Collection of Useful PowerShell Scripts

This repository contains 80+ useful and cross-platform PowerShell scripts - to be used by command-line interface (CLI), for remote control (RC), by context menu, by voice control, by automation software (e.g. Jenkins), or simply to learn PowerShell.

List of Scripts

The following PowerShell scripts can be found in the Scripts/ subfolder:

check-ipv4-address.ps1 - checks the given IPv4 address for validity
check-mac-address.ps1 - checks the given MAC address for validity
check-xml-file.ps1 - checks the given XML file for validity
clone-repos.ps1 - clones well-known Git repositories
close-chrome.ps1 - closes Google Chrome gracefully
close-edge.ps1 - closes Microsoft Edge gracefully
close-file-explorer.ps1 - closes Microsoft File Explorer gracefully
close-program.ps1 - closes the given program gracefully
close-thunderbird.ps1 - closes Mozilla Thunderbird gracefully
close-windows-terminal.ps1 - closes Windows Terminal gracefully
configure-git.ps1 - sets up the Git configuration
csv-to-text.ps1 - converts the given CSV file into a text list
display-time.ps1 - displays the current time
download.ps1 - downloads the file/directory from the given URL
empty-dir.ps1 - empties the given directory
enable-crash-dumps.ps1 - enables the writing of crash dumps
generate-qrcode.ps1 - generates a QR code
inspect-exe.ps1 - prints basic information of the given executable file
list-anagrams.ps1 - lists all anagrams of the given word
list-automatic-variables.ps1 - lists PowerShell automatic variables
list-empty-dirs.ps1 - lists empty subfolders in a directory tree
list-installed-software.ps1 - lists the installed software
list-files.ps1 - lists all files in the given folder and also in every subfolder
list-logbook.ps1 - lists the content of the logbook
list-unused-files.ps1 - lists unused files in a directory tree
list-cmdlets.ps1 - lists the PowerShell cmdlets
list-earthquakes.ps1 - lists earthquakes with magnitude >= 6.0 for the last 30 days
list-modules.ps1 - lists the PowerShell modules
list-news.ps1 - lists the latest news
list-processes.ps1 - lists the local computer processes
list-random-passwords.ps1 - prints a list of random passwords
list-random-pins.ps1 - prints a list of random PIN's
list-scripts.ps1 - lists the PowerShell scripts in this repository
locate-city.ps1 - prints the geographic location of the given city
locate-ipaddress.ps1 - prints the geographic location of the given IP address
locate-zip-code.ps1 - prints the geographic location of the given zip-code
MD5.ps1 - prints the MD5 checksum of the given file
make-install.ps1 - installs built executables and libs to the installation directory
moon.ps1 - prints the current moon phase
mute-audio.ps1 - mutes audio
open-browser.ps1 - starts the default Web browser
open-email-client.ps1 - starts the default email client
play-beep.ps1 - plays a beep sound
poweroff.ps1 - halts the local computer (needs administrator rights)
new-email.ps1 - starts the default email client to write a new email
reboot.ps1 - reboots the local computer (needs administrator rights)
search-files.ps1 - searches the given pattern in the given files
scan-ports.ps1 - scans the network for open/closed ports
send-email.ps1 - sends an email message
send-tcp.ps1 - sends a TCP message to the given IP address and port
send-udp.ps1 - sends a UDP datagram message to the given IP address and port
set-timer.ps1 - sets a timer for a countdown
SHA1.ps1 - prints the SHA1 checksum of the given file
SHA256.ps1 - prints the SHA256 checksum of the given file
simulate-matrix.ps1 - simulates the Matrix (fun)
simulate-presence.ps1 - simulates the human presence against burglars
speak-file.ps1 - speaks the content of the given text file by text-to-speech (TTS)
speak-text.ps1 - speaks the given text by text-to-speech (TTS)
switch-shelly1.ps1 - switches a Shelly1 device in the local network
take-screenshot.ps1 - takes a single screenshot
take-screenshots.ps1 - takes multiple screenshots
train-dns-cache.ps1 - trains the DNS cache with frequently used domain names
translate-file.ps1 - translates the given file from source to target language
translate-text.ps1 - translates the given text into other languages
turn-volume-up.ps1 - turns the audio volume up (+10% by default)
turn-volume-down.ps1 - turns the audio volume down (-10% by default)
txt2wav.ps1 - converts text into a audio .WAV file
unmute-audio.ps1 - unmutes audio
weather.ps1 - prints the current weather forecast
weather-alert.ps1 - checks the current weather for critical values
weather-report.ps1 - prints the local weather report
weather-worldwide.ps1 - prints the current weather of cities worldwide
wakeup.ps1 - sends a magic packet to the given computer, waking him up
write-big.ps1 - writes the given text in big letters
write-blue.ps1 - writes the given text in a blue foreground color
write-braille.ps1 - writes the given text in Braille
write-green.ps1 - writes the given text in a green foreground color
write-logbook.ps1 - writes the given text to the logbook
write-morse-code.ps1 - writes the given text in Morse code
write-motd.ps1 - writes the message of the day (MOTD)
write-red.ps1 - writes the given text in a red foreground color
write-rot13.ps1 - encodes or decodes the given text with ROT13
write-typewriter.ps1 - writes the given text with the typewriter effect
write-uppercase.ps1 - writes the given text in uppercase letters
write-vertical.ps1 - writes the given text in vertical direction
zip-dir.ps1 - creates a zip archive of the given folder

What is PowerShell?

PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and associated scripting language.

it's powerful: fully control your computer
it's cross-platform: available for Linux, Mac OS and Windows
it's open-source: see the Github repository at https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell
it's easy to learn: see the tutorial at https://www.guru99.com/powershell-tutorial.html
it's fully documented: see the official docs at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/

How to get PowerShell?

Windows 7 and newer do provide PowerShell by default. It's recommended to install Windows Terminal (see the Microsoft Store at https://www.aka.ms/terminal) for a comfortable command-line usage. Per default, Windows does not allow script execution (execution policy "restricted"). To enable this, enter as administrator:
```
$ Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
```
On CentOS, Debian, Docker, Fedora, macOS, openSUSE, Red Hat, Ubuntu visit https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell for installation.

Afterward, install this collection by clicking on the green "Code" button or execute:

$ git clone https://github.com/fleschutz/PowerShell

Configure PowerShell as Default Shell

Linux: make sure PowerShell is installed, then execute: chsh -s /snap/bin/powershell <username>
Windows: no need to, PowerShell is the default shell

Adding 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:

Bash or sh: edit .profile in your home directory and add the line: PATH="$PATH:/path/to/PowerShell/Scripts"
Windows: open the environment variables dialogue and add the full path to Scripts/ to the system environment variable "Path"

Using PowerShell in Context Menus

to enable "right-click > New > Windows PowerShell Script" execute Add_ps1_to_New_context_menu.reg in subfolder Misc/
to disable this execute Remove_ps1_from_New_context_menu.reg in subfolder Misc/

Script Conventions

Each PowerShell script should follow the 9 golden rules:

Rule #1: the filename should be named <verb>-<object>.ps1
Rule #2: the first line reads #!/snap/bin/powershell to support PowerShell on Linux
Rule #3: the script has execute file permissions (chmod a+rx ) to support PowerShell on Linux
Rule #4: provide a comment-based help with syntax, description, link, author, and license
Rule #5: prefer command-line options, else ask the user
Rule #6: the encoding of the script is in UTF-8 with BOM to support Unicode characters
Rule #7: use Set-StrictMode -Version Latest to enable additional error checking
Rule #8: for readibility use UpperCamelCase for variables and functions, lowerCamelCase for everything else
Rule #9: exits 0 for success, else print an error message and exit with the error code (mostly 1)

Feedback

Send your email feedback to: markus [at] fleschutz [dot] de

License & Copyright

This open source release is licensed under the CC0 license. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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