Run program/script not working

[Clucky]

I made a powershell script to tell an Arduino Uno Microcontroller to fire a relay to trigger a siren. However it does not open the script when these AI conditions are met. However no program opens and the arduino does not get any commands from the powershell script. What am I doing wrong here? ChatGPT can't figure it out either.

 

[jaydeel]

If you want Blue Iris to launch PowerShell scripts from a Blue Iris Action Set 'Run a program' Action, then use one of the examples below.

These cover the most common and reliable ways to call PowerShell -- from simple one-liners to advanced non-blocking background tasks.
For deeper explanations, see the Notes & Tips section at the end.

Caveats:
1. If you scan my various utility posts on this forum, you'll note that I'm a big user of PowerShell scripts with Blue Iris. That said, I still used ChatGPT to create this summary.
2. I've not personally tested the all the advanced examples below -- so, if you discover that any of them do not work, please let me know and I'll update these examples for future users.

# BLUE IRIS -> Run Program/Script examples
# --------------------------------------------------------------------
# Common PowerShell command lines for use in Blue Iris "Run a program/script" actions.
# See numbered notes at the end for details (e.g., [1] Non-blocking, [2] Macros, etc.)
# --------------------------------------------------------------------
# In the Blue Iris "Run program/script" dialog:
#   File:        (first line)
#   Parameters:  (second line)

# --- BASIC ---
Run a simple script by path
File: powershell.exe
Parameters: -File "C:\ps_scripts\myscript.ps1"

Run a script with arguments
File: powershell.exe
Parameters: -File "C:\ps_scripts\myscript.ps1" -Cam "FrontEntry" -Event "Motion"

# --- RELIABILITY IMPROVEMENTS ---
Force 64-bit PowerShell 5.1
File: C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
Parameters: -File "C:\ps_scripts\myscript.ps1"

Use PowerShell 7 if installed
File: "C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe"
Parameters: -File "C:\ps_scripts\myscript.ps1"

# --- WITH BLUE IRIS MACROS [2] ---
Pass BI macros to the script
File: powershell.exe
Parameters: -File "C:\ps_scripts\myscript.ps1" -Cam "&CAM" -Event "&TYPE" -Time "&TIME"

Log script output for debugging [3]
File: powershell.exe
Parameters: -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\ps_scripts\myscript.ps1" >> "C:\ps_logs\myscript.log" 2>&1

# --- ADVANCED / NON-BLOCKING [1] ---
Run non-blocking (BI continues immediately)
File: cmd.exe
Parameters: /c start "" powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\ps_scripts\myscript.ps1"

Pass multiple arguments safely with -Command
File: powershell.exe
Parameters: -Command "& { & 'C:\ps_scripts\myscript.ps1' -Cam '&CAM' -AlertID '&ALERT_DB' -Path 'C:\temp\' }"

Run elevated (Administrator privileges) [4]
File: powershell.exe
Parameters: -Command "Start-Process powershell -Verb RunAs -ArgumentList '-File ""C:\ps_scripts\myscript.ps1""'"

Start asynchronous background job [1]
File: powershell.exe
Parameters: -Command "Start-Job -ScriptBlock { & 'C:\ps_scripts\myscript.ps1' -Cam '&CAM' }"

# --- RECOMMENDED TEMPLATE (non-blocking, macro-safe) ---
File: cmd.exe
Parameters: /c start "" powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\ps_scripts\myscript.ps1" -Cam "&CAM" -Event "&TYPE" -Time "&TIME"


# --------------------------------------------------------------------
# NOTES & TIPS
# --------------------------------------------------------------------
# [1] NON-BLOCKING MODES
# Blue Iris normally waits for a script to finish before continuing.
# When launched via "cmd.exe /c start", the script runs independently
# (non-blocking) and BI continues immediately. Consider using this
# option for long-running tasks.
#
# ALTERNATIVE:
# The BI 'Run a program' Action dialog checkbox "Wait for process to
# complete (up to 30 seconds)" controls this behavior. A typical use case
# is to ENABLE it to prevent race conditions -- for example, when BI creates
# a temporary file that your long-running script must access before it is
# automatically deleted by Blue Iris.

# [2] BLUE IRIS MACROS
# You can pass camera/event data into PowerShell by inserting BI macros
# like &CAM, &TYPE, &TIME, &ALERT_DB in your Parameters line.
# BI automatically substitutes their current values.

# [3] WHY USE "-NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass"?
# -NoProfile: Skips loading your user PowerShell profile for faster,
#             cleaner execution.
# -ExecutionPolicy Bypass: Overrides the Windows policy JUST FOR THIS RUN,
#             allowing scripts to execute even if your system is restricted.
# Together they make Blue Iris actions faster and more predictable.
#
# ALTERNATIVE:
# To avoid typing "-ExecutionPolicy Bypass" in every action, you can set
# a more permissive DEFAULT POLICY FOR YOUR PC:
#   Open PowerShell as Administrator and run the following command:
#       Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
# Then confirm when prompted. Locally created scripts will now run normally.

# [4] ADMIN PRIVILEGES
# The "Run elevated" example uses "Start-Process -Verb RunAs" to prompt
# for elevation. It is rarely needed if Blue Iris is configured to
# "Always run as Windows Admin" or if the BI service runs under a
# Windows administrator account (AS RECOMMENDED BY THE OFFICIAL BI HELP PDF).
# Running BI under the LocalSystem account is HIGHLY DISCOURAGED because it may
# limit access to antivirus, storage, and network shares.

# --------------------------------------------------------------------
# END

 

[jaydeel]

Another sneaky cause of PowerShell scripts failing to run from Blue Iris Action Set 'Run a program' actions is the presence of (some) Non-ASCII characters in the code.

These can silently terminate PS 5.1 depending on the encoding of the script. (Just for reference, PS5.1 is the version of PowerShell that is used when you use powershell.exe in a Blue Iris Action Set 'Run a program' Action.)

WARNING - Non-ASCII characters are commonly added to PowerShell scripts that are created when using ChatGPT.
ChatGPT slips them into comments, Write-Host commands, and like. They have caused me grief a number of times!! The most common culprits are em and en dashes. There is nothing you can do trap these buggers -- so be RUTHLESS in excising non-ASCII characters from your Powershell scripts targeted for use in Blue Iris.

I've even created a PowerShell script to make sure my scripts are PS5.1-Ready. I'll share it in separate post.
EDIT: here's the link - test_ps51_ready.ps1.