Set PowerShell variable with environment variable or a default if not present

Question

I am trying to set a variable in a PowerShell script from either an Environment Variable or a default if the $env value isn't specified. I can do something similar in Bash by doing the following.

BASH_VAR_IN_SCRIPT=${MY_ENV_VAR:="default value"}

Is there something similar in PowerShell? My Google-fu isn't returning what I am looking for. I am using PowerShell Core 7.

jfhr · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-01 18:41:49Z

13

$env:MY_ENV_VAR will return null if MY_ENV_VAR isn't defined, so you can use the null-coalescing operator ?? to specify a default value:

$myVar = $env:MY_ENV_VAR ?? "default value";

This only works in Powershell 7+. For older versions, you can use an if-statement:

$myVar = if ($env:MY_ENV_VAR) { $env:MY_ENV_VAR } else { "default value" };

answered May 1, 2020 at 18:41

jfhr

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FilBot3 Over a year ago

I should've mentioned I was using PowerShell Core 7. I've added that to my question now.

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