Collection of Useful PowerShell Scripts (CUPS)

Useful cross-platform PowerShell scripts, to be used on the command-line (CLI) or by automation software like Jenkins.

Scripts Explained

• MD5.ps1 - prints the MD5 checksum of the given file
• moon.ps1 - prints the current moon phase
• password.ps1 - generates and prints a single new password
• passwords.ps1 - generates and prints a list of new passwords
• poweroff.ps1 - halts the local computer, administrator rights might be needed
• news.ps1 - print the latest news
• reboot.ps1 - reboots the local computer, administrator rights might be needed
• SHA1.ps1 - prints the SHA1 checksum of the given file
• SHA256.ps1 - prints the SHA256 checksum of the given file
• speak.ps1 - speaks the given text
• test.ps1 - simple test script
• train_dns_cache.ps1 - trains the DNS cache with frequently used domain names
• translate.ps1 - translates the given text
• txt2wav.ps1 - converts text into a audio .WAV file
• weather.ps1 - prints the current weather forecast
• wakeup.ps1 - sends a magic packet to the given computer, waking him up
• zipdir.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 cross-platform: available for Linux, Mac OS and Windows
• it's powerful: fully control your computer
• 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 use it via Windows Terminal (see the Microsoft Store at https://www.aka.ms/terminal).

For installation on alternative platforms (CentOS, Debian, Docker, Fedora, macOS, openSUSE, Red Hat, Ubuntu) visit https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell.

How to configure PowerShell as default shell on Linux?

Make sure PowerShell is installed, then use the chsh commmand as follows:

• chsh -s /bin/powershell <username>

How to add the subfolder Scripts/ to the search path for command-line usage?

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

Script Standards

Each script provides:

1. a comment header containing the syntax, description, author, source, and license
2. prefers command-line options but may ask the user in case no option is given
3. exits 0 for success, otherwise 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.