![](powershell_black_icon_64x64.png) PowerShell FAQ ===================================================
What is PowerShell? **PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and associated scripting language.**
Why use PowerShell? ✔️ **It's powerful** - fully control your computer ✔️ **It's easy to learn** - see the tutorial at: https://www.guru99.com/powershell-tutorial.html ✔️ **It's cross-platform** - available for Linux, Mac OS and Windows ✔️ **It's open-source and free** - see the Github repository at: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell ✔️ **It's fully documented** - see the PowerShell documentation at: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/
How to install PowerShell on Linux? 1. **On Linux with Snap support just execute:** ``` $ snap install PowerShell $ ln -s /snap/bin/pwsh /usr/bin/pwsh ``` 2. **Otherwise, please visit:** https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell **and scroll down to: 'Get PowerShell'.**
How to install PowerShell on MacOS? **Please visit:** https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell **and scroll down to: 'Get PowerShell'.**
How to install PowerShell on Windows? **Good news:** it's preinstalled, **but** the script execution policy is *restricted* (forbidden) by default! To change this: open the *Windows PowerShell (Administrator)* console and enter: ``` PS> Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope CurrentUser ``` **NOTE:** the group policy object (GPO) settings of your organization might disallow changes. In that case contact your system administrator for help.
How to get this PowerShell script collection? 1. **When using Git, execute in a terminal window:** `> git clone https://github.com/fleschutz/PowerShell` 2. **Otherwise, download and unzip it from:** https://github.com/fleschutz/PowerShell/archive/master.zip
How to execute PowerShell scripts on Windows? 1. In the Windows desktop: right-click the script and select: *Execute with PowerShell* 2. In a command-line interface (CLI, e.g. *Windows Terminal*, either local or remote via SSH) by typing: `./`. 3. By connecting a context menu item with a script. 4. By voice control, e.g. see repo [talk2windows](https://github.com/fleschutz/talk2windows) for more information. 5. By using automation software, e.g. [Jenkins](https://www.jenkins.io).
How to execute PowerShell scripts in Windows context menus? * To enable "right-click > New > Windows PowerShell Script" execute `Add_ps1_to_New_context_menu.reg` in subfolder [Data/](../Data) * To disable this execute `Remove_ps1_from_New_context_menu.reg` in subfolder [Data/](../Data)
How to execute PowerShell scripts automatically on login in Windows? 1. **Open the *File Explorer* with your Autostart folder** (usually at: `C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup`). 2. **Copy the script (or a link to it) into this folder.**
How to execute PowerShell scripts in Jenkins? 1. **Install the Jenkins plugin:** `PowerShell plugin` (it uses PowerShell.exe on Windows and pwsh on Linux). 2. **Add or reference your PowerShell scripts in the Jenkins jobs or in your Jenkinsfiles.**
How to learn PowerShell? * **Please find tutorials at:** https://www.guru99.com/powershell-tutorial.html * **See a cheat sheet at:** [PowerShell/Docs/cheat-sheet.md](cheat-sheet.md) * **The official PowerShell documentation can be found here:** https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/
What about security? 1. **Execute scripts only that you trust (and/or where you have checked the code before)!** 2. **Prefer SSH Remoting instead of PowerShell Remoting** 3. **More recommendations by NSA and cyber security centers in the U.S. (CISA), New Zealand (NZ NCSC), and the U.K. (NCSC-UK) can be found here:** https://media.defense.gov/2022/Jun/22/2003021689/-1/-1/1/CSI_KEEPING_POWERSHELL_SECURITY_MEASURES_TO_USE_AND_EMBRACE_20220622.PDF
Why do some scripts show gibberish characters? **Your current terminal application doesn't support Unicode characters used by those PowerShell scripts. Use a modern one such as *Windows Terminal*, please.**
How to configure PowerShell as my default shell on Linux? **Make sure PowerShell is installed, then execute: `chsh -s /usr/bin/pwsh USERNAME`. In case you experience an "invalid shell" error, add "/usr/bin/pwsh" to /etc/shells.**
How to install a custom PowerShell profile? **Execute: `./set-profile.ps1` in the *Scripts* subfolder, this will install **my-profile.ps1** as your PowerShell profile. It's a nice looking base profile, but can easily be changed to your needs.**
How to add the scripts to the search path? Want to use the PowerShell scripts everywhere on the command-line? Then you need to add the Scripts/ subfolder to the search path: * **On Linux using Bash:** edit .profile in your home directory and add the line: PATH="$PATH:/path/to/PowerShell/Scripts" * **On Windows:** open Settings > System > About > Advanced system settings > Environment Variables, edit the user's variable "Path", and add the full path to the Scripts/ directory.
Which editor to use for PowerShell scripts? * **Visual Studio Code** - it supports syntax highlighting, on-the-fly problem checking and an integrated PowerShell Console (available for free on Linux, Mac OS and Windows, now recommended by Microsoft). * **PowerShell ISE** (Integrated Scripting Environment) - the former official PowerShell development environment included with Microsoft Windows. * **PowerShell Studio** - a powerful PowerShell IDE with module, help, and user interface development tools, high DPI support and regular updates. * **PowerShell Plus** - an all in one IDE. * **Atom package** - an add-on with PowerShell language support for Atom. * **SublimeText package** - an add-on with PowerShell language support for Sublime Text. * or your **favorite text editor** as an alternative.
How to write good PowerShell scripts? **Good PowerShell scripts are both user-friendly and platform-independent. As a starting point I recommend the following:** * Use the `-.ps1` scheme for filenames (e.g. `list-news.ps1`). Approved verbs can be found here: [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/developer/cmdlet/approved-verbs-for-windows-powershell-commands](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/developer/cmdlet/approved-verbs-for-windows-powershell-commands) * Use **UTF-8 BOM** encoding to support Unicode characters in the script. * Add a **comment-based help** at the beginning with: `.SYNOPSIS`, `.DESCRIPTION`, `.PARAMETER`, `.EXAMPLE`, `.LINK`, and `.NOTES`. * Check the **requirements** for the script, e.g. `#Requires -RunAsAdministrator`, or `#Requires -Version 3` * Prefer **command-line options**, else ask the user for help * Recommended is **Set-StrictMode -Version Latest** to enable additional error checking. * For readibility use **lowerCamelCase** to name variables, functions, etc. * Set execute file permissions for Linux: **chmod a+rx ** * On success exit with error code 0 (**exit 0**), otherwise print the error with keyword **ERROR:** (to support log parsers) and exit the error code (mostly 1)
Where's the Star History of this repository? [![Star History Chart](https://api.star-history.com/svg?repos=fleschutz/PowerShell&type=Date)](https://star-history.com/#fleschutz/PowerShell&Date)
How to contribute or how to report a bug? **If you find something bad (like a bug, error, or any issue), please report it here by opening an Issue.** **Or even better: Fork the repository, add or fix the script and submit a pull request, so others can participate too.**
How to donate to this project? **Thanks a lot! Just follow this link:** [https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/Fleschutz](https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/Fleschutz)
What if my question is not answered here? **Just send your question by e-mail to:** `markus.fleschutz [at] gmail.com`