script in c#

I will show you how to run a PowerShell script in c#.

The execution method in this article is to call Powershell.exe instead of using System.Management.Automation.

Source code

//using System.Diagnostics;

/// <summary>
/// Run PowerShell script.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="ps1FilePath">PowerShell Script File Name(*.ps1)</param>
/// <param name="args">List of Arguments</param>
/// <param name="stdOut">Standard Output </param>
/// <param name="stdErr">Standard Error</param>
/// <param name="exitCode">Exit Code</param>
public static void ExecPSProcess(string ps1FilePath, List<PowerShellArgs> args, out string stdOut, out string stdErr, out int exitCode)
{
    stdOut = "";
    stdErr = "";
    exitCode = 0;

    try
    {
        string cmdStr = "";
        cmdStr = $"-File {ps1FilePath} ";
        foreach(var item in args)
        {
            cmdStr = cmdStr + $"-{item.argName} {item.argValue}";
        }

        System.Diagnostics.Process process = new System.Diagnostics.Process();
        ProcessStartInfo processStartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("powershell.exe", cmdStr);

        processStartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
        processStartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;

        processStartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
        processStartInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;

        process = System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(processStartInfo);
        process.WaitForExit();

        stdOut = process.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
        stdErr = process.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
        exitCode = process.ExitCode;

        process.Close();

    }
    catch
    {
        throw;
    }
}

The following code creates the command string that follows PowerShell.exe.

-File option specifies the PowerShell script file path.

Loop through args using foreach to create a command string that specifies the arguments.

    string cmdStr = "";
    cmdStr = $"-File {ps1FilePath} ";
    foreach(var item in args)
    {
        cmdStr = cmdStr + $"-{item.argName} {item.argValue}";
    }

Create a process object and specify the command string.

    System.Diagnostics.Process process = new System.Diagnostics.Process();
    ProcessStartInfo processStartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("powershell.exe", cmdStr);

Specifies to hide the window, etc.

Start the process and get standard output, standard error, and exit code.

    processStartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
    processStartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;

    processStartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
    processStartInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;

    process = System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(processStartInfo);
    process.WaitForExit();

    stdOut = process.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
    stdErr = process.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
    exitCode = process.ExitCode;

    process.Close();

PowerShellArgs Class

Use the following class for the argument passed to the PowerShell script.
In the function explained above, considering that multiple specifications are specified, it is passed as a list type.

    /// <summary>
    /// PowerShell Scirpt Arguments Class
    /// </summary>
    public class PowerShellArgs
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Argument Name
        /// </summary>
        /// <value></value>
        public string argName {get; set;}

        /// <summary>
        /// Argument Value
        /// </summary>
        /// <value></value>
        public string argValue {get; set;}
    }

How to run

For example, suppose you run a PowerShell script like this:

Param($OpenFileName)

code $OpenFileName

This scirpt opens the file specified by OpenFileNamearguments with Visual Studio Code.

The code to call the ExecPSProcess function is below.

string ps1FilePath = @"D:\OpenFileWithCode.ps1";
PowerShellArgs args = new PowerShellArgs();
args.argName = "OpenFileName";
args.argValue = @"D:\docs.md";

List<PowerShellArgs> argsList  = new List<PowerShellArgs>();
argsList.Add(args);

string stdout = "";
string stderr = "";
int exitCode = 0;

ExecPSProcess(ps1FilePath, argsList, out stdout, out stderr, out exitCode);

Console.WriteLine(exitCode);
Console.WriteLine(stdout);
Console.WriteLine(stderr);

Specify the PowerShell script file path to execute and define the arguments.

Arguments are stored in a list type PowerShellArgs object.

string ps1FilePath = @"D:\OpenFileWithCode.ps1";
PowerShellArgs args = new PowerShellArgs();
args.argName = "OpenFileName";
args.argValue = @"D:\docs.md";

List<PowerShellArgs> argsList  = new List<PowerShellArgs>();
argsList.Add(args);

Define a variable to get the standard output, standard error, and exit code.

Finally, call ExecPSProcess.

string stdout = "";
string stderr = "";
int exitCode = 0;

ExecPSProcess(ps1FilePath, argsList, out stdout, out stderr, out exitCode);

Console.WriteLine(exitCode);
Console.WriteLine(stdout);
Console.WriteLine(stderr);