powershell missing closing ')' because of bracket in username

Question

How can i possibly fix this?

Kind Regards.

Answer 1

You're calling powershell.exe from PowerShell:

• First, the question is why you're calling another instance of PowerShell in order to execute a script file (*.ps1). You could just invoke it directly, which is not only simpler, but faster, due to running in-process ( a ( in the user name reflected in $env:USERPROFILE is then not a problem):

  & $env:USERPROFILE\Git\Scripte\PowerShell\Wallpaper_Slideshow.ps1
  

• If you do need another instance - such as if you're calling from PowerShell (Core) 7+, but your script only works in Windows PowerShell - use a script block ({ ... }), which not only avoids your problem, but also preserves rich data-type support for both input and output (within the constraints of the XML-based cross-process serialization that happens behind the scenes).

  powershell { & $env:USERPROFILE\Git\Scripte\PowerShell\Wallpaper_Slideshow.ps1 }
  

  • Note that this technique works from PowerShell only. For outside calls, a string-based invocation, such as the one you tried, is necessary.

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As for what you tried:

powershell "& $env:USERPROFILE\Git\Scripte\PowerShell\Wallpaper_Slideshow.ps1"

• If you specify neither -File nor -Command with powershell.exe, -Command is implied (note that for pwsh.exe, the PowerShell (Core) 7+ CLI, it is now -File).

• What follows -Command, after removal of (unescaped) " during command-line parsing, is then interpreted as PowerShell code.

• Because you're calling from PowerShell and are using an expandable (double-quoted) string ("..."), the reference to environment variable $env:USERPROFILE is expanded before the child process sees the resulting command-line string, which is the source of your problem:

  • PowerShell ends up executing something like & C:\User\user(a\..., which - due to the unescaped ( - causes a syntax error.

  • Therefore, there are two solutions (though the script-block technique shown above is still preferable:

    • Either: Use '...' rather than "..." around the (implied) -Command argument.

       powershell '& $env:USERPROFILE\Git\Scripte\PowerShell\Wallpaper_Slideshow.ps1'
      

    • Or: Escape the $ in $env:USERPROFILE as `$ to prevent premature expansion (this is helpful if you need selective up-front expansion):

       # Note the ` (backtick) before $
       powershell "& `$env:USERPROFILE\Git\Scripte\PowerShell\Wallpaper_Slideshow.ps1"
      

An alternative, as iRon points out, is to use the -File parameter:

powershell -File $env:USERPROFILE\Git\Scripte\PowerShell\Wallpaper_Slideshow.ps1

• What is passed to -File - both the script file path itself and any subsequent pass-through arguments, are not subject to another round of interpretation as PowerShell code, so the ( in the environment-variable value doesn't cause a problem.

• For detailed guidance on when to use -File vs. -Command, see this answer.