Understanding Disable-PSBreakpoint in PowerShell

Welcome back to Wahmans PowerShell Blog! Today, we’re diving into a handy cmdlet: Disable-PSBreakpoint. This command plays a crucial role when you’re working with breakpoints in your scripts or debugging sessions by allowing you to temporarily disable one or more breakpoints in your current console session.

What does Disable-PSBreakpoint do?

According to Microsoft Docs, Disable-PSBreakpoint disables the breakpoints in the current PowerShell console. This is particularly useful when you want to pause (but not delete) a breakpoint during debugging.

Once disabled, breakpoints will remain in memory but won’t trigger until re-enabled using Enable-PSBreakpoint.

Syntax

Disable-PSBreakpoint [-Breakpoint] <Breakpoint[]> [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] []

Examples: From Beginner to Advanced

Example 1: Disabling a single breakpoint (Beginner)

Assume you’ve set a breakpoint in a script at a certain line and want to disable it temporarily.

# Set a breakpoint
$bp = Set-PSBreakpoint -Script "C:\Scripts\MyScript.ps1" -Line 10

# Disable it
Disable-PSBreakpoint -Breakpoint $bp

This command disables the breakpoint at line 10.

Example 2: Disabling all breakpoints (Intermediate)

# Retrieve all breakpoints
$bps = Get-PSBreakpoint

# Disable all of them
Disable-PSBreakpoint -Breakpoint $bps

This is useful when you’ve set multiple breakpoints across various scripts or lines and want to disable them all at once.

Example 3: Disable specific breakpoint by ID (Advanced)

# Get a list of breakpoints
Get-PSBreakpoint 

# Suppose a breakpoint has ID 0
$bp = Get-PSBreakpoint -Id 0
Disable-PSBreakpoint -Breakpoint $bp

Here you’re targeting a specific breakpoint by ID, which is great when you know exactly which breakpoint you want to disable.

Example 4: Disable breakpoints based on conditions (Advanced)

In a debugging session with complex scripts, you might want to disable only breakpoints within a specific script.

# Get breakpoints from a specific script
$bps = Get-PSBreakpoint | Where-Object { $_.Script -eq "C:\Scripts\ModuleFunctions.ps1" }

# Disable them
Disable-PSBreakpoint -Breakpoint $bps

This example shows how to filter and disable breakpoints programmatically using PowerShell’s powerful object filtering capabilities.

Wrapping Up

Disable-PSBreakpoint is not just a switch to turn off breakpoints — it’s a helpful debugging tool that allows you to manage your breakpoints dynamically without losing their context. You can easily re-enable them later when needed, keeping your debugging flow smooth and efficient.

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