Is it possible to check if -Verbose argument was given in Powershell?

Question

I have written my own Powershell logging function Log with parameters stream (on which stream to write the message) and message (the message to write).

The idea is that i can write the outputs both to the console and to a log-file. What I do in the function is basically determine on which stream to publish the message (with a switch statement) and then write the message to the stream and the log-file:

switch ($stream) {
    Verbose {
        Write-Output "$logDate [VERBOSE] $message" | Out-File -FilePath $sgLogFileName -Append
        Write-Verbose $message
        break
    }
}

The question is now, is it possible to check if the -Verbose argument was given?

The goal is to write the message to the log-file only if the -Verbose was given.

I looked already in the following help docs but didn't find anything helpful:
- help about_Parameters
- help about_commonparameters

Also, the -WhatIf parameter does not work with Write-Verbose.

Thanks a lot for your answers!

CB. · Accepted Answer · 2014-06-27 08:13:09Z

44

Inside your script check this:

$PSCmdlet.MyInvocation.BoundParameters["Verbose"].IsPresent

answered Jun 27, 2014 at 8:13

CB.

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7 Comments

SturmUndDrang Over a year ago

This gives a "Cannot index into a null array" error.

Josh Gust Over a year ago

@SturmUndDrang make sure you're passing the -Verbose switch to your script and that the script you're calling implements the cmdletbinding attribute at the top of the file. [CmdletBinding()] param ()

Andacious Over a year ago

This does correctly take into account the case where -Verbose:$false is used. Testing with a simple function shows that IsPresent will be set to False in that case.

duct_tape_coder Over a year ago

I'm getting "The property 'IsPresent" cannot be found on this object. Verify the property exists".

openCivilisation Over a year ago

This doesn't work for me in v5.1. I get the same as @duct_tape_coder . $verbose = $PSCmdlet.MyInvocation.BoundParameters["Verbose"].IsPresent

|

d3r3kk · Accepted Answer · 2014-08-25 17:32:11Z

33

Also available: Check the parameter '$VerbosePreference'. If it is set to 'SilentlyContinue' then $Verbose was not given at the command line. If it is set to '$Continue' then you can assume it was set.

Also applies to the following other common parameters:

Name                           Value
----                           -----
DebugPreference                SilentlyContinue
VerbosePreference              SilentlyContinue
ProgressPreference             Continue
ErrorActionPreference          Continue
WhatIfPreference               0
WarningPreference              Continue
ConfirmPreference              High

Taken from an MSDN blog page from long ago... so it should be relevant with relatively old versions of Powershell. Also see "Get-Help about_CommonParameters" in Powershell v4.

answered Aug 25, 2014 at 17:32

d3r3kk

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1 Comment

primfaktor Over a year ago

That's the way I went with: $verbose = $VerbosePreference -ne 'SilentlyContinue'

NoBrassRing · Accepted Answer · 2019-02-19 01:26:26Z

6

More generally: since one might specify -Verbose:$false on the command line, the following code handles that case. It also works for any other switch parameter:

$Verbose = $false
if ($PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey('Verbose')) { # Command line specifies -Verbose[:$false]
    $Verbose = $PsBoundParameters.Get_Item('Verbose')
}

edited Feb 19, 2019 at 1:26

answered Mar 4, 2018 at 14:06

NoBrassRing

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1 Comment

Mark Schultheiss Over a year ago

Perhaps missing a terminating } here?

Jim · Accepted Answer · 2021-02-03 19:23:06Z

Came across this looking for the same answer and found some good info, also some not so good. The marked answer seems to be dated and not correct as the comments stated. The PSBoundParameter property object from the MyInvocation object is a Dictionary (PoSH 5.1 up maybe earlier didn't check) which does not contain the IsPresent property. The asker also forgot to consider $VerbosePreference where other answers have presented this option.

Here's a solution that makes it simple and easy:

if ( $PSBoundParameters['Verbose'] -or $VerbosePreference -eq 'Continue' ) {
   # do something
}

$PSBoundParameters is a hashtable object, if the value is present and true it will evaluate to true, if it is not present or present and not true it will evaluate to false. VerbosePreference which is set at the session level will display verbose statements when the value is Continue. Put this together in a condition using a logical or and you will get an accurate representation if verbose output is desired.

carl verbiest · Accepted Answer · 2023-09-12 07:32:47Z

1

With powershell 7, I found that the proposed solutions did not work. I found following solution.

detectverbose.ps1

$Verbose = ('-Verbose' -in $MyInvocation.UnboundArguments -or $MyInvocation.BoundParameters.ContainsKey('Verbose'))
Write-Host "Verbose is $Verbose"
if ($Verbose) {
    Write-Host "extra verbose info"
}

when invoked with

detectverbose.ps1 -Verbose

the '-Verbose' -in $MyInvocation.UnboundArgumentstest is true.

I kept the $MyInvocation.BoundParameters.ContainsKey('Verbose') test in there because so many mention that as the correct answer. There may be some situation that I have yet not seen where Verbose ends up in the BoundParameters.

answered Sep 12, 2023 at 7:32

carl verbiest

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Comments

JJ Brown · Accepted Answer · 2021-01-22 18:14:54Z

0

If you're determining whether or not to print depending on the value of the -Verbose parameter, consider using Write-Verbose instead of Write-Host: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.utility/write-verbose?view=powershell-7.1

answered Jan 22, 2021 at 18:14

JJ Brown

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