Error while starting a powershell job using scriptblock and argumentlist

Question

I need to execute powershell file, test.ps1, from test1.ps1. I am using start-job feature of powershell. In my test1.ps1, I have

$pathToFile = (Join-Path -Path $PSSCriptRoot -ChildPath "test.ps1")
$ar = $a, $b # all these variables have values assigned 
Start-Job -Name job2 -ScriptBlock{& $pathToFile -fName $args[0] -lName $args[1]} -ArgumentList $ar

In my test.ps1, I have fName and lName as parameters like:

param([string]fName, [string]lName]

I keep getting the following error:

The expression after '&' in a pipeline element produced an object that was not valid. It must result in a command name, a script block, or a CommandInfo object.

The problem is here Start-Job -Name job2 -ScriptBlock{& $pathToFile -fName $args[0] -lName $args[1]} -ArgumentList $ar

But I don't seem to find the solution to resolve this issue.And Yes, I verified that $pathToFile contains exact path to test.ps1 => C:\foo\test.ps1 Thanks for any help or suggestion.

mklement0 · Accepted Answer · 2016-10-27 02:04:37Z

4

After a few hours of research, I finally made it work.

The solution is to use $using:pathToFile.

So, instead of using

Start-Job -Name job2 -ScriptBlock{& $pathToFile -fName $args[0] -lName $args[1]} -ArgumentList $ar

the solution is to use this:

Start-Job -Name job2 -ScriptBlock{& $using:pathToFile -fName $args[0] -lName $args[1]} -ArgumentList $ar

I hope this will help other folks.

edited Oct 27, 2016 at 2:04

mklement0

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answered Oct 27, 2016 at 1:45

twisted_coder

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Comments

crisc2000 · Accepted Answer · 2021-09-05 16:39:27Z

0

it should also work like this:

$pathToFile = (Join-Path -Path $PSSCriptRoot -ChildPath "test.ps1")
$ar = $a, $b, $pathToFile  # all these variables have values assigned 
Start-Job -Name job2 -ScriptBlock{& $args[2] -fName $args[0] -lName $args[1]} -ArgumentList $ar

so you must pass the absolute path into the arguments variable

answered Sep 5, 2021 at 16:39

crisc2000

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here_for_python · Accepted Answer · 2016-10-27 01:35:48Z

-1

Have you tried the invoke-expression cmdlet? This is what I usually use.

Invoke-Expression [-Command] [ ]

answered Oct 27, 2016 at 1:35

here_for_python

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1 Comment

mklement0 Over a year ago

This has little to do with the OP's question, which boils down to a local variable not being defined when run in the context of a job.

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