Why are my PowerShell exit codes always "0"?

Question

I've got a PowerShell script as follows

##teamcity[progressMessage 'Beginning build'] # If the build computer is not running the appropriate version of .NET, then the build will not run. Throw an error immediately. if( (ls "$env:windir\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0*") -eq $null ) {     throw "This project requires .NET 4.0 to compile. Unfortunately .NET 4.0 doesn't appear to be installed on this machine."     ##teamcity[buildStatus status='FAILURE' ] }  ##teamcity[progressMessage 'Setting up variables'] # Set up variables for the build script $invocation = (Get-Variable MyInvocation).Value $directorypath = Split-Path $invocation.MyCommand.Path $v4_net_version = (ls "$env:windir\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0*").Name $nl = [Environment]::NewLine  Copy-Item -LiteralPath "$directorypath\packages\NUnit.2.6.2\lib\nunit.framework.dll" "$directorypath\Pandell.Tests\bin\debug" -Force  ##teamcity[progressMessage 'Using msbuild.exe to build the project'] # Build the project using msbuild.exe. # Note we've already determined that .NET is already installed on this computer. cmd /c C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\$v4_net_version\msbuild.exe "$directorypath\Pandell.sln" /p:Configuration=Release cmd /c C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\$v4_net_version\msbuild.exe "$directorypath\Pandell.sln" /p:Configuration=Debug  # Break if the build throws an error. if(! $?) {     throw "Fatal error, project build failed"     ##teamcity[buildStatus status='FAILURE' ] }  ##teamcity[progressMessage 'Build Passed'] # Good, the build passed Write-Host "$nl project build passed."  -ForegroundColor Green   ##teamcity[progressMessage 'running tests'] # Run the tests. cmd /c $directorypath\build_tools\nunit\nunit-console.exe $directorypath\Pandell.Tests\bin\debug\Pandell.Tests.dll  # Break if the tests throw an error. if(! $?) {     throw "Test run failed."     ##teamcity[buildStatus status='FAILURE' ] }  ##teamcity[progressMessage 'Tests passed'] 

From what I'm lead to believe, an uncaught Throw will result in an exit code of 1, but unfortunately TeamCity is saying otherwise.

[19:32:20]Test run failed. [19:32:20]At C:\BuildAgent\work\e903de7564e599c8\build.ps1:44 char:2 [19:32:20]+     throw "Test run failed." [19:32:20]+     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [19:32:20]    + CategoryInfo          : OperationStopped: (Test run failed.:String) [], [19:32:20]   RuntimeException [19:32:20]    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Test run failed. [19:32:20] [19:32:20]Process exited with code 0 [19:32:20]Publishing internal artifacts [19:32:20][Publishing internal artifacts] Sending build.finish.properties.gz file [19:32:20]Build finished 

It might also be important to note that my Execution Mode is set to Execute .ps1 script with "-File" argument.

I tried changing it to Put script into PowerShell stdin with "-Command -" arguments, but then it failed with an exit code of 1 even with passing tests. I'm sure that running it as -File is going to be the right way.

If I open up the script located at C:\BuildAgent\work\e903de7564e599c8\build.ps1 and run it manually in CMD, it does the same thing... I.e., the failing tests fail, and the %errorlevel% is still 0.

Yet, if I run it in PowerShell and call $LASTEXITCODE, it returns the right code every time.

Answer 1

This is a known issue with PowerShell. Executing a script with -file returns an exit code of 0 when it shouldn't.

(Update: The links below no longer work. Please look for, or report, this problem on PowerShell: Hot (1454 ideas) – Windows Server)

• https://connect.microsoft.com/PowerShell/feedback/details/777375/powershell-exe-does-not-set-an-exit-code-when-file-is-used

• https://connect.microsoft.com/PowerShell/feedback/details/750653/powershell-exe-doesn-t-return-correct-exit-codes-when-using-the-file-option

Since using -command wasn't working for you, you could try adding a trap at the top of the script:

trap {     write-output $_     ##teamcity[buildStatus status='FAILURE' ]     exit 1 } 

The above should result in a proper exit code when an exception is thrown.

Answer 2

I was having this exact issue while running with the -file, but for some reason the trap syntax or the 'exit' syntax provided by Kevin wasn't working in my scenario.

I am not sure why, but just in case somebody else hits the same problem, I used the below syntax and it worked for me:

try{     #DO SOMETHING HERE } catch {     Write-Error $_     ##teamcity[buildStatus status='FAILURE']     [System.Environment]::Exit(1) }