Powershell check what environment variables have changed

Question

Is there a way to get a copy of all of the current environment variables in powershell? What I want to do is get a copy of $env at a particular point in time, run a batch script that does a bunch of set commands, and then look at $env again and check what has changed. I would then determine which environment variables had been newly set, changed or unset, and then run the appropriate setx commands (or [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable($NAME, $value, 'User')), to make the things that have changed in-process to persistent user changes.

I've tried calling .clone() on $env, but that didn't work. Any ideas on how to get a copy of $env or general ideas about how to accomplish what I describe above? Suggestions for a powershell newbie would be appreciated.

Use the items in the env: drive?

Etan Reisner
– Etan Reisner

2015-09-04 20:55:48 +00:00
Commented Sep 4, 2015 at 20:55 — Etan Reisner
– Etan Reisner, Commented Sep 4, 2015 at 20:55
How do you make a copy of env:?

JoshAdel
– JoshAdel

2015-09-04 20:56:42 +00:00
Commented Sep 4, 2015 at 20:56 — JoshAdel
– JoshAdel, Commented Sep 4, 2015 at 20:56

Bill_Stewart · Accepted Answer · 2015-09-04 21:12:23Z

2

Just retrieve the Env: drive into a variable.

$envVars = Get-ChildItem Env:

I wrote some functions that might be of use to you as well, in this article:

Windows IT Pro: Take Charge of Environment Variables in PowerShell

I presented some functions in the article: Get-Environment (same as Get-ChildItem Env:, but included for completeness), Restore-Environment (restores a saved copy of the environment), and Invoke-CmdScript (runs a cmd.exe shell script [batch file] that adds environment variables and makes them available in PowerShell).

answered Sep 4, 2015 at 21:12

Bill_Stewart

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Etan Reisner · Accepted Answer · 2015-09-04 21:03:54Z

1

There may be a more appropriate way to do it but this should work.

$a = @{}
Get-ChildItem env: | % { $a[$_.Name] = $_.Value }

answered Sep 4, 2015 at 21:03

Etan Reisner

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