PowerShell Genie

Stop-Transcript

Use Stop-Transcript to end the current transcript and close the file. See Microsoft.PowerShell.Host module requirements and examples.

Command 1 min read Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7

Documentation: Microsoft Learn — PowerShell module reference

Written and tested by Dhrub Bharali · Updated

Syntax

1PS> Stop-Transcript [<CommonParameters>]
See the command anatomy

Read the command and its supplied arguments. This example requires real PowerShell or its module; this diagram does not execute it.

Stop-Transcript [<CommonParameters>]
  1. Stage 1Stop-TranscriptPositional values or no named parameters

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    Interactive simulation · fictional data

    Examples

    Stop with Stop-Transcript

    1PS> Stop-Transcript
    Show reference output

    Sample output · fictional data, shaped like the real thing

    Transcript stopped, output file is C:\Temp\PowerShell_transcript.20260910.txt

    Stop with Stop-Transcript (2)

    1PS> try { # do work here } finally { Stop-Transcript }
    Show reference output

    Sample output · fictional data, shaped like the real thing

    Transcript stopped, output file is C:\Temp\PowerShell_transcript.20260910.txt

    Stop-Transcript -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

    1PS> Stop-Transcript -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Show reference output

    Sample output · fictional data, shaped like the real thing

    Transcript stopped, output file is C:\Temp\PowerShell_transcript.20260910.txt

    Practical use and troubleshooting

    Practical scenario: Use Stop-Transcript when you need to end the current transcript and close the file. Start with one identified target and inspect the returned values before extending the operation to a list. Keep the identity in your report so you can trace each result back to the object or path that produced it.

    Common error and fix: A not-transcribing error can mean no transcript is active in that session. Pair start and stop within the same workflow and handle cleanup without masking the original script failure. In an unattended script, capture this failure with its original error record and record which target failed. An empty result and an unsuccessful query must remain distinguishable in the final report.

    See also: Start-Transcript. Start-Transcript begins a session transcript; Stop-Transcript ends it. A transcript is a useful diagnostic record but not a structured substitute for the objects returned by a function. Read the linked command before substituting it; similar names do not imply identical inputs or output.

    Stop-Transcript reference on Microsoft Learn

    Recap

    Stop-Transcript Use Stop-Transcript to end the current transcript and close the file. See Microsoft.PowerShell.Host module requirements and examples.

    Next: Export-Csv
    Genie guideStop-Transcript

    Use Stop-Transcript to end the current transcript and close the file. See Microsoft.PowerShell.Host module requirements and examples. The console below is pre-loaded — run it, then change a value and run it again.

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