Allow powershell console to show in NodeJS - node.js

Question

I've got a NodeJS (Electron) client which is running the following code:
child = spawn("powershell.exe",['-ExecutionPolicy', 'ByPass', '-File', require("path").resolve(__dirname, '../../../../updater.ps1')]);
child.on("exit",function(){
require('electron').remote.getCurrentWindow().close();
});
The file that this opens is a powershell file which downloads and unpacks an update. If I run this file manually, I get the powershell console which shows me a progress bar for the download and the unpacking. However, running it from code like above does not show the console.
How can I make my code show the powershell console during it's runtime? I'm having a hard time formulating search terms to find an answer to this.
Things I've tried:
Adding '-NoExit' to my 2nd parameter array
Adding { windowsHide: false } parameter
Adding '-WindowStyle', 'Maximized' to 2nd parameter array
I've also tried switching to exec.
exec('powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ' + updater_path, function callback(error, stdout, stderr){
console.log(error);
});
Which runs the file but still doesn't show the console.
An answer will preferably allow me to run powershell files un-attached to the NodeJS client, and will also show the powershell console while running.
Here is my current code:
updater = spawn("powershell.exe",['-ExecutionPolicy', 'ByPass', '-File', remote.app.getAppPath() + '\\app\\files\\scripts\\' + data.type + '_updater.ps1'], { detached: true, stdio: 'ignore' });
updater.unref();
Which actually does nothing, it doesn't even seem like it runs the script at all.
I've tried the same thing using a batch file, it's never opened.
updater = spawn("cmd",[remote.app.getAppPath() + '\\app\\files\\scripts\\launch_updater.bat'], { detached: true, stdio: ['ignore', 'ignore', 'ignore'] });
updater.unref();

Answer 1

The shell:true and detached:true where enough to open PowerShell.
I've made this simple demo for a detached PowerShell window:
root:
index.js ( aka your main js file )
powerShell.js ( the detached powershell window)
showTime.ps1 ( aka your file )
In powerShell.js will find that i separated the arguments that keep the PS Window open under the defaultPowerShellArguments variable.
Advice: I see alot of powershell at the spawn command parameter, i cannot stress this enough, add the .exe extension too when running under Windows, correct ispowershell.exe. If you happen to use just powershell and nodepad will all of a sudden pop-up echoing your script, you will have a hard time trying to figure it out.
index.js
const powerShell = require('./powerShell');
let seconds = 5;
let remaining = seconds;
let nd = new Date().getTime() + (seconds * 1000);
setInterval(() => {
remaining -= 1
let time = new Date();
console.log('Your code running at:', time.toTimeString());
if (remaining === 3) {
console.log('Opening powershell...')
powerShell([
"-File",
"./showTime.ps1"
]);
}
if (time.getTime() > nd) {
console.log('Main script will exit.');
process.exit(0);
}
}, 1000);
powerShell.js
module.exports = (spawnArguments) => {
if (typeof spawnArguments === "undefined" || !(spawnArguments instanceof Array)) {
spawnArguments = [];
}
const {spawn} = require('child_process');
let defaultPowerShellArguments = ["-ExecutionPolicy", "Bypass", "-NoExit",];
let powershell = spawn('powershell.exe', [...defaultPowerShellArguments, ...spawnArguments], {
shell: true,
detached: true,
// You can tell PowerShell to open straight to the file directory
// Then you can use the relative path of your file.
// cwd: 'ABSOLUTE_PATH_TO_A_VALID_FOLDER'
// cwd: 'C:/'
});
}
showTime.ps1
Get-Date -Format G

Answer 2

I suspect you'll need to pass the shell option to tell node which shell to execute the command on. This defaults to process.env.ComSpec on Windows, which if for whatever reason isn't set will then default to cmd.exe.
Reference: https://nodejs.org/api/child_process.html#child_process_default_windows_shell:
Although Microsoft specifies %COMSPEC% must contain the path to 'cmd.exe' in the root environment, child processes are not always subject to the same requirement. Thus, in child_process functions where a shell can be spawned, 'cmd.exe' is used as a fallback if process.env.ComSpec is unavailable.
PowerShell shell support has been made available via this commit.
Since the exec command is working, I'd suggest starting there and trying to get the window to show. Try passing shell: 'PowerShell' in the options object. windowsHide defaults to false for child_process.exec, but it might not hurt to pass it as well:
exec('powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ' + updater_path, { shell: 'PowerShell', windowsHide: false }, function callback(error, stdout, stderr){
console.log(error);
});
You may also be able to get it working with spawn with similar options: { shell: 'PowerShell', windowsHide: false }

Answer 3

I eventually worked around this by using exec to call a batch file, and this batch file runs the powershell file.
//call buffer .bat file, close main window after 3 seconds to make sure it runs before closing.
exec('start ' + remote.app.getAppPath() + '\\app\\files\\scripts\\launch_updater.bat ' + data.type);
setTimeout(function() {
require('electron').remote.getCurrentWindow().close();
}, 3000);
launch_updater.bat:
#ECHO OFF
set arg1=%~1
start powershell.exe -executionpolicy bypass -File "%~dp0/%arg1%_updater.ps1"
for /f "skip=3 tokens=2 delims= " %%a in ('tasklist /fi "imagename eq cmd.exe"') do (
if "%%a" neq "%current_pid%" (
TASKKILL /PID %%a /f >nul 2>nul
)
)
exit /b
The loop in the batch file is essentially just so it will close itself without leaving a command window open. I pass an argument based on what kind of update it is.