PowerShell Compiler

Yet Another PowerShell 5.1+ Compiler to EXE.
Fully vibe-coded with Claude (Sonnet 4.6) with some manual adjustments

Compiles a PowerShell script (.ps1) into a standalone Windows EXE.

The generated EXE:

• Embeds your script as Base64 inside the binary
• Extracts it to %TEMP% at runtime, runs it via powershell.exe, then deletes it
• Requires NO extra files, SDKs, or runtimes on the target machine (only needs powershell.exe, which ships with every Windows 7+)
• Runs without a visible terminal window by default (GUI-safe)

HOW TO BUILD ps1compiler.exe

Requirements: .NET Framework (installed by default on Windows 7+) No Visual Studio or SDK needed.

1. Double-click BUILD.bat (or run it from a command prompt)
2. Done. ps1compiler.exe appears in the same folder.

Alternatively, if you know where csc.exe is: "C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\csc.exe" /nologo /optimize+ /target:exe /out:ps1compiler.exe ps1compiler.cs

USAGE

ps1compiler.exe <script.ps1> [output.exe] [options]

Options: --icon <file.ico> Embed an icon into the generated EXE --manifest <file.manifest> Embed an application manifest (UAC, DPI, etc.) --no-hidden Show the PowerShell terminal window when running (default: hidden, good for GUI scripts)

Examples:

ps1compiler.exe myscript.ps1

Generates myscript.exe (no terminal window)

  ps1compiler.exe myscript.ps1 --icon myapp.ico

Generates myscript.exe with custom icon

  ps1compiler.exe myscript.ps1 out.exe --icon app.ico --manifest app.manifest

Generates out.exe with icon + manifest

  ps1compiler.exe myscript.ps1 --no-hidden

Generates myscript.exe, terminal stays visible (useful for CLI scripts)

MANIFEST NOTES

Use a manifest to control:

• UAC elevation: change "asInvoker" to "requireAdministrator" for admin prompt
• DPI awareness: PerMonitorV2 makes GUI apps sharp on high-DPI screens
• Visual styles: enables modern Windows controls (buttons, scrollbars, etc.)

An example manifest is provided: example.manifest

HOW IT WORKS INTERNALLY

1. ps1compiler reads your .ps1, encodes it as Base64
2. Generates a small C# stub that contains the Base64 blob
3. Compiles the stub with csc.exe (the C# compiler in .NET Framework)
4. The resulting EXE, when run: a. Decodes the Base64 back to bytes b. Writes a temp .ps1 file to %TEMP% c. Runs: powershell.exe -NonInteractive -WindowStyle Hidden -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File <temp> d. Waits for it to finish, deletes the temp file e. Returns the same exit code

PowerShell 7 (pwsh.exe) is used automatically if installed; otherwise falls back to the built-in Windows PowerShell 5.x.

LIMITATIONS

• The generated EXE is x86/AnyCPU - works on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows
• The script runs with ExecutionPolicy Bypass, so no policy changes needed
• If your script uses $PSScriptRoot, it will point to %TEMP% (where the extracted .ps1 lives). For scripts that need to reference sibling files, bundle everything into the .ps1 or use a different distribution method.
• Antivirus software may flag generic PS1-runner stubs as suspicious. This is a false positive common to all PS1-to-EXE tools.