Get-Execution Policy

Syntax

Get-ExecutionPolicy
   [[-Scope] <ExecutionPolicyScope>]
   [-List]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

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 ).

Examples

Example 1: Get the current execution policy

PS C:\> Get-ExecutionPolicy

Restricted

This command gets the current execution policy for the computer.

Example 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.

Example 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.

Example 4: Prevent a unsigned script from running

PS C:\> Get-ExecutionPolicy

RemoteSigned



The second command shows what happens when you run a blocked script in a Windows PowerShell session in which the execution policy is RemoteSigned. The RemoteSigned policy prevents you from running scripts that are downloaded from the Internet unless they are digitally signed.

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 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"



This command shows the effect of the Unblock-File command. The command does not change the execution policy. However, it unblocks the script so that it runs in Windows PowerShell.

PS C:\> Get-ExecutionPolicy

RemoteSigned

PS C:\> Start-ActivityTracker.ps1

Task 1:

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.

Optional Parameters

Inputs

None

You cannot pipe input to this cmdlet.

Outputs

Microsoft.PowerShell.ExecutionPolicy

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 ).

Related Links

• Get-AuthenticodeSignature
• Set-AuthenticodeSignature
• Set-ExecutionPolicy