ErrorAction parameter in PowerShell - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - ErrorAction parameter

Run Command

↓

Error Occurs?

No→Continue Normal Execution

Yes↓

Check ErrorAction Value

↓

SilentlyContinue

↓

Ignore

↓

Next Step Based on Action

When a command runs, if an error happens, PowerShell checks the ErrorAction parameter to decide what to do next.

Execution Sample

PowerShell

Get-Item 'C:\no_such_file.txt' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Write-Output 'Script continues'

Try to get a file that does not exist, but ignore the error and continue running the script.

Execution Table

Step	Command	Error Occurs?	ErrorAction	Action Taken	Output
1	Get-Item 'C:\no_such_file.txt' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue	Yes	SilentlyContinue	Ignore error, no message
2	Write-Output 'Script continues'	No	N/A	Print message	Script continues
3	End of script	N/A	N/A	Script ends normally

💡 Script ends normally after ignoring the error due to SilentlyContinue

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 2	Final
Error	None	Error occurred but ignored	None	None
Output	None	None	Script continues	Script continues

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why does the script continue even though Get-Item fails?

Because ErrorAction is set to SilentlyContinue, the error is ignored and no message is shown, as seen in execution_table step 1.

What happens if ErrorAction is set to Stop?

The script would stop immediately on error, not reaching step 2, unlike the SilentlyContinue case in the table.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the output after step 1?

A No output, error ignored

B Error message shown

C Script stops

D Output 'Script continues'

💡 Hint

Check the 'Output' column in row for step 1 in execution_table

At which step does the script print 'Script continues'?

A Step 1

B Step 3

C Step 2

D Never

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Output' column in execution_table for step 2

If ErrorAction was changed to Stop, what would happen at step 2?

A Step 2 runs normally

B Step 2 is skipped because script stops

C Error is ignored silently

D Script asks user what to do

💡 Hint

Refer to key_moments explanation about ErrorAction Stop behavior

Concept Snapshot

ErrorAction parameter controls what PowerShell does when a command errors.
Common values:
- SilentlyContinue: ignore error, no message
- Continue: show error, keep running
- Stop: stop script immediately
- Inquire: ask user what to do
Use it to control error handling behavior in scripts.

Full Transcript

The ErrorAction parameter in PowerShell tells the script what to do if a command causes an error. When a command runs, PowerShell checks if an error happens. If no error, the script continues normally. If there is an error, PowerShell looks at the ErrorAction value. If it is SilentlyContinue, the error is ignored and no message shows. The script keeps running. If it is Continue, the error message shows but the script keeps running. If it is Stop, the script stops immediately. If it is Inquire, PowerShell asks the user what to do. In the example, Get-Item tries to get a file that does not exist. Because ErrorAction is SilentlyContinue, the error is ignored and the script prints 'Script continues'. This shows how ErrorAction controls error handling in scripts.