PowerShell/Docs/FAQ.md

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 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 easy to learn - see the tutorial for beginners at https://www.guru99.com/powershell-tutorial.html

✔️ it's fully documented - see the PowerShell documentation at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/

How to get PowerShell?

• Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 and newer already have PowerShell preinstalled (e.g. PowerShell 5.1 on Windows 10). However, script execution is disallowed by default (execution policy is "restricted"). To enable it: open the "Windows PowerShell (Administrator)" console and enter:

  PS> Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope CurrentUser
  

• On CentOS, Debian, Docker, Fedora, macOS, openSUSE, Red Hat, Ubuntu visit https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell for installation.
• On Linux supporting Snaps install PowerShell by executing:

  $ snap install PowerShell
  $ ln -s /snap/bin/pwsh /usr/bin/pwsh
  

What about Security?

• Execute scripts only that you trust (and/or where you have checked the code before)!
• Prefer SSH Remoting instead of PowerShell Remoting
• 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

How to get the PowerShell Scripts?

• When using Git: execute > git clone https://github.com/fleschutz/PowerShell in a terminal window.
• When using Chocolatey: execute > choco install powershell-scripts --version=0.4 in a terminal window.
• Otherwise download and unzip from: https://github.com/fleschutz/PowerShell/archive/master.zip

Why do some scripts show gibberish characters?

Those PowerShell scripts are using Unicode characters. Use a modern console supporting UTF-8 such as Windows Terminal, please.

How to set PowerShell as 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 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 the environment variables dialogue and add the full path to Scripts/ to the system environment variable "Path"

How to use PowerShell in Windows context menus?

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

Which editor to use for PowerShell scripts?

• Visual Studio Code - Supporting 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) - Former official PowerShell development environment included with Microsoft Windows.
• PowerShell Studio - Powerful PowerShell IDE with module, help, and user interface development tools, high DPI support and regular updates.
• PowerShell Plus - All in one IDE.
• Atom package - Add-on with PowerShell language support for Atom.
• SublimeText package - 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 user-friendly and platform-independant. As a guideline follow these rules, please:

1. the filename is named using the <verb>-<object>.ps1 scheme
2. the encoding is UTF-8-BOM to provide Unicode character support
3. the scripts have execute file permissions: chmod a+rx (for Linux support)
4. the scripts provide a comment-based help with synopsis, description, parameters, link, author, and license
5. requirements are checked (e.g. #Requires -RunAsAdministrator, or #Requires -Version 3)
6. prefer command-line options, else ask the user for help
7. recommended is Set-StrictMode -Version Latest to enable additional error checking
8. for readibility use UpperCamelCase for variables and functions, lowerCamelCase for everything else
9. on error call write-error with keyword "ERROR:" (to support log parsers) and exit the error code (mostly 1)
10. on success exit with error code 0 (exit 0)

Want to contribute or found a bug or issue?

If you find something bad (like a bug, error, or any issue), please report it here by open an Issue.

Or even better: Fork the repository, add or fix the script and submit a pull request, so others can participate too.

Your question is not answered here?

Send your question to: markus [at] fleschutz [dot] de