PSProfile

PSProfile is a cross-platform PowerShell module built for profile customization. It uses PoshCode's Configuration module to handle the layered Configuration.

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• PSProfile
  • Background
  • Quick Start
  • Getting Help
  • Tips & Tricks
    • ProjectPaths
    • ScriptPaths
  • Contributing
  • Code of Conduct
  • License
  • Changelog

Background

I do a LOT of profile customization, including loading in various custom functions I wrote, setting certain variables, invoking external profile scripts, etc, to make everyday tasks more efficient. I checked out the PowerShell Gallery for other Profile management modules but none seemed to satisfy all of the goals I had:

1. Minimize my profile script to be as small as I can be.
   • PSProfile only needs one line: Import-Module PSProfile.
2. Enable easy storage and recall of secrets, typically my own PSCredential object, for programmatic use. This would eliminate the use of BetterCredentials (overriding Get-Credential sometimes yielded unwanted results) and my own MyConfig module that I was using locally.
   • PSProfile includes a Vault to store PSCredential objects and named SecureStrings, e.g. API keys. Saving personal credentials? Set-PSProfileSecret (Get-Credential) -Save. Recalling later? Invoke-Command -Credential (Get-MyCreds)
3. Enable common prompt storage and quick prompt switching.
   • PSProfile has the ability to store prompts in its configuration with easy-to-remember names. Need to switch to your Demo prompt? Switch-Prompt Demo
4. Be extensible.
   • PSProfile includes Plugin support. A PSProfile Plugin can be a simple script or a full module. You can also include an ArgumentList to pass to the script/module during invocation.
5. Maintain my PowerShell environment's desired state.
   • PSProfile includes additional configuration options to specify modules you'd like to ensure are installed or are imported during profile load, scripts to invoke, Symbolic Links to create, etc.

I hope that you enjoy PSProfile as much as I do! It includes a TON of convenience features and is built to run cross-platform and tested in Azure Pipelines with Windows PowerShell, PowerShell 6+ on Windows, PowerShell 6+ on Linux, and PowerShell 6+ on MacOS.

Quick Start

1. Install the module and its dependencies from the PowerShell Gallery:

   Install-Module PSProfile -Repository PSGallery -Scope CurrentUser

2. Import the module:

   Import-Module PSProfile

3. Run the Configuration Helper command and follow the prompts:

   Start-PSProfileConfigurationHelper

Getting Help

PSProfile includes help and examples on every function, e.g.:

>> Get-Help Add-PSProfilePrompt

NAME
    Add-PSProfilePrompt

SYNOPSIS
    Saves the Content to $PSProfile.Prompts as the Name provided for recall later.


SYNTAX
    Add-PSProfilePrompt [[-Name] <String>] [-Content <Object>] [-SetAsDefault] [<CommonParameters>]


DESCRIPTION
    Saves the Content to $PSProfile.Prompts as the Name provided for recall later.


RELATED LINKS

REMARKS
    To see the examples, type: "get-help Add-PSProfilePrompt -examples".
    For more information, type: "get-help Add-PSProfilePrompt -detailed".
    For technical information, type: "get-help Add-PSProfilePrompt -full"

It also includes handy HelpFiles for each concept:

>> Get-Help about_PSProfile*

Name                               Category Module Synopsis
----                               -------- ------ --------
about_PSProfile                    HelpFile        An overview of PSProfile module and its various components and concepts.
about_PSProfile_Command_Aliases    HelpFile        An overview of the Command Alias concept in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Configuration      HelpFile        An overview of the Configuration functions in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Helpers            HelpFile        An overview of the Helper functions in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Meta               HelpFile        An overview of the Meta functions in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Modules_to_Import  HelpFile        An overview of the Modules to Import concept in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Modules_to_Install HelpFile        An overview of the Modules to Install concept in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Path_Aliases       HelpFile        An overview of the Path Alias concept in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Plugins            HelpFile        An overview of the Plugins concept in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Plugin_Paths       HelpFile        An overview of the Plugin Paths concept in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Project_Paths      HelpFile        An overview of the Project Paths concept in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Prompts            HelpFile        An overview of the Prompts concept in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Script_Paths       HelpFile        An overview of the Script Paths concept in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Secrets            HelpFile        An overview of the Secrets concept in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Symbolic_Links     HelpFile        An overview of the Symbolic Link concept in PSProfile.
about_PSProfile_Variables          HelpFile        An overview of the Variables concept in PSProfile.

Tips & Tricks

ProjectPaths

Add-PSProfileProjectPath C:\WorkProjects,~\PersonalGit -Save

This adds the two folders to your ProjectPaths and refreshes your PSProfile to import any projects immediately to the internal GitPathMap. If any build.ps1 files are found, those are added to another special dictionary in PSProfile as well for tab-completion.

Adding a ProjectPath provides tab completion of project folder names for the included PowerTools plugin functions, such as...

• Push-Path (Alias: push) - Like Set-Location, but now with tab-completion goodness for your project folders.
• Open-Item (Alias: open) - Runs Invoke-Item underneath but allows tab-completed project folder names as input that is expanded to the full path in the function body.
• Open-Code - Adds convenience wrappers to the code CLI tool for Visual Studio Code, allowing you to specify the language of the content you are passing via pipeline to stdin to display in VS Code, as well as tab completion of project folder names to open quickly as well.

  • Pro-tip: Open-Code is designed as a replacement for the normal code CLI tool. I recommend adding an alias. You can do this directly with PSProfile for persistence by running Add-PSProfileCommandAlias -Alias code -Command Open-Code -Save

• Start-BuildScript (Alias: bld) - Use build.ps1 scripts often for building projects? This function will invoke your build script in a new child process with -NoProfile included to prevent any false flags that may happen while your profile is loaded as well as prevent file-locking.
• Enter-CleanEnvironment (Alias: cln) - Opens a child process up in the current directory with -NoProfile and a custom prompt to let you know you're in a clean environment. Use the -ImportModule switch to import a compiled module in the BuildOutput folder of your current directly if found.
• Get-LongPath (Alias: path) - Want to leverage tab-completion of project folder names for other commands? Use this to expand the long path of a project folder name like so, Get-ChildItem (path PSProfile)

ScriptPaths

Add-PSProfileScriptPath ~\PowerShell\Profile\FunTools.ps1 -Save

This adds the script specified to $PSProfile.ScriptPaths. Any scripts here will be invoked during PSProfile load. Include the -Invoke switch to also invoke the script immediately without needing to reload your session or re-import PSProfile.

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Contributing

Interested in helping out with PSProfile development? Please check out our Contribution Guidelines!

Building the module locally to test changes is as easy as running the build.ps1 file in the root of the repo. This will compile the module with your changes and import the newly compiled module at the end by default.

Want to run the Pester tests locally? Pass Test as the value to the Task script parameter like so:

.\build.ps1 -Task Test

Code of Conduct

Please adhere to our Code of Conduct when interacting with this repo.

License

Apache 2.0

Changelog

Full CHANGELOG here