Powershell subshell

Powershell Subshell

A subshell in Powershell is a separate instance of the shell that allows you to execute commands or scripts without affecting the parent shell. It is similar to running a new Powershell session within an existing one, providing a way to encapsulate and control execution environments.

To create a subshell in Powershell, you can use the `Start-Process` cmdlet with the `-PassThru` parameter. This parameter allows the new process to share the same console window and continue the execution in the same shell.

Here’s an example that demonstrates the usage of subshell:

$subshell = Start-Process -PassThru powershell.exe
$subshell.WaitForExit()

In the above example, we use the `Start-Process` cmdlet to launch a new instance of Powershell and assign it to the `$subshell` variable. The `-PassThru` parameter ensures that the new process shares the same console window. We then use the `$subshell.WaitForExit()` method to wait for the subshell to exit before continuing execution in the parent shell.

Once you have a subshell, you can execute any Powershell commands or scripts within that context without affecting the parent shell. This can be useful when you want to isolate the execution environment or run lengthy operations in the background.

For example, you can execute a script in a subshell:

$subshell = Start-Process -PassThru powershell.exe -ArgumentList '-File C:\path\to\script.ps1'
$subshell.WaitForExit()

In the above example, we launch a subshell and execute a script by passing the script’s path as an argument using the `-ArgumentList` parameter.