PowerShell in Task Manager Shows Window

Question

I am trying to make Task Schedule Task so it is completely invisible that a PowerShell script is running so I created a Task on my Win10 machine configured as follows:

Program/Script:

powershell.exe

Add arguments (optional):

-WindowStyle Hidden -command "& {Out-File 'C:\temp\somefile.txt'}" -NonInteractive -NoLogo -NoProfile

When I run this task the powershell command windows pops up for a split second which I don't want.

Answer 1

You can get around this with an 'Application Host' type wrapper. This is a known issue with powershell as a console-based host.

The most convenient way to do this I've found, is to use WScript.exe and run a VBS script that will invoke the process "invisibly", with no console or task bar flicker.

VBS Code:

On Error Resume Next

ReDim args(WScript.Arguments.Count-1)

For i = 0 To WScript.Arguments.Count-1
    If InStr(WScript.Arguments(i), " ") > 0 Then
        args(i) = Chr(34) & WScript.Arguments(i) & Chr(34)
    Else
        args(i) = WScript.Arguments(i)
        End If

Next

CreateObject("WScript.Shell").Run Join(args, " "), 0, False

Save the above code in a file with extension '.vbs', and place it somewhere it can be run by the client running the task. This may be in a protected fileshare on the network (if you expect the script it invokes to only run while connected to the network), or locally on the client.

Now when you invoke your console-based script (PowerShell, BAT, CScript, etc.), you invoke this VBS script with WScript explicitly WScript.exe. It also pays to throw on the 'Batch Mode' parameter //B which will suppress script errors & prompts - such as if the wrapper file itself can't be found.

At this point, all you need to do is pass powershell & the command you want powershell to run to this launch sequence:

 WScript.exe //B "\\Path\To\Launcher.VBS" powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -file "\\Powershell\Script\To\Run"