batch multiline powershell command

Question

I am trying to parse appsettings.json file to extract the connection string using a batch script.

I am spreading the command on multiple lines as it is quite long and hard to maintain:

set ps_GetConnectionString=(Get-Content 'appsettings.json' -Raw)^
 | ForEach-Object { $_ -replace '(?ms)/\*.*?\*/' -replace '[\s\t]+//.*' }^
 | ConvertFrom-Json^ 
 | Select -expand ConnectionStrings | Select default^ 
 | ConvertTo-Csv -Delimiter ~

When I run this, I get an error: 'ForEach-Object' is not recognized as an internal or external command.

How do we properly break this command into multiple lines, store in a variable in order to make the powershell -command call much shorter?

The above script/code, I assume, is in a `.bat` file? Could you not dump the PowerShell portion into a `ps1` / script file and execute that way? What's the reasoning behind a separate `.bat` calling PowerShell script commands? — gravity, Aug 27 '19 at 20:00
[This might help](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2608144/how-to-split-long-commands-over-multiple-lines-in-powershell) — techguy1029, Aug 27 '19 at 20:03
@gravity I have one .bat file with multiple calls to `powershell -command` in order to perform certain tasks that are not very easy to do with batch only. I am trying to avoid writing everything in powershell due to security restrictions — herme 0, Aug 27 '19 at 20:04
@techguy1029 that is for powershell I think, not for batch. I strill tried it and it did not work as it was complaining about the back quote. — herme 0, Aug 27 '19 at 20:06
@herme0 - If security restrictions are a concern, then your method of doing this (calling via -command and sending the script manually) is even *more of a security risk* as all someone would need to do is edit the `.bat` file and they could do anything. — gravity, Aug 27 '19 at 20:13
The way you want to build the ps-script in bat variables can't work. To have the `^` batch line continuation symbol work, it has to be outside of double quoted strings, which you OTOH ***need** to escape PowerShell pipe symbols and content not destined for batch => that exactly does the batch error message mean. — , Aug 27 '19 at 20:22
Why are people still trying to wrap PowerShell in batch files? Stop it. — Ansgar Wiechers, Aug 28 '19 at 07:48

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 28 '19 at 12:56

@LotPings hinted to the solution which was to escape everything that batch can trip on.

So I end up with the following:

set ps_GetConnectionString=(Get-Content 'appsettings.json' -Raw)^
 ^| ForEach-Object { $_ -replace '(?ms)/\*.*?\*/' -replace '[\s\t]+//.*' }^
 ^| ConvertFrom-Json^ 
 ^| Select -expand ConnectionStrings ^| Select default^ 
 ^| ConvertTo-Csv -Delimiter ~

In some situations, I also had to escape the parenthesis (especially inside a block)

set ps_GetConnectionString=^(Get-Content 'appsettings.json' -Raw^)^
 ^| ForEach-Object { $_ -replace '(?ms)/\*.*?\*/' -replace '[\s\t]+//.*' }^
 ^| ConvertFrom-Json^ 
 ^| Select -expand ConnectionStrings ^| Select default^ 
 ^| ConvertTo-Csv -Delimiter ~

batch multiline powershell command

1 Answers1