Powershell command -replace with multi-line value - powershell

Question

I'm struggling to use powershell to replace a string with multi-line value.
The value is from Jenkins input text parameter. So this value is a multi-line string.
I use powershell to replace {{BUILD_INFO_CHANGES}} with %BUILD_INFO_CHANGES%.
The %BUILD_INFO_CHANGES% value is
-bug1
-bug 2
Here is the script:
powershell -Command "(gc %JOB_BUILD_DIR%\ThisBuildInfo.md) -replace '{{BUILD_INFO_CHANGES}}', '%BUILD_INFO_CHANGES%' | Out-File %JOB_BUILD_DIR%\ThisBuildInfo.md"
However, I got the error response from Jenkins.
'{{BUILD_INFO_FIXED_BUGS}}', <<<< '- bug1 is missing the terminator: '. ... + FullyQualifiedErrorId : TerminatorExpectedAtEndOfString
d
And I change the script and use # to wrap the value. Here is the changed script.
powershell -Command "(gc %JOB_BUILD_DIR%\ThisBuildInfo.md) -replace '{{BUILD_INFO_CHANGES}}', #'%BUILD_INFO_CHANGES%'# | Out-File %JOB_BUILD_DIR%\ThisBuildInfo.md"
I got another error.
FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnrecognizedToken
Does anyone have a solution for this?
thanks!

Answer 1

The problem is using the -Command parameter for anything other than a simple script you will run into issues where characters such as curly braces and quotes will be misinterpreted by the command prompt before the are they are passed to PowerShell. You could could tie yourself in knots by adding several layers of escaping or there is a simpler way - use the -EncodedCommand parameter instead.
For the -EncodedCommand you just need to Base64 encode your command which you can do with the following PowerShell script:
$command = #'
# Enter your commands containg curly braces and quotes here
# As long as you like
'#
$bytes = [System.Text.Encoding]::Unicode.GetBytes($command)
$encodedCommand = [Convert]::ToBase64String($bytes) | clip.exe
This will copy the encoded command to the clipboard, then all you need to do to use your command is type:
powershell.exe -EncodedCommand
.. and then paste in your command so that you end up with something like the following:
powershell.exe -EncodedCommand IAAgACMAIABFAG4AdABlAHIAIAB5AG8AdQByACAAcwBjAHIAaQBwAHQAIABjAG8AbgB0AGEAaQBuAGcAIABjAHUAcgBsAHkAIABiAHIAYQBjAGUAcwAgAGEAbgBkACAAcQB1AG8AdABlAHMACgAgACAAIwAgAEEAcwAgAGwAbwBuAGcAIABhAHMAIAB5AG8AdQAgAGwAaQBrAGUAIAAgAA==
You now have something that is command prompt safe.

Answer 2

Thanks Dave! Your solution give me an idea.
Here is the easiest solution to work on Jenkins.
I put the following scripts on a Powershell build step in my Jenkins build job.
$thisBuildInfoPath="$env:JOB_BUILD_DIR\ThisBuildInfo.md"
$fixedBugs=#("$env:BUILD_INFO_FIXED_BUGS")
(gc $thisBuildInfoPath) -replace "{{BUILD_INFO_FIXED_BUGS}}", $fixedBugs | sc $thisBuildInfoPath