We are excited to announce that an update to our preview of PowerShellGet 3.0 is now available on the PowerShell Gallery!

This release includes a number of bug fixes as well as support for specifying the temporary path used during installation of PSResources.

How to Install PowerShellGet 3.0 Preview 17

Prerequisites

Please note that this preview release of PowerShellGet 3.0 does not support PowerShell 7.0, 7.1 or 7.2-preview1.

This is a temporary issue due to a dependency and should be resolved in future releases. This release does support Windows PowerShell 5.1, PowerShell 7.2 and 7.3-previews.

Please ensure that you have the latest (non-prerelease) version of PowerShellGet and PackageManagement installed. To check the version you currently have installed run the command Get-InstalledModule PowerShellGet, PackageManagement

The latest version of PowerShellGet is 2.2.5, and the latest version of PackageManagement is 1.4.7. To install the latest versions of these modules run the following: Install-Module PowerShellGet -Force -AllowClobber

Installing the Preview

To install this preview release side-by-side with your existing PowerShellGet version, open any PowerShell console and run: Install-Module PowerShellGet -Force -AllowPrerelease

If you have PowershellGet v3 already you can run Update-PSResource PowerShellGet -Prerelease

What to expect in this update

This release includes a number of bug fixes as well as additional support for specifying a temporary path for installation of PSResources. For additional context on scenarios where this may be useful please refer to this issue.

Features of this release

• Add -TemporaryPath parameter to Install-PSResource, Save-PSResource, and Update-PSResource
• Add String and SecureString as credential types in PSCredentialInfo
• Expand acceptable paths for Publish-PSResource (Module root directory, module manifest file, script file)
• Add -Force parameter to Register-PSResourceRepository cmdlet, to override an existing repository
• Add a warning for when the script installation path is not in Path variable

Bug Fixes

• Change casing of -IncludeXML to -IncludeXml
• Update priority range for PSResourceRepository to 0-100
• Editorial pass on cmdlet reference
• Fix issue when PSScriptInfo has no empty lines
• Make ConfirmImpact low for Register-PSResourceRepository and Save-PSResource
• Fix -PassThru for Set-PSResourceRepository cmdlet to return all properties
• Rename -FilePath parameter to -Path for PSScriptFileInfo cmdlets
• Fix RequiredModules description and add Find example to docs
• Remove unneeded inheritance in InstallHelper.cs
• Make -Path a required parameter for Save-PSResource cmdlet
• Improve script validation for publishing and installing

Features to Expect in Coming Preview Releases

This module is not yet complete. The focus for our next preview release is removing the dependency on the nuget APIs. This will allow us to resolve dependency loading issues that effect which versions of PowerShell this module will be compatible with. This update will also allow us to improve performance of the module and resolve a number of outstanding bugs that are due to limitations in the nuget APIs. For the full list of issues for our next preview release please refer to our GitHub project.

How to Track the Development of this Module

GitHub is the best place to track the bugs/feature requests related to this module. We have used a combination of projects and labels on our GitHub repo to track issues for this upcoming release. We are using the label Resolved-3.0 to label issues that we plan to release at some point before we release the module as GA (generally available).

To track issues/features for the next release, please refer to this GitHub project.

Timeline/Road Map

Expect to see preview releases as new functionality is added and bug fixes are made. User feedback will help us determine when we can have a Release Candidate version of the module which will be supported to be used in production. Based on user feedback, if we believe the 3.0 release is complete, then we will publish a 3.0 version of the module as Generally Available. Since these milestones are driven by quality, rather than date, we can not offer an exact timeline at this point.

How to Give feedback and Get Support

We cannot overstate how critical user feedback is at this stage in the development of the module. Feedback from preview releases help inform design decisions without incurring a breaking change once generally available and used in production.

In order to help us to make key decisions around the behavior of the module please give us feedback by opening issues in our GitHub repository.

Sydney Smith

PowerShell Team

The post PowerShellGet 3.0 Preview 17 appeared first on PowerShell Team.

We are excited to announce that the August update to the PowerShell Extension for Visual Studio Code is now available on the extension marketplace.

This release adds a walkthrough experience for getting started with PowerShell in VS Code, more regression tests, a major LSP client library update, and includes a number of bug fixes!

Updates in the August Release

Note that these updates all shipped in our PowerShell Preview Extension for VS Code before shipping in our stable channel.

Some highlights of August releases:

• vscode-powershell #4151 Add integratedConsole.startInBackground to completely hide the terminal.
• vscode-powershell #4080 Create a walkthrough experience for PowerShell. (Thanks @S-Hakim!)
• #⃣ vscode-powershell #4141 Improve language client library close action message.
• PowerShellEditorServices #1892 Add symbols for Pester setup and teardown blocks. (Thanks @fflaten!)
• PowerShellEditorServices #1891 Fix whitespace in Pester symbol and add test. (Thanks @fflaten!)
• PowerShellEditorServices #1887 Fix symbol highlight when hovering function name. (Thanks @fflaten!)
• PowerShellEditorServices #1897 – Add artificial stack frame to represent contexts without one.
• PowerShellEditorServices #1894 – Fix stepping while watch expressions or interactive pipeline is running.
• vscode-powershell #4128 – Update vscode-languageclient and refactor (a lot of TLC).
• vscode-powershell #3266 – Fix debugger to start language client when necessary.
• vscode-powershell #4120 Remove extraneous ) from the do-while snippet. (Thanks @ncook-hxgn!)
• PowerShellEditorServices #1874 Add end-to-end integration test with Vim.
• ‍ vscode-powershell #4112 Fix (and test) regression with PSScriptAnalyzer default rules.
• PowerShellEditorServices #1872 Add regression tests for parse error DiagnosticMarkers. (Thanks @fflaten!)
• ‍ PowerShellEditorServices #1869 – Fix duplicate DiagnosticMarkers when reopening a file. (Thanks @fflaten!)
• vscode-powershell #4100 Remove popup when extension updates.
• PowerShellEditorServices #1867 – Add regression test for when prompt is undefined.
• vscode-powershell #4073 – Fix bug where error in prompt function crashed REPL.

For the full list of changes please refer to our changelog.

Getting Started Walkthrough

As a part of this release we have introduced a getting started experience for PowerShell in VS Code. This experience was designed through a series of customer surveys and interviews conducted by our summer intern. The walkthrough can be accessed on the Getting Started page in VS Code, or through the command pallette.

We look forward to getting more feedback on this walkthrough and learning how we can improve it.

LSP Client Library Update

This release also includes a major update to our LSP client library dependency, vscode-languageclient. The extension uses this library to start, connect, and communicate with the LSP server, PowerShell Editor Services.

By incorporating this update in vscode-powershell #4128 we were able to prevent a number of race conditions that could be encountered during startup, as the latest version of this library allows us to register our notification and request handlers before starting the server. The lifecycle management code was also given some much needed attention, and so startup and shut-down is now a more stable experience.

Please note that due to an upstream change, there is now a second notification when the server is stopped. We are working with the upstream team to de-duplicate this popup, and are also contemplating enabling a configurable auto-restart of the server.

Getting Support and Giving Feedback

While we hope the new implementation provides a much better user experience, there are bound to be issues. Please let us know if you run into anything.

If you encounter any issues with the PowerShell Extension in Visual Studio Code or have feature requests, the best place to get support is through our GitHub repository.

Sydney Smith and Andy Jordan PowerShell Team

The post PowerShell Extension for Visual Studio Code August 2022 Update appeared first on PowerShell Team.

We are excited to announce that the second preview of a rewrite of Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive, the module that lets you create and extract archives, is now available on the PowerShell Gallery.

This release is the second preview release of a rewrite of the module and is not feature complete. Please note that this release is only compatible with PowerShell 7.3.0-preview5 and up. For more information on what is proposed in this rewrite, or to give feedback on the design please refer to the RFC.

Installing the module

Please note that this release will only work with PowerShell 7.3.0-preview5 and up. Find and install the latest preview version of PowerShell here.

To install the Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive 2.0 preview 2 using PowerShellGet 2.2.5 run the following command

Install-Module Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive -AllowPrerelease

To install the Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive 2.0 preview 2 using PowerShellGet 3.0 previews run the following command

Install-PSResource Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive -Prerelease

Features of the release

This release contains the rewrite of the Expand-Archive cmdlet.

This cmdlet contains two parameter sets

Expand-Archive [-Path] <string> [[-DestinationPath] <string>] [-WriteMode {Create | Update | Overwrite}] [-PassThru] [-Filter <string[]>] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [<CommonParameters>]

Expand-Archive [-LiteralPath <string>] [-DestinationPath] <string>]  [-WriteMode {Create | Update | Overwrite}] [-PassThru] [-Filter <string[]>] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [<CommonParameters>]

Some features to note of this release

• Added -WriteMode parameter to Expand-Archive
• Added support for zip64
• Fixed a bug where the entry names of files in a directory would not be correct when compressing an archive

Features of the next release

The next release will focus on additional features of the module. To track the progress of this release, look at this project in our GitHub repository.

Giving Feedback and Getting support

While we hope the new implementation provides a much better user experience, there are bound to be issues. Please let us know if you run into anything.

If you encounter any issues with the module or have feature requests, the best place to get support is through our GitHub repository.

Sydney

PowerShell Team

The post Archive Module 2.0 Preview 2 appeared first on PowerShell Team.

We are pleased to announce the release of Get-WhatsNew, a cmdlet that delivers feature
information about new versions of PowerShell to your local terminal experience.

Stay informed with Get-WhatsNew

Between General Availability (GA), Long-Term Servicing (LTS), and Previews release, PowerShell ships
updates several times a year. At this pace, PowerShell users may become unaware of new features and
changes that improve automation, performance and security. Today, this information is provided through
release notes and the PowerShell
GitHub repository. Get-WhatsNew enables you to:

• Learn about new features that enable new solutions
• Get version-specific information to make upgrade decisions
• View the information in disconnected scenarios (data ships with module)
• View the information in Windows PowerShell 5.1 and higher
• Get information for a single random feature for a message-of-the-day (MOTD) experience
• Quickly open the release notes on the web version using the Online option

Installing WhatsNew

The Get-WhatsNew cmdlet ships in the
Microsoft.PowerShell.WhatsNew
module, which can be installed from the PowerShell Gallery.

Requirements:

• Microsoft.PowerShell.WhatsNew is a cross platform module that requires Windows PowerShell 5.1
  or higher

To install Microsoft.PowerShell.WhatsNew:

Install-Module -Name Microsoft.PowerShell.WhatsNew

To install Microsoft.PowerShell.WhatsNew using the new
PowerShellGet.v3

Install-PSResource -Name Microsoft.PowerShell.WhatsNew

Using Get-WhatsNew

Get-WhatsNew displays PowerShell features by version. The cmdlet includes
complete help with several examples. Here are some highlights to get started:

To get the complete help information for Get-WhatsNew

Get-Help Get-WhatsNew -Full

To display the release notes for the version of PowerShell in which the cmdlet is running.

Get-WhatsNew

To display the release notes for PowerShell 7.2 regardless of which version the cmdlet is running.

Get-WhatsNew -Version 7.2

To display one randomly selected section of the release notes per version of PowerShell selected.
Add this to your profile to receive a Message-Of-The-Day (motd).

Get-WhatsNew -Daily -Version 6.0, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2

Future plans

We value your ideas and feedback and hope you will give WhatsNew a try. Stop by our
GitHub repository and let us know of any issues you find
or features you would like added.

The post Announcing the release of Get-WhatsNew appeared first on PowerShell Team.

We are excited to announce that the July update to the PowerShell Extension for Visual Studio Code

is now available on the extension marketplace.

This release renames the “PowerShell Integrated Console” to the “PowerShell Extension Terminal” to align with VS Code’s verbiage, adds many regression tests, and includes a number of bug fixes!

Updates in the July release

Note that these updates all shipped in our PowerShell Preview Extension
for VS Code before shipping in our stable channel.

Some highlights of July release:

• vscode-powershell #4093 – Use globalStorageUri for log and session files.
  • vscode-powershell #4053 – Rename “Integrated Console” to “Extension Terminal”.
  • PowerShellEditorServices #1849 – Add Directory.Exists() check to SetInitialWorkingDirectoryAsync().

For the full list of changes please refer to our changelog.

Improvements to our tests

We are currently building out regression tests for the extension to cover everything we broke and subsequently fixed during the major rewrite earlier this year. We have a strong focus on quality,
and want to ensure we continue to deliver a production-ready, high-quality extension to you, our users.
We have made a large investment in improving the extension so we want to be able to
confidently continue to iterate on this project without inadvertently impacting the performance, stability, or feature set.

We’ve begun this work already, and are tracking in our GitHub repository.

Some highlights of this work so far include:

• PowerShellEditorServices #1846 – Add end-to-end Pester unit test.
• PowerShellEditorServices #1857 – Add regression test for $PSDebugContext in prompt function.
• PowerShellEditorServices #1858 – Add regression test for debugging script with dot-source operator.
• PowerShellEditorServices #1861 – Add DebuggerBreaksInUntitledScript unit test.
• PowerShellEditorServices #1859 – Update and extend CI matrix.
• PowerShellEditorServices #1793 – Improve CI stability.

Getting support and giving feedback

While we hope the new implementation provides a much better user experience, there are bound to be issues. Please let us know if you run into anything.

If you encounter any issues with the PowerShell Extension in Visual Studio Code or have feature requests, the best place to get support is through our GitHub repository.

Sydney
PowerShell Team

The post PowerShell Extension for Visual Studio Code July 2022 Update appeared first on PowerShell Team.

We are excited to announce that an update to our preview of PowerShellGet 3.0 is now available on the PowerShell Gallery!

This release includes ScriptFileInfo cmdlets, Update-ModuleManifest support, and an AuthenticodeCheck for Install.

How to Install PowerShellGet 3.0 Preview 16

Prerequisites

Please note that this preview release of PowerShellGet 3.0 does not support PowerShell 7.0, 7.1 or 7.2-preview1.

This is a temporary issue due to a dependency and should be resolved in future releases. This release does support Windows PowerShell 5.1, PowerShell 7.2 and 7.3-previews.

Please ensure that you have the latest (non-prerelease) version of PowerShellGet and PackageManagement installed. To check the version you currently have installed run the command Get-InstalledModule PowerShellGet, PackageManagement

The latest version of PowerShellGet is 2.2.5, and the latest version of PackageManagement is 1.4.7. To install the latest versions of these modules run the following: Install-Module PowerShellGet -Force -AllowClobber

Installing the Preview

To install this preview release side-by-side with your existing PowerShellGet version, open any PowerShell console and run: Install-Module PowerShellGet -Force -AllowPrerelease

What to expect in this update

This update adds a number of cmdlets related to package metadata as well as a new -AuthenticodeCheck parameter for Install-PSResource, Save-PSResource, Update-PSResource.

Features of this release

• New-ScriptFileInfo
• Update-ScriptFileInfo
• Test-ScriptFileInfo
• Update-ModuleManifest
• Implementation of Authenticode validation via -AuthenticodeCheck for Install-PSResource

Bug Fixes

• Bug fix for installing modules with manifests that contain dynamic script blocks

Using -AuthenticodeCheck

In PowerShellGetv2 we performed what was called a PublisherCheck, for the sake of clarity in PowerShellGet 3.0 we have renamed this check to be specific to the check being made. The parameter is now opt-in and is called -AuthenticodeCheck. This check validates signed files and catalog files on Windows.

Features to Expect in Coming Preview Releases

This module is not yet complete. The focus for our next preview release is improving the performance of find/install. For the full list of issues for our next preview release please refer to our GitHub project.

How to Track the Development of this Module

GitHub is the best place to track the bugs/feature requests related to this module. We have used a combination of projects and labels on our GitHub repo to track issues for this upcoming release. We are using the label Resolved-3.0 to label issues that we plan to release at some point before we release the module as GA (generally available).

To track issues/features for the next release, please refer to this GitHub project.

Timeline/Road Map

Expect to see preview releases as new functionality is added and bug fixes are made. User feedback will help us determine when we can have a Release Candidate version of the module which will be supported to be used in production. Based on user feedback, if we believe the 3.0 release is complete, then we will publish a 3.0 version of the module as Generally Available. Since these milestones are driven by quality, rather than date, we cannot offer an exact timeline at this point.

How to Give feedback and Get Support

We cannot overstate how critical user feedback is at this stage in the development of the module. Feedback from preview releases help inform design decisions without incurring a breaking change once generally available and used in production.

In order to help us to make key decisions around the behavior of the module please give us feedback by opening issues in our GitHub repository.

Sydney Smith

PowerShell Team

The post PowerShellGet 3.0 Preview 16 appeared first on PowerShell Team.