Start-Process
Reference
Module: [Link]
Starts one or more processes on the local computer.
Syntax
PowerShell
Start-Process
[-FilePath] <String>
[[-ArgumentList] <String[]>]
[-Credential <PSCredential>]
[-WorkingDirectory <String>]
[-LoadUserProfile]
[-NoNewWindow]
[-PassThru]
[-RedirectStandardError <String>]
[-RedirectStandardInput <String>]
[-RedirectStandardOutput <String>]
[-WindowStyle <ProcessWindowStyle>]
[-Wait]
[-UseNewEnvironment]
[-WhatIf]
[-Confirm]
[<CommonParameters>]
PowerShell
Start-Process
[-FilePath] <String>
[[-ArgumentList] <String[]>]
[-WorkingDirectory <String>]
[-PassThru]
[-Verb <String>]
[-WindowStyle <ProcessWindowStyle>]
[-Wait]
[-WhatIf]
[-Confirm]
[<CommonParameters>]
Description
The Start-Process cmdlet starts one or more processes on the local computer. By default, Start-
Process creates a new process that inherits all the environment variables that are defined in the
current process.
To specify the program that runs in the process, enter an executable file or script file, or a file that
can be opened using a program on the computer. If you specify a non-executable file, Start-
Process starts the program that's associated with the file, similar to the Invoke-Item cmdlet.
You can use the parameters of Start-Process to specify options, such as loading a user profile,
starting the process in a new window, or using alternate credentials.
Examples
Example 1: Start a process that uses default values
This example starts a process that uses the [Link] file in the current folder. The command uses
all the default values, including the default window style, working folder, and credentials.
PowerShell
Start-Process -FilePath "[Link]"
Example 2: Print a text file
This example starts a process that prints the C:\PS-Test\[Link] file.
PowerShell
Start-Process -FilePath "[Link]" -WorkingDirectory "C:\PS-Test" -Verb Print
Example 3: Start a process to sort items to a new file
This example starts a process that sorts items in the [Link] file and returns the sorted items
in the [Link] files. Any errors are written to the [Link] file. The UseNewEnvironment
parameter specifies that the process runs with its own environment variables.
PowerShell
$processOptions = @{
FilePath = "[Link]"
RedirectStandardInput = "[Link]"
RedirectStandardOutput = "[Link]"
RedirectStandardError = "[Link]"
UseNewEnvironment = $true
}
Start-Process @processOptions
This example uses splatting to pass parameters to the cmdlet. For more information, see
about_Splatting.
Example 4: Start a process in a maximized window
This example starts the [Link] process. It maximizes the window and retains the window
until the process completes.
PowerShell
Start-Process -FilePath "notepad" -Wait -WindowStyle Maximized
Example 5: Start PowerShell as an administrator
This example starts PowerShell using the Run as administrator option.
PowerShell
Start-Process -FilePath "powershell" -Verb RunAs
Example 6: Using different verbs to start a process
This example shows how to find the verbs that can be used when starting a process. The available
verbs are determined by the filename extension of the file that runs in the process.
PowerShell
$startExe = New-Object [Link] -Args [Link]
$[Link]
open
runas
runasuser
The example uses New-Object to create a [Link] object for
[Link] , the file that runs in the PowerShell process. The Verbs property of the
ProcessStartInfo object shows that you can use the Open and RunAs verbs with [Link] ,
or with any process that runs a .exe file.
Example 7: Specifying arguments to the process
Both commands start the Windows command interpreter, issuing a dir command on the Program
Files folder. Because this foldername contains a space, the value needs surrounded with escaped
quotes. Note that the first command specifies a string as ArgumentList. The second command is a
string array.
PowerShell
Start-Process -FilePath "$env:comspec" -ArgumentList "/c dir `"%SystemDrive%\Program
Files`""
Start-Process -FilePath "$env:comspec" -ArgumentList
"/c","dir","`"%SystemDrive%\Program Files`""
Example 8: Run a command as an Administrator using
alternate credentials
On Windows, you can run Start-Process -Verb RunAs to start a process with elevated permissions.
This elevates the current user's context. The Credential parameter allows you to specify an
alternate username and password, allowing you to start a process in a different user content.
However, the Credential and Verb parameters can't be used together.
To start a process with elevated rights, using alternate credentials, you must first start PowerShell
using the alternate credentials, then use Start-Process to start the process with elevated rights.
PowerShell
$cred = Get-Credential
$args = '-noprofile -command "Start-Process [Link] -Verb RunAs -args /k"'
Start-Process [Link] -Credential $cred -WindowStyle Hidden -ArgumentList $args
The example starts [Link] with elevated permissions from a PowerShell session that is running
under alternate credentials.
Example 9: Create a detached process on Linux
On Windows, Start-Process creates an independent process that remains running independently
of the launching shell. On non-Windows platforms, the newly started process is attached to the
shell that launched. If the launching shell is closed, the child process is terminated.
To avoid terminating the child process on Unix-like platforms, you can combine Start-Process
with nohup . The following example launches a background instance of PowerShell on Linux that
stays alive even after you close the launching session. The nohup command collects output in file
[Link] in the current directory.
PowerShell
# Runs for 2 minutes and appends output to ./[Link]
Start-Process nohup 'pwsh -noprofile -c "1..120 | % { Write-Host . -NoNewline; sleep
1 }"'
In this example, Start-Process is running the Linux nohup command, which launches pwsh as a
detached process. For more information, see the nohup article on Wikipedia.
Parameters
-ArgumentList
Specifies parameters or parameter values to use when this cmdlet starts the process.
Arguments can be accepted as a single string with the arguments separated by spaces, or as an
array of strings separated by commas. The cmdlet joins the array into a single string with each
element of the array separated by a single space.
The outer quotes of the PowerShell strings aren't included when the ArgumentList values are
passed to the new process. If parameters or parameter values contain a space or quotes, they
need to be surrounded with escaped double quotes. For more information, see
about_Quoting_Rules.
For the best results, use a single ArgumentList value containing all the arguments and any
needed quote characters.
Type: String[]
Aliases: Args
Position: 1
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Confirm
Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.
Type: SwitchParameter
Aliases: cf
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Credential
Specifies a user account that has permission to perform this action. By default, the cmdlet uses
the credentials of the current user.
Type a user name, such as User01 or Domain01\User01, or enter a PSCredential object
generated by the Get-Credential cmdlet. If you type a user name, you're prompted to enter
the password.
Credentials are stored in a PSCredential object and the password is stored as a SecureString.
７ Note
For more information about SecureString data protection, see How secure is
SecureString?.
Type: PSCredential
Aliases: RunAs
Position: Named
Default value: Current user
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-FilePath
Specifies the optional path and filename of the program that runs in the process. Enter the
name of an executable file or of a document, such as a .txt or .doc file, that's associated with
a program on the computer. This parameter is required.
If you specify only a filename that does not correspond to a system command, use the
WorkingDirectory parameter to specify the path.
Type: String
Aliases: PSPath, Path
Position: 0
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-LoadUserProfile
Indicates that this cmdlet loads the Windows user profile stored in the HKEY_USERS registry key
for the current user. The parameter doesn't apply to non-Windows systems.
This parameter doesn't affect the PowerShell profiles. For more information, see about_Profiles.
Type: SwitchParameter
Aliases: Lup
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-NoNewWindow
Start the new process in the current console window. By default on Windows, PowerShell opens
a new window. On non-Windows systems, you never get a new window.
You can't use the NoNewWindow and WindowStyle parameters in the same command.
The parameter doesn't apply to non-Windows systems.
Type: SwitchParameter
Aliases: nnw
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-PassThru
Returns a process object for each process that the cmdlet started. By default, this cmdlet
doesn't generate any output.
Type: SwitchParameter
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-RedirectStandardError
Specifies a file. This cmdlet sends any errors generated by the process to a file that you specify.
Enter the path and filename. By default, the errors are displayed in the console.
Type: String
Aliases: RSE
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-RedirectStandardInput
Specifies a file. This cmdlet reads input from the specified file. Enter the path and filename of
the input file. By default, the process gets its input from the keyboard.
Type: String
Aliases: RSI
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-RedirectStandardOutput
Specifies a file. This cmdlet sends the output generated by the process to a file that you specify.
Enter the path and filename. By default, the output is displayed in the console.
Type: String
Aliases: RSO
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-UseNewEnvironment
Indicates that this cmdlet uses new environment variables specified for the process. By default,
the started process runs with the environment variables inherited from the parent process.
On Windows, when you use UseNewEnvironment, the new process starts only containing the
default environment variables defined for the Machine scope. This has the side effect that the
$env:USERNAME is set to SYSTEM. None of the variables from the User scope are included.
Type: SwitchParameter
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Verb
Specifies a verb to use when this cmdlet starts the process. The verbs that are available are
determined by the filename extension of the file that runs in the process.
The following table shows the verbs for some common process file types.
File type Verbs
.cmd Edit , Open , Print , RunAs , RunAsUser
.exe Open , RunAs , RunAsUser
.txt Open , Print , PrintTo
.wav Open , Play
To find the verbs that can be used with the file that runs in a process, use the New-Object
cmdlet to create a [Link] object for the file. The available verbs
are in the Verbs property of the ProcessStartInfo object. For details, see the examples.
The parameter doesn't apply to non-Windows systems.
Type: String
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Wait
Indicates that this cmdlet waits for the specified process and its descendants to complete
before accepting more input. This parameter suppresses the command prompt or retains the
window until the processes finish.
Type: SwitchParameter
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-WhatIf
Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.
This parameter was introduced in PowerShell 6.0.
Type: SwitchParameter
Aliases: wi
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-WindowStyle
Specifies the state of the window that's used for the new process. The default value is Normal .
The acceptable values for this parameter are:
Normal
Hidden
Minimized
Maximized
You can't use the WindowStyle and NoNewWindow parameters in the same command.
The parameter doesn't apply to non-Windows systems. When using on non-Windows systems,
you never get a new window.
Type: ProcessWindowStyle
Accepted values: Normal, Hidden, Minimized, Maximized
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-WorkingDirectory
Specifies the location that the new process should start in.
When not specified, the cmdlet defaults to the fully-qualified location specified in the FilePath
parameter. If the value of the FilePath parameter is not fully-qualified, it defaults to the current
working directory of the calling process.
Wildcards aren't supported. The path must not contain characters that would be interpreted as
wildcards.
Type: String
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
Inputs
None
You can't pipe objects to this cmdlet.
Outputs
None
By default, this cmdlet returns no output.
Process
When you use the PassThru parameter, this cmdlet returns a Process object.
Notes
PowerShell includes the following aliases for Start-Process :
All platforms
saps
Windows
start
Native commands are executable files installed in the operating system. These executables can be
run from any command-line shell, like PowerShell. Usually you run the command exactly as you
would in bash or [Link] . The Start-Process cmdlet can be used to run any native commands,
but should only be used when you need to control how the command is executed.
Start-Process is useful for running GUI programs on non-Windows platforms. For example, run
Start-Proces gedit to launch the graphical text editor common the GNOME Desktop
environments.
By default, Start-Process launches a process asynchronously. Control is instantly returned to
PowerShell even if the new process is still running.
On the local system, the launched process lives on independent from the calling process.
On a remote system, the new process is terminated when the remote session ends,
immediately following the Start-Process command. Therefore, you can't use Start-Process
in a remote session expecting the launched process to outlive the session.
If you do need to use Start-Process in a remote session, invoke it with the Wait parameter. Or
you could use other methods to create a new process on the remote system.
When using the Wait parameter, Start-Process waits for the process tree (the process and all its
descendants) to exit before returning control. This is different than the behavior of the Wait-
Process cmdlet, which only waits for the specified processes to exit.
On Windows, the most common use case for Start-Process is to use the Wait parameter to block
progress until the new process exits. On non-Windows system, this is rarely needed since the
default behavior for command-line applications is equivalent to Start-Process -Wait .
This cmdlet is implemented using the Start method of the [Link] class. For
more information about this method, see [Link] Method.
Related Links
about_Quoting_Rules
Debug-Process
Get-Process
Start-Service
Stop-Process
Wait-Process
