The purpose and state of the repository

This module represents a set of tools for Powershell that I find useful to have available in every Powershell console. It was started as a helper project for some daily work activities and polished over the years as an internal project. Some recent commands rely on Powershell 7 syntax, so the module is marked for Powershell 7, although most of the commands actually should work in older Powershell versions.

You are welcome to use and contribute.

Installation

To make the module auto-discoverable by Powershell, clone it into your Powershell Modules folder without changing it's name:

$modulesFolder = $env:PSModulePath -split ";" | select -f 1
mkdir $modulesFolder -ea Ignore
cd $modulesFolder
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/PSToolset

Powershell should be able to discover module commands after that. If it doesn't you can import the module explicitly

Import-Module PSToolset

Documentation

List all exported commands from the module:

Get-Command -Module PSToolset

Get detailed help for a particular function:

man Set-CmdEnvironment -Detailed

Get examples for a particular function:

man Show-Highlight -Examples

See implementation details in color:

source construct

Commands

Colors

Name	Alias	Description
Get-Colors		Print all console host colors to the console in color
Get-Source	source	Print source code of a command or script in color
Show-Highlight	hl	Highlight portion of some text to make it visually easier to find something in the text
Write-Colorized		Output object to stdout with specific color

Data

Name	Alias	Description
ConvertFrom-Ini		Converts ini strings into Powershell hashtable object
ConvertTo-Hash		Convert an object into a hash table
ConvertTo-PsObject	construct	Convert a set of variables into a PsObject
Get-Ini		Parse INI file as a hashtable object
Get-Parameter		Get names of all available parameters from input objects
Import-Ini		Imports ini file into Powershell hashtable object
Show-Ini		Print contents of INI parsed file, received from Get-Ini command
Use-Filter	f	Regex based parameter filter for input objects
Use-Project	p	Project several parameters from input objects

Files

Name	Alias	Description
Get-FileEncoding		Gets file encoding
Resolve-ScriptPath		Resolve path that is local to the script

Functional

Name	Alias	Description
Get-First	first	Returns first element in the piped in input that confirms to the condition
Get-Last	last	Returns last element in the piped in input that confirms to the condition
Get-Median		Calculate median of numeric array piped in
Get-Randomized		Randomize a sequence that is piped in
Get-Reverse		Reverse a sequence that is piped in
Get-Separation	separate	Separate collection into two based on some condition
Get-UniqueUnsorted		Get unique values from an unsorted array
Test-All	all	Test if all elements in the piped in input confirm to the condition
Test-Any	any	Test if any element in the piped in input confirms to the condition

Git

Name	Alias	Description
Get-CommitAuthorDate		Get author commit date from a git commit
Get-CommitAuthorEmail		Get author email from a git commit
Get-CommitAuthorName		Get author name from a git commit
Get-CommitMessage		Get commit message from a git commit
Initialize-GitConfig		Configure git before the first use; assigns name and email for the current user and sets up some useful defaults
Open-GitExtensions	gite	Open GitExtensions GUI frontend, by default browse window in the current folder would be opened

Python

Name	Alias	Description
Start-JupyterNotebook	jn	Start Jupyter Notebook in current folder or $env:DefaultJupyterNotebookPath. Reuse existing notebook already running if possible
Stop-JupyterNotebook		Stop all Jupyter Notebooks running

Security

Name	Alias	Description
Invoke-Elevated		Invoke script in elevated Powershell session
Set-DelayLock	lock	Lock machine after the specified timeout
Test-Elevated		Test if current Powershell session is elevated
Test-Interactive		Determine if the current Powershell session is interactive

Text

Name	Alias	Description
Format-Template		Render text template
Get-UnresolvedTemplateItem		Find template items that were not resolved yet
Use-Default	default	Define default value if input is null, false or missing
Use-Parse	parse	Parse incoming text to find relevant pieces in it

Utils

Name	Alias	Description
Set-CmdEnvironment	call	Call .bat or .cmd file and preserve all environment variables set by it
Use-Retries		Retry execution of a script that throws an exception

Xml

Name	Alias	Description
New-XAttribute	xattr	Create XAttribute object with specified name and value
New-XComment	xcomm	Create XComment object with specified value
New-XElement	xelem	Create XElement object and attach specified via script blocks other XObjects in a hierarchal form
New-Xmlns	xmlns	Create Xmlns object with specified namespace and value
New-XName	xname	Create XName object with specified name

How to regenerate table of exported commands

Import-Module PSToolset
$functions = get-module pstoolset | % ExportedFunctions | % Keys
$aliases = get-module pstoolset | % ExportedAliases | % Keys
$map = @{}

foreach( $function in $functions )
{
    $map.$function = @{}
    $map.$function.Name = $function
    $map.$function.File = gi (ls function: | where Name -eq $function| % ScriptBlock | % File) | % BaseName

    $map.$function.Description = man $function | select -skip 5 -First 10 | % Trim
    $map.$function.Description = foreach( $line in $map.$function.Description )
    {
        if( -not $line ){ break }
        $line
    }
    $map.$function.Description = $map.$function.Description -join " "
}

foreach( $alias in $aliases )
{
    $function = get-alias $alias | % ResolvedCommand | % Name
    $map.$function.Alias = $alias
}

$parsed = $map.Keys | %{ [PsCustomObject] $map.$psitem }
$groups = $parsed | group File

$table = foreach( $group in $groups )
{
    "## $($group.Name)"
    "Name | Alias | Description"
    "-----|-------|-------------"
    foreach( $element in $group.Group | sort Name )
    {
        "$($element.Name) | $($element.Alias) | $($element.Description)"
    }
    ""
}
$table | clip

"Table is saved to Windows clipboard"