Visual Studio can't execute a Powershell script due to execution policy

Question

I'm trying to run a basic powershell script in a c# application, but I can't seem to get it to run. I've tried this code with and without the added execution policy code in the pipeline creation and have gotten the same results.

static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        Runspace runspace = RunspaceFactory.CreateRunspace();
        runspace.Open();

        Pipeline pipeline = runspace.CreatePipeline("Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned");


        pipeline.Commands.Add(@"C:\Users\Bob\Desktop\testScript.ps1");

        // Execute PowerShell script
        var results = pipeline.Invoke();
    }

The error I receive is this:

System.Management.Automation.PSSecurityException: 'File C:\Users\Bob\Desktop\testScript.ps1 cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system. For more information, see about_Execution_Policies at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135170.'

When I run "get-executionpolicy -list", my execution policy seems to be fine.

Answer 1

• Normally, the persistently configured script execution policy applies to PowerShell SDK-based projects such as yours, too.

• While your Get-ExecutionPolicy -List output implies that RemoteSigned is the effective policy (as reported when you omit -List), the color of your screenshots suggest that you were asking for Windows PowerShell's policy, which is separate from the execution policy for the cross-platform, install-on demand PowerShell (Core) v6+ edition.

• Therefore, your inability to execute a local script - which RemoteSigned should allow - can have one of two causes:

  • If you project is based on the SDK for PowerShell (Core) v6+ (via the Microsoft.PowerShell.SDK NuGet package), you'd have to consult - and possibly modify - its effective execution policy (run pwsh -c Get-ExecutionPolicy to see the policy in effect)

    • If you don't actually have PowerShell (Core) 6+ itself installed (i.e if you're only using its SDK), use the solution in the bottom section - which may be preferable anyway.

  • As Mathias points out in a comment, another possible reason is that your local script may have been downloaded from the web, via a web browser, in which case it is considered a remote file for the purpose of the execution policy. Passing its file path to Unblock-File as a one-time action should fix the problem.

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Taking a step back:

If you trust the local script to invoke, you can bypass the execution policy for your application only, by configuring your PowerShell SDK session accordingly - see this answer.