Pass Boolean Parameters to a PowerShell Script From a Command Prompt

A PowerShell script is a collection of commands saved into a text file with the .ps1 extension. PowerShell executes those commands in sequence to perform different actions. You can define parameters in PowerShell using the param statement.

Here is an example of a simple PowerShell script, myscript.ps1, which takes the value as input from the user.

param($a,$b)
if($a -lt $b){
Write-Host "$a is less than $b"
}
else{
Write-Host "$a is not less than $b"
}

You can use the command below to pass values and run the above script from a command prompt.

powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command .\myscript.ps1 -a 4 -b 5

Output:

4 is less than 5

As you can see, we were able to pass values to a PowerShell script from a command prompt. We will teach you to pass Boolean values to a PowerShell script from a command prompt. A Boolean value can be either TRUE or FALSE.

Use Boolean Parameter to Pass Boolean Values to a PowerShell Script From a Command Prompt

You can set the data type of your parameter to [bool] to pass Boolean values to a PowerShell script from a command prompt.

param([int]$a, [bool]$b)
switch($b){
$true {"It is true."}    
$false {"It is false."}
}

Boolean parameters accept only Boolean values and numbers, such as $True, $False, 1 or 0.

powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command .\myscript.ps1 -a 1 -b $True

Output:

It is true.

Try False value:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command .\myscript.ps1 -a 5 -b 0

Output:

It is false.

Use the switch Parameter to Pass Boolean Values to a PowerShell Script From a Command Prompt

A switch parameter in PowerShell does not take a value. But, it is Boolean in nature and conveys a Boolean true or false value through its presence or absence. So, when a switch parameter is present, it has an actual value. And when a switch parameter is absent, it has a false value. Switch parameters are easy to use and are preferred over Boolean parameters, which have a less natural PowerShell syntax.

param ([int] $a, [switch] $b)
switch($b){
$true {"The value is $b."}    
$false {"The value is $b."}
}

When the switch parameter is present:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command .\myscript2.ps1 -a 5 -b 1

Output:

The value is True.

When the switch parameter is absent:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command .\myscript2.ps1 -a 5 

Output:

The value is False.