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Open and run .exe files with PowerShell for Windows
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If you need to launch an executable file from PowerShell, you have several options. If you're in the same directory as the EXE file, type .\ before its filename (e.g., .\notepad.exe ) and press Enter. You can run the EXE from a different directory using the PowerShell call operator (&), the Start-Process cmdlet, or the Invoke-Expression cmdlet. Each PowerShell run option is easy and can be used at the command line and in your PowerShell scripts.
Things You Should Know
- Use .\filename.exe to run an EXE from the current directory in PowerShell.
- To run an EXE from another directory, you can use & "C:\Windows\notepad.exe"
- To use the Start-Process cmdlet to run the program, type Start-Process -FilePath "filename.exe"
Steps
Section 1 of 4:
Using .\ (Dot Slash)
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Use cd to enter the directory that contains the EXE file. For example, if you want to run notepad.exe from PowerShell , type cd "C:\Windows\" and press Enter .
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Enter the command to run the EXE file. To run an EXE file from the current directory in PowerShell, you'll need to preface the filename with .\ . For example, to run notepad.exe, type .\notepad.exe and press Enter .
- Typing the .\ before the filename tells PowerShell you want to run the EXE file from the current directory.
- If you want to run the EXE file from a different directory, use the call operator (&) .
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Use Get-ChildItem to locate EXE filenames (if needed). If you get an error that says, "The term (EXE file name) is not recognized as a name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or executable program," you're either entering the wrong file name or in the wrong directory. Get-ChildItem shows you all files and permissions in the current directory.
- To show only EXE files, use Get-ChildItem *.exe . [1] X Research source
- You can also use Get-ChildItem to list files in other directories. For example, to show all executable files in C:\Program Files\Ableton\Live 11 Lite\Program, you'd use "C:\Program Files\Ableton\Live 11 Lite\Program\*.exe" .
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References
- ↑ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/get-childitem?view=powershell-7.3
- ↑ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_operators?view=powershell-7.3
- ↑ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/start-process?view=powershell-7.3
- ↑ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.utility/invoke-expression?view=powershell-7.3
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