Understanding PowerShell’s Get-ExecutionPolicy Cmdlet

Welcome back to Wahmans PowerShell Blog! In today’s post, we are diving into one of the essential cmdlets for understanding and managing PowerShell security settings: Get-ExecutionPolicy. Whether you’re a seasoned scripter or just starting with PowerShell, knowing your execution policy is critical to seamlessly running and developing scripts.

What Does Get-ExecutionPolicy Do?

According to Microsoft, the Get-ExecutionPolicy cmdlet “gets the execution policies for the current session.” In simpler terms, it tells you what level of script execution is allowed in your current PowerShell environment.

The execution policy helps prevent running malicious scripts by restricting what types of scripts can be run. The available policies include:

• Restricted – No scripts can run.
• AllSigned – Only scripts signed by a trusted publisher can run.
• RemoteSigned – Scripts downloaded from the internet must be signed.
• Unrestricted – All scripts can run; warnings are shown when running scripts from the internet.
• Bypass – Nothing is blocked and there are no warnings.
• Undefined – No execution policy is set in the current scope.

Getting Started with Examples

Let’s walk through four examples of using Get-ExecutionPolicy, from beginner-friendly to more advanced usage.

Example 1: Basic Usage

Get-ExecutionPolicy

This simple command returns the effective execution policy for your current PowerShell session. Ideal for quickly checking if you’re allowed to run scripts or not.

Example 2: Check Policy by Scope

Get-ExecutionPolicy -List

This returns the execution policy set at each possible scope, such as Process, CurrentUser, and LocalMachine. It’s helpful when policies are being overridden at a user level or for a specific session.

Example 3: Compare Policies Across Machines in a Script

$computers = @("PC1", "PC2", "PC3")
foreach ($computer in $computers) {
    Invoke-Command -ComputerName $computer -ScriptBlock {
        "Policy on $env:COMPUTERNAME is: $((Get-ExecutionPolicy))"
    }
}

In this example, we’re using Invoke-Command to check the execution policy on remote machines. A great technique for system administrators managing multiple endpoints.

Example 4: Log Execution Policy for Audit

$policy = Get-ExecutionPolicy -List
$date = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss"
$logPath = "C:\Logs\ExecutionPolicy_$date.txt"
$policy | Out-File -FilePath $logPath
Write-Output "Execution Policy saved to $logPath"

This script captures the execution policies for all scopes and writes them to a timestamped log file. Useful for auditing and compliance tasks.

Wrap Up

As you’ve seen, Get-ExecutionPolicy is a simple yet important tool for managing PowerShell’s security model. Understanding and using it effectively can help ensure your scripts run smoothly and securely across your environment.

Happy scripting, and I will see you in the next post!