Powershell script to install multiple applications using an array and scriptblock

It looks like you're trying to create a nested hashtable (@{ ... }), but your syntax is flawed - see the linked docs.

However:

• It should suffice in your case to create an array of hashtables to iterate over with foreach

• There's no need to use a separate script block ({ ... }) - just use the body of the foreach loop statement.

  • As an aside: While using Invoke-Command for local invocation of script blocks works, it usually isn't necessary, because &, the call operator, will do (e.g. $sb = { 'hi' }; & $sb). Invoke-Command's primary purpose is to execute a script block on a remote machine.

• Generally, you can use variables as-is as command arguments, without enclosing them in "..." - even if their values contain spaces. E.g., Write-Output $foo is sufficient, no need for Write-Output "$foo"

To put it all together:

# Create an array whose elements are hashtables.
$appArray = (
  @{
    App         = ($thisApp = 'Firefox')
    App_source  = 'https://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-latest&os=win64&lang=en-US'
    Destination = "c:\Deploy\$thisApp.exe"
    Argument    = '/S'
  },
  @{
    App         = ($thisApp = 'Chrome')
    App_source  = 'https://dl.google.com/tag/s/defaultbrowser/edgedl/chrome/install/GoogleChromeStandaloneEnterprise64.msi'
    Destination = "c:\Deploy\$thisApp.exe"
    Argument    = '/norestart /qn'
  }
)

foreach ($app in $appArray) {
  # Note how $app.<key> is used to refer to the entries of the hashtable at hand,
  # e.g. $app.App yields "Firefox" for the first hashtable.
  $installed = Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object { $_.DisplayName -Match $app.App }
  $installed.displayname
  if ($installed.displayname -Match $app.App) {
    Write-Host "$($app.App) already installed."
  }
  else {
    if ((Test-Path $app.Destination) -eq $false) {
      New-Item -ItemType File -Path $app.Destination -Force
    }
    #install software
    Invoke-WebRequest $app.App_source -OutFile $app.Destination
    Start-Process -FilePath $app.Destination -ArgumentList $app.Argument -Wait
    #Delete installer
    Remove-Item -Recurse $app.Destination
  }
}

Note:

• I've removed unnecessary ; and I've switched to using verbatim (single-quoted) strings ('...') when no string interpolation via expandable (double-quoted) strings ("...") is required, both for conceptual clarity and to avoid potentially unwanted expansions.

• Note the use of aux. variable $thisApp in the App key, which allows referencing it in the later Destination key, in an expandable string ("c:\Deploy\$thisApp.exe").

  • GitHub suggestion #13782 looks for a more elegant way to allow hashtable entries to reference one another.