PowerShell's execution policy error example

Table of Contents

The issue

I’ve encountered the following issue:

PS C:\Users\38163\Desktop\BrowserStack Test\cypress-example-kitchensink> browserstack-cypress init
>>
browserstack-cypress : File C:\Users\38163\AppData\Roaming\npm\browserstack-cypress.ps1 cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system. For more information, see 
about_Execution_Policies at https:/go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135170.
At line:1 char:1
+ browserstack-cypress init
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : SecurityError: (:) [], PSSecurityException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnauthorizedAccess

The error encountered is related to PowerShell’s execution policy, which is preventing us from running scripts like browserstack-cypress.ps1 due to security settings on your system.

Solution: Change Execution Policy

To fix this, you’ll need to change your PowerShell Execution Policy to allow scripts to be run. Here’s how you can do it:

Step 1: Open PowerShell as Administrator

Search for PowerShell in your Start menu.
Right-click on Windows PowerShell and select Run as Administrator.

Step 2: Check the Current Execution Policy

In the administrator PowerShell window, type the following command and press Enter:

Get-ExecutionPolicy

You might see something like Restricted or RemoteSigned, which is why scripts are blocked.

Step 3: Change the Execution Policy

To allow running scripts, you’ll need to change the execution policy. You can do this by running:

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

RemoteSigned allows local scripts to run and requires downloaded scripts to have a valid signature.
-Scope CurrentUser ensures this change only affects your user account, not the entire system.

Step 4: Confirm the Change

When prompted with a confirmation message, type Y and press Enter.

Step 5: Verify the Change

You can verify the change by running the command again:

Get-ExecutionPolicy

It should now show RemoteSigned or another less restrictive policy.

Step 6: Run the BrowserStack Cypress CLI Again

Now that the execution policy is updated, go back to your original terminal and run:

browserstack-cypress init

This should work without the security error.

Important Note:

Once you’re done running the necessary scripts, if you’d like to revert the execution policy for extra security, you can do so with:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Restricted -Scope CurrentUser