[BUG]: PowerShell@2 is generating a parser error

[jachin84]

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Task name

PowerShell@2

Task version

2.247.1

Issue Description

I am using the PowerShell@2 task to execute a script with arguments as shown below.

- task: PowerShell@2
  inputs:
    pwsh: true
    targetType: filePath
    filePath: $(Build.SourcesDirectory)/script.ps1
    arguments: >
       -DeploymentLogPath $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/Logs
      -Tag $(SEMVER)
      -Verbose;

The task always fails with:

ParserError: /ado/_work/_temp/5746ce19-436f-4ddd-bfa1-f3344e169c1e.ps1:7
Line |
##[debug]$LASTEXITCODE: {0}' -f $LASTEXITCOD …
     |                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     | Variable reference is not valid. ':' was not followed by a valid
     | variable name character. Consider using ${} to delimit the name.

The generated script in the temp folder is:

$ErrorActionPreference = 'stop'
$ProgressPreference = 'silentlyContinue'
. '/ado/_work/2/s/script.ps1' -DeploymentLogPath /ado/_work/2/a/Logs" -Tag 1.964.34287-main -Verbose;
if (!(Test-Path -LiteralPath variable:LASTEXITCODE)) {
    Write-Host '##vso[task.debug]$LASTEXITCODE is not set.'
} else {
    Write-Host ('##vso[task.debug]$LASTEXITCODE: {0}' -f $LASTEXITCODE)
    exit $LASTEXITCODE
}

You need to escape $LASTEXITCODE eg.

if (!(Test-Path -LiteralPath variable:LASTEXITCODE)) {
    Write-Host '##vso[task.debug]`$LASTEXITCODE is not set.' #NOTE : see the backtick before $
} else {
    Write-Host ('##vso[task.debug]`$LASTEXITCODE: {0}' -f $LASTEXITCODE)
    exit $LASTEXITCODE
}

Environment type (Please select at least one enviroment where you face this issue)

• Self-Hosted
• Microsoft Hosted
• VMSS Pool
• Container

Azure DevOps Server type

dev.azure.com (formerly visualstudio.com)

Azure DevOps Server Version (if applicable)

n/a

Operation system

Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS

Relevant log output

##[debug]/usr/bin/pwsh arg: . '/ado/_work/_temp/5746ce19-436f-4ddd-bfa1-f3344e169c1e.ps1'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3422666Z ##[debug]exec tool: /usr/bin/pwsh
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3422794Z ##[debug]arguments:
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3422909Z ##[debug]   -NoLogo
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3423026Z ##[debug]   -NoProfile
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3423147Z ##[debug]   -NonInteractive
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3423259Z ##[debug]   -Command
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3423391Z ##[debug]   . '/ado/_work/_temp/5746ce19-436f-4ddd-bfa1-f3344e169c1e.ps1'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3423516Z [command]/usr/bin/pwsh -NoLogo -NoProfile -NonInteractive -Command . '/ado/_work/_temp/5746ce19-436f-4ddd-bfa1-f3344e169c1e.ps1'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5551031Z �[31;1mParserError: �[0m/ado/_work/_temp/5746ce19-436f-4ddd-bfa1-f3344e169c1e.ps1:7�[0m
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5551386Z �[31;1m�[0m�[36;1mLine |�[0m
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5551846Z ##[debug]�[36;1m$LASTEXITCODE:�[0m {0}' -f $LASTEXITCOD …�[0m
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5552067Z �[31;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[36;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[0m�[36;1m     | �[31;1m                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~�[0m
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5552256Z �[31;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[36;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[31;1m�[31;1m�[36;1m     | �[31;1mVariable reference is not valid. ':' was not followed by a valid�[0m
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5552456Z �[31;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[36;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[31;1m�[31;1m�[36;1m�[31;1m�[36;1m     | �[31;1mvariable name character. Consider using ${} to delimit the name.�[0m
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5664793Z 
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5666859Z ##[debug]Exit code 1 received from tool '/usr/bin/pwsh'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5669029Z ##[debug]STDIO streams have closed for tool '/usr/bin/pwsh'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5673436Z ##[debug]task result: Failed
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5685235Z ##[error]PowerShell exited with code '1'.

Full task logs with system.debug enabled

 2025-02-20T04:55:36.2443572Z ##[debug]Evaluating condition for step: 'PowerShell'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.2444196Z ##[debug]Evaluating: SucceededNode()
2025-02-20T04:55:36.2444335Z ##[debug]Evaluating SucceededNode:
2025-02-20T04:55:36.2444574Z ##[debug]=> True
2025-02-20T04:55:36.2444709Z ##[debug]Result: True
2025-02-20T04:55:36.2444870Z ##[section]Starting: PowerShell
2025-02-20T04:55:36.2448841Z ==============================================================================
2025-02-20T04:55:36.2448924Z Task         : PowerShell
2025-02-20T04:55:36.2448951Z Description  : Run a PowerShell script on Linux, macOS, or Windows
2025-02-20T04:55:36.2448989Z Version      : 2.247.1
2025-02-20T04:55:36.2449019Z Author       : Microsoft Corporation
2025-02-20T04:55:36.2449066Z Help         : https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/devops/pipelines/tasks/utility/powershell
2025-02-20T04:55:36.2449107Z ==============================================================================
2025-02-20T04:55:36.2906143Z ##[debug]Using node path: /ado/externals/node20_1/bin/node
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3184019Z ##[debug]system.debug=True
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3184493Z ##[debug]DistributedTask.Tasks.Node.SkipDebugLogsWhenDebugModeOff=True
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3217405Z ##[debug]agent.TempDirectory=/ado/_work/_temp
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3219665Z ##[debug]loading inputs and endpoints
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3220390Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_TARGETTYPE
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3230572Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_FILEPATH
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3231151Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_ARGUMENTS
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3231288Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_SCRIPT
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3231425Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_ERRORACTIONPREFERENCE
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3231566Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_WARNINGPREFERENCE
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3231700Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_INFORMATIONPREFERENCE
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3232134Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_VERBOSEPREFERENCE
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3234154Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_DEBUGPREFERENCE
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3234732Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_PROGRESSPREFERENCE
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3235373Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_FAILONSTDERR
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3237494Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_SHOWWARNINGS
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3237681Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_IGNORELASTEXITCODE
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3238345Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_PWSH
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3240761Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_WORKINGDIRECTORY
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3240954Z ##[debug]loading INPUT_RUNSCRIPTINSEPARATESCOPE
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3241101Z ##[debug]loading ENDPOINT_AUTH_SYSTEMVSSCONNECTION
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3241254Z ##[debug]loading ENDPOINT_AUTH_SCHEME_SYSTEMVSSCONNECTION
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3241877Z ##[debug]loading ENDPOINT_AUTH_PARAMETER_SYSTEMVSSCONNECTION_ACCESSTOKEN
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3247212Z ##[debug]loading SECRET_SYSTEM_ACCESSTOKEN
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3247704Z ##[debug]loaded 20
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3249673Z ##[debug]Agent.ProxyUrl=undefined
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3249877Z ##[debug]Agent.CAInfo=undefined
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3250055Z ##[debug]Agent.ClientCert=undefined
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3250192Z ##[debug]Agent.SkipCertValidation=undefined
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3259365Z ##[debug]check path : /ado/_work/_tasks/PowerShell_e213ff0f-5d5c-4791-802d-52ea3e7be1f1/2.247.1/task.json
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3259889Z ##[debug]adding resource file: /ado/_work/_tasks/PowerShell_e213ff0f-5d5c-4791-802d-52ea3e7be1f1/2.247.1/task.json
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3260054Z ##[debug]system.culture=en-US
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3266424Z ##[debug]errorActionPreference=stop
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3266968Z ##[debug]warningPreference=default
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3267114Z ##[debug]informationPreference=default
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3267251Z ##[debug]verbosePreference=default
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3267384Z ##[debug]debugPreference=default
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3267557Z ##[debug]progressPreference=silentlyContinue
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3267718Z ##[debug]showWarnings=false
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3267865Z ##[debug]failOnStderr=false
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3268001Z ##[debug]ignoreLASTEXITCODE=false
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3268541Z ##[debug]workingDirectory=/ado/_work/2/s
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3268707Z ##[debug]check path : /ado/_work/2/s
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3270393Z ##[debug]targetType=filePath
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3270554Z ##[debug]filePath=/ado/_work/2/s/_pipelines/ytt/Invoke-KKDeployment.ps1
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3272081Z ##[debug]arguments=-TemplatePath /ado/_work/2/s/_pipelines/ytt/frontend -SchemaPath /ado/_work/2/s/_pipelines/ytt/schema.yaml -EnvironmentDataFilePath /ado/_work/2/s/_pipelines/ytt/staging.yaml -ResourceGroupName rg-s-kk-aue-01 -DeploymentLogPath /ado/_work/2/a/Logs" -Tag 1.964.34287-main -Verbose;
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3278367Z ##[debug]runScriptInSeparateScope=false
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3278532Z Generating script.
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3280890Z ##[debug]Feature flag AZP_75787_ENABLE_NEW_LOGIC_LOG = false
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3281088Z ##[debug]Feature flag AZP_75787_ENABLE_NEW_LOGIC = false
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3281239Z ##[debug]Feature flag AZP_75787_ENABLE_COLLECT = true
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3281379Z ##[debug]Validating file args
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3282134Z ##[debug]Expanded args: -TemplatePath /ado/_work/2/s/_pipelines/ytt/frontend -SchemaPath /ado/_work/2/s/_pipelines/ytt/schema.yaml -EnvironmentDataFilePath /ado/_work/2/s/_pipelines/ytt/staging.yaml -ResourceGroupName rg-s-kk-aue-01 -DeploymentLogPath /ado/_work/2/a/Logs" -Tag 1.964.34287-main -Verbose;
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3285193Z ##[debug]Agent.Version=4.251.0
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3285444Z ##[debug]SYSTEM_TASKINSTANCEID=0359f8e5-dc7f-5078-4192-27f8277c3b6f
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3285824Z ##[debug]SYSTEM_JOBID=3d6941d1-9db5-5975-0b2c-20dbba85b478
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3286002Z ##[debug]SYSTEM_PLANID=59b66946-a5f8-4e68-9c85-a0ab71686119
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3286162Z ##[debug]SYSTEM_COLLECTIONID=316b0f32-b9b6-4c8c-9451-885901a4ed66
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3286315Z ##[debug]AGENT_ID=15243
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3286485Z ##[debug]AGENT_MACHINENAME=build
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3286630Z ##[debug]AGENT_NAME=multipass-1
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3286767Z ##[debug]AGENT_JOBSTATUS=Succeeded
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3286896Z ##[debug]AGENT_OS=Linux
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3287032Z ##[debug]AGENT_VERSION=4.251.0
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3287169Z ##[debug]BUILD_BUILDID=34782
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3287319Z ##[debug]BUILD_BUILDNUMBER=20250220.11
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3287566Z ##[debug]BUILD_BUILDURI=vstfs:///Build/Build/34782
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3287704Z ##[debug]BUILD_CONTAINERID=26922188
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3287855Z ##[debug]BUILD_DEFINITIONNAME=Deploy Frontend - Staging Environment
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3288005Z ##[debug]BUILD_DEFINITIONVERSION=3
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3288135Z ##[debug]BUILD_REASON=Manual
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3288273Z ##[debug]BUILD_REPOSITORY_CLEAN=False
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3288416Z ##[debug]BUILD_REPOSITORY_GIT_SUBMODULECHECKOUT=False
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3288564Z ##[debug]BUILD_REPOSITORY_NAME=device-management
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3288710Z ##[debug]BUILD_REPOSITORY_PROVIDER=TfsGit
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3288867Z ##[debug]BUILD_SOURCEVERSION=91e13a4af4ef93d7772346aba0df07e115c4196c
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3409176Z ##[debug]Processed: ##vso[telemetry.publish area=TaskHub;feature=PowerShellV2]{"SYSTEM_TASKINSTANCEID":"0359f8e5-dc7f-5078-4192-27f8277c3b6f","SYSTEM_JOBID":"3d6941d1-9db5-5975-0b2c-20dbba85b478","SYSTEM_PLANID":"59b66946-a5f8-4e68-9c85-a0ab71686119","SYSTEM_COLLECTIONID":"316b0f32-b9b6-4c8c-9451-885901a4ed66","AGENT_ID":"15243","AGENT_MACHINENAME":"build","AGENT_NAME":"multipass-1","AGENT_JOBSTATUS":"Succeeded","AGENT_OS":"Linux","AGENT_VERSION":"4.251.0","BUILD_BUILDID":"34782","BUILD_BUILDNUMBER":"20250220.11","BUILD_BUILDURI":"vstfs:///Build/Build/34782","BUILD_CONTAINERID":"26922188","BUILD_DEFINITIONNAME":"Deploy Frontend - Staging Environment","BUILD_DEFINITIONVERSION":"3","BUILD_REASON":"Manual","BUILD_REPOSITORY_CLEAN":"False","BUILD_REPOSITORY_GIT_SUBMODULECHECKOUT":"False","BUILD_REPOSITORY_NAME":"device-management","BUILD_REPOSITORY_PROVIDER":"TfsGit","BUILD_SOURCEVERSION":"91e13a4af4ef93d7772346aba0df07e115c4196c","foundPrefixes":0,"someVariablesInsideQuotes":0,"variablesExpanded":0,"escapedVariables":0,"escapedEscapingSymbols":0,"variableStartsFromBacktick":0,"variablesWithBacktickInside":0,"envQuottedBlocks":0,"braceSyntaxEntries":0,"bracedVariables":0,"notClosedBraceSyntaxPosition":0,"bracedEnvSyntax":0,"notExistingEnv":0,"removedSymbols":{";":1},"removedSymbolsCount":1}
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3420587Z ##[debug]Processed: ##vso[task.logdetail id=521e3cbd-cc86-4599-873c-ea51f2b6621b;type=command;name=command;]Formatted command: . '/ado/_work/2/s/_pipelines/ytt/Invoke-KKDeployment.ps1' -TemplatePath /ado/_work/2/s/_pipelines/ytt/frontend -SchemaPath /ado/_work/2/s/_pipelines/ytt/schema.yaml -EnvironmentDataFilePath /ado/_work/2/s/_pipelines/ytt/staging.yaml -ResourceGroupName rg-s-kk-aue-01 -DeploymentLogPath /ado/_work/2/a/Logs" -Tag 1.964.34287-main -Verbose;
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3421014Z ##[debug]Agent.Version=4.251.0
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3421156Z ##[debug]agent.tempDirectory=/ado/_work/_temp
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3421286Z ##[debug]check path : /ado/_work/_temp
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3421384Z ========================== Starting Command Output ===========================
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3421511Z ##[debug]which 'pwsh'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3421634Z ##[debug]found: '/usr/bin/pwsh'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3421759Z ##[debug]which '/usr/bin/pwsh'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3421885Z ##[debug]found: '/usr/bin/pwsh'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3422010Z ##[debug]/usr/bin/pwsh arg: -NoLogo
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3422136Z ##[debug]/usr/bin/pwsh arg: -NoProfile
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3422259Z ##[debug]/usr/bin/pwsh arg: -NonInteractive
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3422388Z ##[debug]/usr/bin/pwsh arg: -Command
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3422529Z ##[debug]/usr/bin/pwsh arg: . '/ado/_work/_temp/5746ce19-436f-4ddd-bfa1-f3344e169c1e.ps1'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3422666Z ##[debug]exec tool: /usr/bin/pwsh
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3422794Z ##[debug]arguments:
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3422909Z ##[debug]   -NoLogo
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3423026Z ##[debug]   -NoProfile
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3423147Z ##[debug]   -NonInteractive
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3423259Z ##[debug]   -Command
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3423391Z ##[debug]   . '/ado/_work/_temp/5746ce19-436f-4ddd-bfa1-f3344e169c1e.ps1'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.3423516Z [command]/usr/bin/pwsh -NoLogo -NoProfile -NonInteractive -Command . '/ado/_work/_temp/5746ce19-436f-4ddd-bfa1-f3344e169c1e.ps1'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5551031Z �[31;1mParserError: �[0m/ado/_work/_temp/5746ce19-436f-4ddd-bfa1-f3344e169c1e.ps1:7�[0m
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5551386Z �[31;1m�[0m�[36;1mLine |�[0m
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5551846Z ##[debug]�[36;1m$LASTEXITCODE:�[0m {0}' -f $LASTEXITCOD …�[0m
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5552067Z �[31;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[36;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[0m�[36;1m     | �[31;1m                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~�[0m
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5552256Z �[31;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[36;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[31;1m�[31;1m�[36;1m     | �[31;1mVariable reference is not valid. ':' was not followed by a valid�[0m
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5552456Z �[31;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[36;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[0m�[36;1m�[31;1m�[31;1m�[36;1m�[31;1m�[36;1m     | �[31;1mvariable name character. Consider using ${} to delimit the name.�[0m
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5664793Z 
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5666859Z ##[debug]Exit code 1 received from tool '/usr/bin/pwsh'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5669029Z ##[debug]STDIO streams have closed for tool '/usr/bin/pwsh'
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5673436Z ##[debug]task result: Failed
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5685235Z ##[error]PowerShell exited with code '1'.
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5689356Z ##[debug]Processed: ##vso[task.issue type=error;source=TaskInternal;correlationId=81b1c6c8-7e31-41ce-ad90-64d948e912fe;]PowerShell exited with code '1'.
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5692571Z ##[debug]Processed: ##vso[task.complete result=Failed;]PowerShell exited with code '1'.
2025-02-20T04:55:36.5700129Z ##[section]Finishing: PowerShell 

Repro steps

- task: PowerShell@2
  inputs:
    pwsh: true
    targetType: filePath
    filePath: $(Build.SourcesDirectory)/script.ps1 # Make sure the script has an error.
    arguments: >
       -DeploymentLogPath $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/Logs
      -Tag $(SEMVER)
      -Verbose;