Get ExecutionPolicy - PowerShell

Overview

The Get-ExecutionPolicy command in PowerShell retrieves the current execution policy for the local machine or a specified scope. Execution policies control the behavior of PowerShell when running scripts.

Syntax

Get-ExecutionPolicy [-Scope {Local | Process | CurrentUser | MachinePolicy}] [-List]

Options/Flags

  • -Scope: Specifies the scope of the execution policy to retrieve. Options include:
    • Local: Current user’s local scope
    • Process: Current process scope
    • CurrentUser: Current user’s global scope
    • MachinePolicy: Machine-wide scope (requires elevated privileges)
  • -List: Lists all available execution policy values.

Examples

Example 1: Get execution policy for the current user’s local scope

Get-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Local

Example 2: List available execution policy values

Get-ExecutionPolicy -List

Common Issues

Issue: The Get-ExecutionPolicy command returns an error when trying to retrieve the machine-wide execution policy without elevated privileges.

Resolution: Run PowerShell as an administrator to elevate privileges and allow access to the machine-wide execution policy.

Integration

The Get-ExecutionPolicy command can be combined with other PowerShell commands to manage execution policies. For example, you can use it to:

  • Set the execution policy using Set-ExecutionPolicy
  • Check if a script can be executed based on the execution policy using Test-ExecutionPolicy
  • Set-ExecutionPolicy
  • Test-ExecutionPolicy