PowerShell Start-Process (With Examples)

Start-Process starts a program or script as a separate process. Add -Wait to pause your script until it finishes, -ArgumentList to pass arguments and -PassThru to get a process object back, including the exit code:

$process = Start-Process -FilePath cmd.exe -ArgumentList '/c', 'exit 3' -Wait -PassThru -NoNewWindow
"Exit code: $($process.ExitCode)"

Output:

Exit code: 3

In this guide, I’ll cover the parameters you’ll use most, the argument-quoting trap, output redirection, running as administrator, and every way to make PowerShell wait for a command to finish.

I tested the examples in PowerShell 7.6 and Windows PowerShell 5.1, using console commands like cmd and ping so the results are easy to reproduce.

Start a program with Start-Process

At its simplest, give it a file path. PowerShell starts the program and immediately moves on:

Start-Process -FilePath notepad.exe
Start-Process -FilePath 'C:\Reports\Q3-sales.xlsx'    # opens with the default app

Passing a document instead of an .exe opens it in whatever app is registered for that file type, just like double-clicking it.

Parameter	What it does
-FilePath	The program, script or document to start
-ArgumentList	Arguments for the program, as one string or an array
-Wait	Waits until the process (and its child processes) exit
-PassThru	Returns a process object, for example to read ExitCode
-NoNewWindow	Runs a console program in the current window
-WindowStyle	Normal, Hidden, Minimized or Maximized
-WorkingDirectory	The folder the process starts in
-Verb RunAs	Starts the process elevated (as administrator)
-Credential	Starts the process as another user

Pass arguments with -ArgumentList

You can pass one string or an array. PowerShell joins the array with spaces into a single command line. That’s why a path with a space breaks:

Start-Process cmd.exe -ArgumentList '/c', 'type', 'C:\psfaqs\my notes.txt' -Wait -NoNewWindow

Output:

The system cannot find the file specified.
Error occurred while processing: C:\psfaqs\my.
The system cannot find the file specified.
Error occurred while processing: notes.txt.

cmd received C:\psfaqs\my and notes.txt as two separate files. Wrap the value in double quotes inside single quotes to keep it together:

Start-Process cmd.exe -ArgumentList '/c', 'type', '"C:\psfaqs\my notes.txt"' -Wait -NoNewWindow

Output:

Hello from a file with spaces

This is the single most common Start-Process bug I see. It behaves the same in PowerShell 7 and 5.1.

Capture the output of a process

Start-Process doesn’t return the program’s output. Send it to a file with -RedirectStandardOutput (and -RedirectStandardError for errors), then read the file:

Start-Process -FilePath cmd.exe -ArgumentList '/c', 'ver' -Wait -NoNewWindow `
    -RedirectStandardOutput C:\psfaqs\ver.txt

(Get-Content C:\psfaqs\ver.txt | Where-Object { $_ }).Trim()

Output:

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26200.9278]

If you only need the output, the call operator shown later is simpler, because it streams output straight into PowerShell.

How do I wait for a command to finish in PowerShell?

There are four options, depending on how the command was started.

1. Start-Process -Wait

Add -Wait when you start the process, as in the first example. PowerShell blocks until the process exits.

2. Wait-Process for a process that’s already running

Use -PassThru to keep the process object, do other work, and then wait for it:

$start = Get-Date
$ping  = Start-Process ping.exe -ArgumentList '-n', '3', '127.0.0.1' -PassThru -WindowStyle Hidden

"Still running: $(-not $ping.HasExited)"
Wait-Process -Id $ping.Id
"Finished after {0:N0} seconds" -f ((Get-Date) - $start).TotalSeconds

Output:

Still running: True
Finished after 2 seconds

Add -Timeout so a hung process can’t block your script forever:

$ping = Start-Process ping.exe -ArgumentList '-n', '30', '127.0.0.1' -PassThru -WindowStyle Hidden

try {
    Wait-Process -Id $ping.Id -Timeout 2 -ErrorAction Stop
}
catch {
    "Gave up waiting: $($_.Exception.Message)"
    Stop-Process -Id $ping.Id
}

Output:

Gave up waiting: This command stopped operation because process "PING (57568)" is not stopped in the specified time-out.

3. The call operator waits for console programs

When you run a console program directly (or with &), PowerShell waits for it and streams its output. $LASTEXITCODE holds the exit code:

cmd /c "echo Backing up files && exit 5"
"Exit code: $LASTEXITCODE"

Output:

Backing up files
Exit code: 5

4. Wait-Job for background jobs

For PowerShell code running in a background job, use Wait-Job and then collect the result with Receive-Job:

$job = Start-Job -ScriptBlock {
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
    "Report finished at $((Get-Date '2026-09-28 06:30').ToString('h:mm tt'))"
}

"Job state: $($job.State)"
Wait-Job -Job $job | Out-Null
Receive-Job -Job $job
Remove-Job -Job $job

Output:

Job state: Running
Report finished at 6:30 AM

Avoid Start-Sleep as a “wait”. A fixed delay is either too short on a slow day or wastes time on a fast one.

Run a process as administrator

-Verb RunAs starts the process elevated. Windows shows a UAC prompt unless your session is already elevated:

Start-Process -FilePath pwsh.exe -Verb RunAs -ArgumentList '-NoProfile', '-File', '"C:\Scripts\Update Servers.ps1"'

I didn’t run this one on my test PC, because it triggers a UAC prompt. Note that -Verb can’t be combined with -NoNewWindow or -Credential.

Run a process as a different user

Pass a credential object to start the process as another account:

$credential = Get-Credential 'CONTOSO\svc_reports'
Start-Process -FilePath pwsh.exe -Credential $credential -ArgumentList '-File', 'C:\Scripts\report.ps1'

See how to create a credential object in PowerShell and how to run PowerShell as a different user for more.

Microsoft lists every parameter in the Start-Process documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

You might also like:

• Kill a process by name in PowerShell
• Check if a process is running in PowerShell
• PowerShell Get-Process
• Run a PowerShell script with parameters