Is there a dynamic variable for passed arguments in powershell?

Question

In batch, passed arguments can be used with %1, and onward counting. Lets say I have the following "batch.bat" script:

@ echo off
echo %1
pause>nul

If i call this from cmd like: call batch.bat hello it would output "hello" in the console.

Is there any variable in ps which does the same thing?

EDIT

I've found the folliwing, but it seems kind of unnatural.

$CommandLine = "-File `"" + $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path + "`" " + $MyInvocation.UnboundArguments
Start-Process -FilePath PowerShell.exe -Verb Runas -ArgumentList $CommandLine
Exit
}

Is there something more elegant perhaps?

Thanks a lot. I tried this already but now i looked up $args and found this — Omglolyes
– Omglolyes, Commented Nov 15, 2019 at 15:48

Ansgar Wiechers · Accepted Answer · 2019-11-15 16:04:18Z

3

PowerShell has an automatic variable $args that stores all arguments passed to a script (unless parameters were defined for the script). The individual arguments can be accessed by index ($args[0] for the first argument, $args[1] for the second, etc.).

However, in general it's advisable to define parameters to control what arguments a script should accept, e.g.

[CmdletBinding()]
Param(
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [string]$First,

    [Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
    [integer]$Second = 42
)

There are numerous advantages to this, including (but not limited to):

arguments are parsed automatically and the values are stored in the respective variables
scripts automatically prompt for mandatory parameters
scripts throw an error if incorrect arguments are passed
you can define default values for optional parameters
you can have your script or function accept pipeline input
you can validate parameter values
you can use comment-based help for documenting the parameters and their usage

edited Nov 15, 2019 at 16:04

answered Nov 15, 2019 at 15:52

Ansgar Wiechers

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2 Comments

mklement0 Over a year ago

Some additional info: in simple functions / scripts (those without [CmdletBinding()] and/or [Parameter()] attributes) $args is still defined and contains positional arguments not bound to declared parameters, if any; advanced functions / scripts fundamentally only permit passing arguments that bind to declared parameters.

mklement0 Over a year ago

Another tip: To pass all positional arguments received through to another command, use @args.

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