PowerShellTips.json

[
  {
    "CreatedDate": "2023-07-16T00:00:00",
    "Title": "PowerShell is open source",
    "TipText": "Did you know that PowerShell is open source? You can contribute to the project on GitHub.",
    "Example": "",
    "Urls": [
      "https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell"
    ],
    "MinPowerShellVersion": "0.0",
    "Category": 0
  },
  {
    "CreatedDate": "2023-07-17T00:00:00",
    "Title": "Set Strict Mode on your scripts",
    "TipText": "Enforce coding rules and raise errors for common coding mistakes by declaring strict mode at the top of your scripts.",
    "Example": "Set-StrictMode -Version Latest",
    "Urls": [
      "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/set-strictmode"
    ],
    "MinPowerShellVersion": "0.0",
    "Category": 4
  },
  {
    "CreatedDate": "2023-08-28T00:00:00",
    "Title": "View your command line history",
    "TipText": "PowerShell lets you view your session history with `Get-History` and it's alias `h`.\r\n`Get-PSReadLineOption` used with `Get-Content` takes history reading further by allowing you to read your current users lifetime history.",
    "Example": "Get-Content (Get-PSReadLineOption).HistorySavePath",
    "Urls": [
      "https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/psreadline/about/about_psreadline",
      "https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/get-history"
    ],
    "MinPowerShellVersion": "0.0",
    "Category": 5
  },
  {
    "CreatedDate": "2023-09-05T00:00:00",
    "Title": "When checking for $null, put $null on the left",
    "TipText": "When checking if a variable or expression is null, put the $null on the left side of the comparison.\r\n\r\nIf the variable you are checking is an array that contains a null value, the comparison may not return the expected result if you put the $null on the right side of the comparison.\r\n\r\nDo this: if ($null -eq $variable)\r\nNot this: if ($variable -eq $null)",
    "Example": "if ($null -eq $variable) { \"The variable really is null.\" }",
    "Urls": [
      "https://powershellexplained.com/2018-12-23-Powershell-null-everything-you-wanted-to-know/",
      "https://stackoverflow.com/a/60996703/602585"
    ],
    "MinPowerShellVersion": "0.0",
    "Category": 4
  },
  {
    "CreatedDate": "2023-09-06T00:00:00",
    "Title": "Use Ctrl+R to search your terminal history",
    "TipText": "When in your command prompt, press Ctrl+R to reverse search your terminal history. As you type, it will show the most recent matching command. This is a great way to find a command you ran previously, but can't remember the exact command or parameters.\r\n\r\nIf you press Ctrl+R again, it will show the next most recent matching command. You can keep pressing Ctrl+R to cycle through all matching commands. If you go past the command you wanted, press Ctrl+S and it will cycle through the matching commands in the opposite direction.\r\n\r\nNote: Requires the `PSReadLine` module, which is included in PowerShell 5.1 and newer.",
    "Example": "",
    "Urls": [
      "https://woshub.com/powershell-commands-history/"
    ],
    "MinPowerShellVersion": "0.0",
    "Category": 5
  },
  {
    "CreatedDate": "2023-09-06T00:00:00",
    "Title": "Use Ctrl+Space to list all parameters, properties, and possibilities",
    "TipText": "In the terminal, when you are typing a command, parameter, or property, press Ctrl+Space to see a list of all the possible options. If there is only a single option, it will auto-complete the field for you. If there are many options, it will list them all for you to choose from and you can use the arrow keys to navigate the list and select one.\r\n\r\nCtrl+Space is similar to tab completion, except it will show you all of the options instead of just one option at a time and having to tab cycle through them.\r\n\r\nNote: Requires the `PSReadLine` module, which is included in PowerShell 5.1 and newer.",
    "Example": "- Type `Get-Process -` and press Ctrl+Space to list all the possible parameters you can use with the `Get-Process` command.\r\n- Type `$variableName.` and press Ctrl+Space to list all the properties and methods for the variable.\r\n- Type `Get-Pro` and press Ctrl+Space to list all the commands that start with `Get-Pro`, including their parameter sets.\r\n- Type part of a variable name (e.g. $var) and press Ctrl+Space to list all the variables that start with `$var`, including their type if available (e.g. [string], [int]).",
    "Urls": [
      "https://blog.danskingdom.com/PowerShell-intellisense-on-the-command-line/"
    ],
    "MinPowerShellVersion": "0.0",
    "Category": 5
  },
  {
    "CreatedDate": "2023-09-11T00:00:00",
    "Title": "Ensure prerequisites are met by using #Requires",
    "TipText": "Use the #Requires statement to ensure that the environment meets the prerequisites for your script to run. You can use #Requires to check that:\r\n- A minimum PowerShell version is being used\r\n- PowerShell Desktop or PowerShell Core is being used\r\n- Specific modules or snap-ins are installed\r\n- The script is running as Administrator\r\n\r\nIf one of the required prerequisites are not met, PowerShell will throw an error and the script will not run.",
    "Example": "#Requires -Version 7.2\r\n#Requires -PSEdition Core\r\n#Requires -Modules @{ ModuleName=\"Az.KeyVault\"; ModuleVersion=\"4.0.0\" }\r\n#Requires -RunAsAdministrator",
    "Urls": [
      "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_requires"
    ],
    "MinPowerShellVersion": "0.0",
    "Category": 4
  },
  {
    "CreatedDate": "2023-09-11T00:00:00",
    "Title": "Join the monthly PowerShell community call!",
    "TipText": "The PowerShell Community Call is held on the 3rd Thursday of every month at 9:30 AM US Pacific Time. Topics include PowerShell 7, Windows OpenSSH, PSEditorServices/VSCode-PowerShell, PSScriptAnalyzer, PowerShell Gallery, and any other projects owned by the PowerShell Team.\r\n\r\nYou can join the Teams live event at https://aka.ms/JoinPSCall. The call is recorded and posted on YouTube.",
    "Example": "",
    "Urls": [
      "https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell-RFC/blob/master/CommunityCall/README.md",
      "https://powershell.org/series/powershell-community-call/",
      "https://www.youtube.com/@powershellanddscteamchanne5739"
    ],
    "MinPowerShellVersion": "0.0",
    "Category": 0
  },
  {
    "CreatedDate": "2023-09-11T00:00:00",
    "Title": "Read and write Excel spreadsheets with ImportExcel",
    "TipText": "Need to share large data sets with colleagues or your boss? Excel is still a popular way to do that. ImportExcel is a PowerShell module that makes it easy to read and write Excel spreadsheets. Use it to export your data to Excel, and even add charts and pivot tables. It's fast and doesn't require Excel to be installed on your computer. It's also cross-platform, so you can use it on Windows, macOS, and Linux.",
    "Example": "[PSCustomObject[]] $data = @(\r\n\t[PSCustomObject] @{\r\n\t\tFirstName = 'John'\r\n\t\tLastName = 'Doe'\r\n\t\tAge = 42\r\n\t}\r\n\t[PSCustomObject] @{\r\n\t\tFirstName = 'Jane'\r\n\t\tLastName = 'Doe'\r\n\t\tAge = 39\r\n\t}\r\n)\r\n$data | Export-Excel -Path 'C:\\Temp\\Results.xlsx' -WorksheetName 'People' -FreezeTopRow -AutoFilter -AutoSize",
    "Urls": [
      "https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/ImportExcel",
      "https://github.com/dfinke/ImportExcel"
    ],
    "MinPowerShellVersion": "0.0",
    "Category": 3
  },
  {
    "CreatedDate": "2023-09-12T00:00:00",
    "Title": "Get text file updates in realtime with Get-Content",
    "TipText": "Get-Content provides a `-Wait` switch that can be used to get updates to a text file in realtime. This is useful for monitoring log files from the terminal, or any other text file that is updated over time.\r\n\r\nIn addition, if you want to get the last N lines of a file, you can use the `-Tail` parameter. This is useful for getting only the last few lines of a very large text file.\r\n\r\nOnce you are done monitoring the file, you can press `Ctrl+C` to stop the command.",
    "Example": "Get-Content -Path $filePath -Wait -Tail 10",
    "Urls": [
      "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/get-content",
      "https://4sysops.com/archives/parse-log-files-with-powershell/"
    ],
    "MinPowerShellVersion": "0.0",
    "Category": 1
  }
]