How can i use a cmd variable in a powershell command?

I have created a simple .bat file. In this batch file i have a variable named urlExample which is equal to "example.com".
In the same batch file i want to use this variable urlExample in a powershell command.

Specifically, consider the following code:

@echo off
set urlExample = "example.com"


powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "& {$WebClient = New-Object System.Net.WebClient;$WebClient.DownloadFile($urlExample,"C:\.....somePath")

How could i achieve using the urlExample inside the WebClient command?

P.s. I don't want to simply put the url in the DownloadFile's first argument. I want to pass it with a batch variable.

Thanks in advance

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• In cmd.exe, all variables are also environment variables, such as %urlExample% in your case, and child processes - such as a call to powershell.exe, the Windows PowerShell CLI, inherit environment variables.

  • By contrast, PowerShell also has shell(-only) variables (e.g., $urlExample, limited to that session only), whereas environment variables must be accessed via the env namespace (e.g. $env:urlExample - see the conceptual about_Environment_Variables help topic).

• While you can use string interpolation on the cmd.exe side to "bake in" the values of cmd.exe-defined environment variables, by embedding %urlExample% in the -Command argument, it is more robust to let PowerShell access the environment variable, by referencing $env:urlExample.

Therefore:

@echo off

:: Note: No spaces around "=", double-quote the name *and* the value.
set "urlExample=example.com"

:: Note the reference to $env:urlExample
:: Embedded " chars. are escaped as \"
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "$WebClient = New-Object System.Net.WebClient; $WebClient.DownloadFile($env:urlExample, \"C:\.....somePath\")"

Note:

• -ExecutionPolicy Bypass isn't strictly needed in this case, given that no execution of a script file is (.ps1) is involved here (whether directly with -File or indirectly, as part of a -Command argument).

• However, given that the effective execution policy also applies in less obvious scenarios when you use -Command (the default parameter of powershell.exe)^[1] - such as (possibly implicitly) loading a module that is either a script module (*.psm1) and / or contains formatting / type-definition data (*.ps1xml) - using -ExecutionPolicy Bypass is a good habit to form to ensure predictable execution, assuming that you trust the code you're invoking.

• As Compo points out, another good habit to form to ensure a predictable execution environment is to use -NoProfile, which bypasses loading of PowerShell's profile files. In addition to preventing potentially unnecessary / unwanted modifications of the execution environment by the profiles, bypassing profile loading also speeds up the command.

^{[1] Note that pwsh, the PowerShell (Core) CLI, now defaults to -File.}