Create Scheduled Task With Powershell

9 min read Oct 11, 2024

Create Scheduled Tasks with PowerShell

PowerShell is a powerful scripting language that allows you to automate many tasks in Windows. One of the most useful things you can do with PowerShell is to create scheduled tasks. Scheduled tasks are a way to run scripts, programs, or commands at specific times or intervals. This is very useful for automating tasks that need to be done regularly, like backing up your data, running system maintenance, or sending out reports.

Why Use PowerShell to Create Scheduled Tasks?

You might wonder why you should use PowerShell when you can create scheduled tasks using the Task Scheduler GUI. Here are some reasons why using PowerShell is advantageous:

Automation: PowerShell allows you to automate the process of creating and managing scheduled tasks. This is especially helpful if you need to create many tasks or if you need to manage tasks on multiple computers.
Flexibility: PowerShell offers more flexibility than the GUI when it comes to defining task settings. You can use PowerShell to set more complex triggers, actions, and settings for your tasks.
Integration: PowerShell seamlessly integrates with other tools and technologies within your Windows environment. You can easily use PowerShell to collect data from other sources, process it, and then use it to schedule tasks based on specific conditions.

How to Create a Scheduled Task with PowerShell

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to create a scheduled task with PowerShell. We will use a simple example to demonstrate the basic concepts.

1. Open PowerShell: Start by opening a PowerShell console with administrator privileges. This is important because you'll be interacting with system-level settings.

2. Import the Task Scheduler module:

Import-Module TaskScheduler

3. Define the Task:

$Task = New-Task

4. Configure the Task Settings:

Name: Give your task a descriptive name.
Description: Add a short description to help you understand the task's purpose.
Principal: Specify the user account that should run the task.
Trigger: Define when the task should run. You can choose from various triggers, including daily, weekly, monthly, and on-event triggers.
Action: Specify the program or command you want to execute when the task runs. You can use the New-ScheduledTaskAction cmdlet to define the action.
Settings: Set additional settings for the task. You can choose options like whether to run the task even if the user is not logged in, whether to run the task only when the computer is idle, etc.

Example:

$Task = New-Task
$Task.Name = "MyScheduledTask"
$Task.Description = "This task runs a PowerShell script every day at 9:00 AM"
$Task.Principal.RunLevel = "HighestAvailable"

# Trigger: Daily at 9:00 AM
$Trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At 9:00 AM

# Action: Execute a PowerShell script
$Action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute  "C:\Scripts\MyScript.ps1"

$Task.Triggers.Add($Trigger)
$Task.Actions.Add($Action)

5. Register the Task:

Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "MyScheduledTask" -TaskPath "\MyTaskPath" -TaskDefinition $Task

Important Notes:

TaskPath: You can specify the path for your task within the Task Scheduler hierarchy using -TaskPath. If you don't specify a path, the task will be created in the root of the Task Scheduler library.
Running with Elevated Privileges: When you need to run the task with administrative privileges, make sure you run PowerShell as administrator, and you define the task's Principal.RunLevel to be HighestAvailable.
Triggers:
- Daily: Use -Daily for running the task every day.
- Weekly: Use -Weekly to set a weekly schedule.
- Monthly: Use -Monthly to configure a monthly schedule.
- On-Event: Use -StartBoundary and -EndBoundary to run the task between specific dates.

Examples of Scheduled Tasks with PowerShell:

Here are some examples of how you can use PowerShell to create scheduled tasks for common tasks:

1. Backing up your files:

$Task = New-Task
$Task.Name = "BackupMyFiles"
$Task.Description = "Backs up important files to a network drive"
$Task.Principal.RunLevel = "HighestAvailable"

# Trigger: Every day at 10:00 PM
$Trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At 10:00 PM

# Action: Execute a PowerShell script to back up files
$Action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute  "C:\Scripts\BackupFiles.ps1"

$Task.Triggers.Add($Trigger)
$Task.Actions.Add($Action)

Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "BackupMyFiles" -TaskPath "\Backup" -TaskDefinition $Task

2. Running System Maintenance:

$Task = New-Task
$Task.Name = "SystemMaintenance"
$Task.Description = "Runs system maintenance scripts"
$Task.Principal.RunLevel = "HighestAvailable"

# Trigger: Weekly on Fridays at 12:00 AM
$Trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Weekly -DaysOfWeek "Friday" -At 12:00 AM

# Action: Execute a PowerShell script to perform maintenance tasks
$Action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute  "C:\Scripts\SystemMaintenance.ps1"

$Task.Triggers.Add($Trigger)
$Task.Actions.Add($Action)

Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "SystemMaintenance" -TaskPath "\System" -TaskDefinition $Task

3. Sending Out Reports:

$Task = New-Task
$Task.Name = "SendReport"
$Task.Description = "Sends a daily report via email"
$Task.Principal.RunLevel = "HighestAvailable"

# Trigger: Daily at 8:00 AM
$Trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At 8:00 AM

# Action: Execute a PowerShell script to send an email report
$Action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute  "C:\Scripts\SendEmailReport.ps1"

$Task.Triggers.Add($Trigger)
$Task.Actions.Add($Action)

Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "SendReport" -TaskPath "\Reports" -TaskDefinition $Task

Managing Scheduled Tasks with PowerShell:

PowerShell allows you to easily manage your scheduled tasks using the following cmdlets:

Get-ScheduledTask: Retrieve information about existing tasks.
Set-ScheduledTask: Modify the settings of an existing task.
Disable-ScheduledTask: Disable a task temporarily.
Enable-ScheduledTask: Enable a disabled task.
Remove-ScheduledTask: Delete a task.

Conclusion:

Creating and managing scheduled tasks with PowerShell offers immense flexibility and control compared to using the GUI. You can easily automate complex task scheduling, define specific triggers and actions, and integrate your tasks into your overall automation workflow. PowerShell provides the power to customize and manage your scheduled tasks in a way that perfectly meets your needs.