PowerShell Commands

Get-ExecutionPolicy

Get-ExecutionPolicy [[-Scope] {Process | CurrentUser | LocalMachine | UserPolicy | MachinePolicy}] [-List][<CommonParameters>]

The Get-ExecutionPolicy cmdlet gets the execution policies for the current session.

The execution policy is determined by execution policies that you set by using Set-ExecutionPolicy and the Group Policy settings for the Windows PowerShell execution policy. The default value is Restricted.

Without parameters, Get-ExecutionPolicy gets the execution policy that is effective in the session. You can use the List parameter to get all execution policies that affect the session or the Scope parameter to get the execution policy for a particular scope.

For more information, see about_Execution_Policies (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135170).

Parameters

-List [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Gets all execution policy values for the session listed in precedence order. By default, Get-ExecutionPolicy gets only the effective execution policy.

-Scope <ExecutionPolicyScope>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Gets the execution policy in the specified scope. By default, Get-ExecutionPolicy gets the effective execution policy for the current session. The acceptable values for this parameter are:

- MachinePolicy. The execution policy set by a Group Policy for all users of the computer. - UserPolicy. The execution policy set by a Group Policy for the current user of the computer. - Process. The execution policy that is set for the current Windows PowerShell process. - CurrentUser. The execution policy that is set for the current user. - LocalMachine. The execution policy that is set for all users of the computer.

<CommonParameters>

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug,ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, WarningVariable,OutBuffer, PipelineVariable, and OutVariable.

Inputs
None
You cannot pipe input to this cmdlet.
Outputs
Microsoft.PowerShell.ExecutionPolicy
Examples
  1. Get the current execution policy:
    PS C:\> Get-ExecutionPolicy
    Restricted
    

    This command gets the current execution policy for the computer.

  2. Set the execution policy:
    PS C:\> Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
    PS C:\> Get-ExecutionPolicy
    RemoteSigned
    

    These commands set a new user preference for the execution policy and then display the effective execution policy. In this example, because there is no Group Policy setting, the user preference is the effective policy for the computer.

  3. Get all execution policies for the current session:
    PS C:\> Get-ExecutionPolicy -List
    
       Scope          ExecutionPolicy
       -----          ---------------
       MachinePolicy  Undefined
       UserPolicy     Undefined
       Process        Undefined
       CurrentUser    AllSigned
       LocalMachine   RemoteSigned PS C:\>Get-ExecutionPolicy
       AllSigned

    These commands get all execution policies in the current session and the effective execution policy.

    The first command gets all execution policies that affect the current session. The policies are listed in precedence order.

    The second command gets only the effective execution policy, which is the one set in the CurrentUser scope.

  4. Prevent a unsigned script from running:
    1. The second command shows what happens when you run a blocked script in a Windows PowerShell session in which the execution policy is RemoteSigned:
      PS C:\> Get-ExecutionPolicy
      RemoteSigned
      
      PS C:\> .\Start-ActivityTracker.ps1
      .\Start-ActivityTracker.ps1 : File .\Start-ActivityTracker.ps1 cannot be loaded. The file .\Start-ActivityTracker.ps1 is not digitally signed. The script will not execute on the system. For more information, see about_Execution_Policies at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135170. At line:1 char:1
      + .\Start-ActivityTracker.ps1
      + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (:) [], PSSecurityException
      + FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnauthorizedAccess
      

      The RemoteSigned policy prevents you from running scripts that are downloaded from the Internet unless they are digitally signed.

    2. The third command uses the Unblock-File cmdlet to unblock the script so it can run in the session.Before running an **Unblock-File** command, read the script contents and verify that it is safe:
      PS C:\> Unblock-File -Path "Start-ActivityTracker.ps1"
      
    3. This command shows the effect of the Unblock-File command:
      PS C:\> Get-ExecutionPolicy
      RemoteSigned
      PS C:\> Start-ActivityTracker.ps1
      Task 1:
      

      The command does not change the execution policy. However, it unblocks the script so that it runs in Windows PowerShell.This example shows the effect of the RemoteSigned execution policy, which prevents you from running unsigned scripts that are downloaded from the Internet. It also shows how to use the Unblock-File cmdlet to unblock scripts, so that you can run them without changing the execution policy.

      The first command uses the Get-ExecutionPolicy cmdlet to get the effective execution policy in the current session.

Additional Notes
 * The execution policy is part of the security strategy of Windows PowerShell. It determines whether you can 
 load configuration files (including your Windows PowerShell profile) and run scripts, and it determines which 
 scripts, if any, must be digitally signed before they will run.

 The effective execution policy is determined by the policies that you set by using the Set-ExecutionPolicy 
 cmdlet and the "Turn on Script Execution" group policies for computers and users. The precedence order is 
 Computer Group Policy > User Group Policy > Process (session) execution policy > User execution policy > 
 Computer execution policy.

 For more information about Windows PowerShell execution policy, including definitions of the Windows 
 PowerShell policies, see about_Execution_Policies (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135170).

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. It is attributed to Microsoft Corporation and can be found here.

PowerShell Commands