PowerShell is a powerful scripting language and shell environment for managing Windows systems. With PowerShell, you can automate tasks, configure systems, and execute programs.

One common task is running executable (.exe) files from within PowerShell. However, when passing parameters to exe files, things can get tricky with spaces and quotes.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll explain multiple methods for running exe files with parameters containing spaces and quotes in PowerShell.

Why Run exe Files From PowerShell?

Here are some key reasons you may need to execute exe files from PowerShell:

  • Automation: You can script launching programs and passing runtime parameters. This is useful for automated tasks.

  • Flexibility: PowerShell offers more flexibility for working with exe files compared to double-clicking them. You have fine-grained control over parameters.

  • Portability: You can launch exe files on remote systems by invoking PowerShell sessions. This enables executing programs on multiple machines.

Overall, PowerShell gives you more control and customization for working with executable files.

Challenges With Parameters

The main challenge with running exe files from PowerShell is properly escaping parameters, especially those containing:

  • Spaces: Parameters with spaces need to be surrounded by quotes. Failing to do so causes errors or incorrect program execution.

  • Quotes: Quotes within parameters also need proper escaping to avoid issues.

  • Special characters: Characters like $ and {} have special meaning and need escaping.

Handling these parameter quirks takes some finesse. But PowerShell offers a few straightforward techniques.

In the next sections, I‘ll demo different methods with plenty of concrete examples.

Method 1: Start-Process

The Start-Process cmdlet launches an executable file. It‘s one of the simplest ways to run exe files from PowerShell.

Here is the basic syntax:

Start-Process -FilePath <ExeFile> -ArgumentList <Params>

The key parameters:

  • -FilePath: Path to the exe file
  • -ArgumentList: Parameters to pass

Let‘s look at some examples for running exe files with spaces and quotes.

Escape Spaces in Parameters

If a parameter contains spaces, you need to surround it with quotes.

For example, to launch Notepad and open a file path with spaces:

Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Windows\notepad.exe" -ArgumentList "C:\Test Files\New Text File.txt"

The file path parameter is enclosed in "" quotes since it contains a space.

Escape Quotes in Parameters

If a parameter itself needs to contain quotes, escape them by using repeating quotes """":

Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Program Files\App\program.exe" -ArgumentList """C:\Filepath with"" Quotes"""

This passes the parameter "C:\Filepath with" Quotes" to the exe file.

Escape Other Special Characters

Characters like {} and $ also need escaping in parameters:

Start-Process -FilePath "tester.exe" -ArgumentList "`{Test`}` $Variable"

Here { and } are escaped using backticks so they are passed literally to the exe.

Pass Multiple Parameters

To pass several parameters, include them all in the quotes:

Start-Process -FilePath "app.exe" -ArgumentList "-param1 Value1 -param2 `"Value 2`""

This passes -param1 Value1 and -param2 "Value 2" to the exe file.

Demonstration

Let‘s see a full demonstration of launching an exe using Start-Process with a parameter having spaces and quotes:

Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Utils\terminal.exe" -ArgumentList "-execute `"C:\Test Folder\script.bat`" -path `"C:\Documents\Folder`" "

This executes terminal.exe, calling it with parameters:

  • -execute "C:\Test Folder\script.bat": Runs the script.bat batch file
  • -path "C:\Documents\Folder": Passes a folder path containing spaces

When you run this in PowerShell, terminal.exe starts up and executes according to the parameters.

As you can see, Start-Process allows properly escaping spaces, quotes, and special characters in exe parameters.

Method 2: Call Operator (&)

The call operator & is another way to launch executable files in PowerShell. The syntax is: 

& "C:\Filepath\program.exe" -params

Let‘s look at some examples for running exe files using the call operator.

Escape Spaces in Parameters

To escape space in parameters, use quotes around the value:

& "C:\Files\app.exe" -file "C:\Folder\Example File.txt"

This passes a file path with a space properly.

Escape Quotes in Parameters

Use repeating quotes to escape quotes: 

& "C:\Program Files (x86)\tool.exe" -name """John"" Smith"

Now the parameter value "John" Smith is passed to the exe file.

Escape Other Special Characters

Use the backtick to escape other special characters like braces: 

& "tester.exe" -input "`{1, 2, 3`}"

This passes the parameter {1, 2, 3} to the exe file.

Pass Multiple Parameters

List all the parameters with proper escaping:

& "app.exe" -param1 "Value 1" -param2 "`"Something`" Value2"

This passes two parameters -param1 and -param2 with escaped spaces and quotes.

Demonstration

Let‘s see a complete example running an exe file using the call operator:

& "C:\Utils\runner.exe" -script "`"C:\Program Files\scripts.bat`"" -input "C:\docs\file.txt"

We launch runner.exe, calling it with two parameters:

  • -script ""C:\Program Files\scripts.bat"": Runs the scripts.bat file
  • -input "C:\docs\file.txt": Provides an input file path

Just like with Start-Process, this properly handles escaping spaces and quotes in the exe parameters.

Method 3: cmd.exe

You can also use cmd.exe to execute exe files from PowerShell. The syntax is:

cmd /c <ExeFile> <Params>

Some key points on cmd.exe:

  • Runs programs and batch files in a new cmd.exe instance
  • Can directly pass exe files and parameters
  • No need to escape characters

Let‘s look at some examples.

Escape Spaces in Parameters

With cmd.exe, spaces in parameters can be easily passed: 

cmd /c C:\Files\tool.exe -file "C:\Folder\New Text File.txt"

The space in the file path parameter doesn‘t need any special escaping.

Escape Quotes in Parameters

You can directly use quotes in parameters:

cmd /c "C:\Program Files\runner.exe" -arg """Value"""

Here "Value" is passed as a parameter.

Other Special Characters

Other special characters can also be directly passed:

cmd /c tester.exe -input {1,2,3}

This provides {1,2,3} as the -input parameter value.

Multiple Parameters

Passing multiple parameters works naturally: 

cmd /c app.exe -param1 "One Value" -param2 ‘Second Value‘

This directly passes two parameters along with their values.

Demonstration

Let‘s look at running an exe file with cmd.exe:

cmd /c "C:\Utils\automate.exe" -files "C:\documents\test files" -runnow

We execute automate.exe and pass parameters:

  • -files "C:\documents\test files": Folder path with spaces
  • -runnow: Parameter without any value

The key thing here is no escaping is necessary inside cmd.exe. This can be easier compared to the other methods.

Summary of Techniques

Here is a quick recap of the various methods for running exe files with parameters from PowerShell:

Method Escaping Required? Key Syntax
Start-Process Yes -FilePath, -ArgumentList
Call Operator Yes & "app.exe"
cmd.exe No cmd /c app.exe

As you can see, cmd.exe avoids most escaping headaches. But Start-Process and Call Operator also work well once you understand the escaping rules.

PowerShell Script for Running exe Files

Once you grasp the concepts, consider wrapping exe execution in a PowerShell function.

This way you can reuse and call it easily whenever needed.

Here is an example script:

Function Execute-Exe 
{
  Param(  
    [String]$FilePath,
    [String]$Arguments  
  )

  $psi = New-Object System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo
  $psi.FileName = $FilePath  
  $psi.Arguments = $Arguments

  [System.Diagnostics.Process]::Start($psi)   
}

# Run a program with parameters: 

Execute-Exe -FilePath "C:\Program Files\App\tool.exe" -Arguments "-inputfile `"C:\testing files\file.txt`""

The key parts:

  • Execute-Exe function accepts filepath and arguments
  • Starts process using .NET framework
  • Automatically escapes
  • Call it by passing exe filepath and parameters

This approach avoids a lot of duplicate code for running executables.

Handling Errors

Sometimes executing exe files causes errors. Here are some tips for troubleshooting:

Check parameter escaping – Ensure spaces, quotes, and special characters are properly escaped. An escaping mistake often leads to errors.

View error output – Use -RedirectStandardError on Start-Process or pipe errors to Out-String to capture error messages for diagnosis.

Use try/catch – Wrap exe execution in try/catch blocks to catch terminating errors. Then you can handle them programmatically.

Use debugger – Attach the PowerShell debugger using Set-PSDebug for interacting exe executions. This helps debugging parameter issues.

With these techniques, you can smoothly troubleshoot any process execution errors.

Conclusion

In closing, running exe files from PowerShell with command line parameters requires escaping spaces, quotes and special characters.

The key methods include:

  • Start-Process using -FilePath and -ArgumentList
  • Call operator &
  • cmd.exe avoiding most escaping

Each approach has its nuances but follows a similar set of rules. Once you learn them, it becomes easy to launch and control exe files seamlessly through PowerShell scripts.

So next time you need to execute an EXE, leverage PowerShell‘s automation capabilities. With the help of examples I covered, you‘ll be able to seamlessly pass parameters and handle any tricky escaping scenarios.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

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