Powershell ISE throws RemoteException when working to GitLabRunner

Question

I am trying to stop GitlabRunner windows service using powershell. When I execute the command in elevated powershell prompt, I see the following expected response

Now if I run the same command in powershell ISE as Administrator It shows RemoteException error.

Note that the service is actually getting sopped even if the response shows error.
I get the same kind of error response with girlab-runner's other commands like register or start. Commands are working but shows error in response and only happens in ISE.

Answer 1

The implication is that your gitlab-runner.exe call sends its output to stderr, not stdout.

Unfortunately, the ISE inappropriately renders stderr output from external programs as PowerShell errors, which is what you saw;
a simple way to provoke the symptom is to run cmd /c 'echo to stderr >&2'

The workaround is:

.\gitlab-runner.exe 2>&1 | % ToString  # % is short for ForEach-Object

• 2>&1 is a redirection that merges stderr output into the success output stream, PowerShell's stdout equivalent.

• Converting the resulting stream of lines to strings (with % ToString) is necessary, because PowerShell wraps stderr lines in System.Management.Automation.ErrorRecord instances.

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However, you can avoid the need for workarounds by migrating away from the obsolescent ISE:

• The Windows PowerShell ISE is no longer actively developed and there are reasons not to use it (bottom section), notably not being able to run PowerShell (Core) 7+.

• The actively developed, cross-platform and cross-edition editor that offers the best PowerShell development experience is Visual Studio Code with its PowerShell extension.