💡 Today I Learned

Where is the current script running from?

Subtitle: what is the location of the caller?

Scenario:

We have a script, HelloWorld.ps1 located in C:\Scripts\

We run this script, from the location C:\CurrentPath\ like so:

C:\CurrentPath\> C:\Scripts\HelloWorld.ps1

We want the script to output:

The script is located in C:\Scripts

The script's full name and path is C:\Scripts\HelloWorld.ps1

You are running it from C:\CurrentPath

How do we do it?

In PowerShell 3.0 and above we write:

write-host "The script is located in $PSScriptRoot"
# e.g. C:\Scripts

write-host "The script's full name and path is $PSCommandPath"
# e.g. C:\Scripts\HelloWorld.ps1

write-host "You are running it from $((Resolve-Path .\).Path)"
# e.g. C:\CurrentPath

In older version we wrote:

write-host "The script is located in $(Split-Path -Path $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Definition -Parent)"
# e.g. C:\Scripts

write-host "The script's full name and path is $($MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path)"
# e.g. C:\Scripts\HelloWorld.ps1

write-host "You are running it from $((Resolve-Path .\).Path)"
# e.g. C:\CurrentPath

Caveat!

One caveat with these scripts... they are unlike most powershell scripts because they only work properly when they are inside a script.

They don't behave the same if you just paste them into the commandline.

Bonus questions

Question: What if one script is invoked from another? How do you inspect/query that chain?

A caller, tx-14327, asks:

What if one script is invoked from another?

How do you inspect/query that chain?

Good question. I don't know the answer yet. Do you?

(I think the -Scope in this old code might've been put there for that reason...)

$scriptpath = (split-path (Get-Variable MyInvocation -Scope Script).Value.MyCommand.Path)

See also