CLI & PowerShell

Use the Console-subsystem executable for terminal work. It attaches to the terminal, receives stdin, and lets PowerShell wait for completion. The GUI executable remains useful for normal desktop launches.

Commands

ahk --help
ahk --version
ahk --capabilities
ahk run .\hello.ahk
ahk check .\hello.ahk
ahk test .\tests.ahk
ahk repl
ahk mcp

run is optional: ahk hello.ahk also executes the file. Global flags can precede the command. Arguments after the script path belong to the script, through A_Args. Use -- for a filename that would otherwise look like a flag or command.

Paths with spaces

& 'C:\Program Files\AHK Console\AutoHotkey64Console.exe' /Headless 'C:\My Scripts\hello.ahk'
$code = $LASTEXITCODE

Capture $LASTEXITCODE immediately after the native command. Later native programs can replace it.

Shells and streams

ahk /Headless /Diag=json .\hello.ahk 1>result.txt 2>diagnostics.jsonl

Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7 differ in native redirection and encoding behavior. If exact UTF-8 bytes matter, choose an explicit encoding/byte-preserving subprocess API and verify it. Do not assume a shell redirect preserves the engine's original encoding.

In WSL, invoke the Windows executable through /mnt/c/..., but pass Windows script paths to the Windows interpreter when needed. Python running under Linux expects Linux paths; Windows Python expects Windows paths.

Headless is a launch behavior

/Headless suppresses engine-owned interactive error prompts. It does not sandbox the script or suppress every explicit MsgBox, GUI, native call, or side effect. Use bounded, deliberately selected scripts for automated checks.