How to use Microsoft PowerShell to boost your tasks automation journey

Last updated: 2022-01-06

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PowerShell is an open-source shell and scripting language based on the .NET Framework developed by Microsoft. It attempts to assist IT professionals who are not software engineers in developing efficient scripts and tools to perform their jobs more effectively.

PowerShell evolved from VBScript and batch files to offer a first-class command-line interface and script language that is simple to comprehend and utilize. Similar to object-oriented programming, PowerShell is object-oriented and largely reliant on objects (OOP).

PowerShell is two things: a command-line shell that enables users to execute commands through a command-line prompt equivalent to the traditional command prompt (cmd.exe). Additionally, it is a powerful scripting language capable of developing tools and automating just about everything you can imagine.

PowerShell has a wide range of commands, known as cmdlets and functions, that may be used in an interactive or scripted manner. These commands are either built binaries or user-written code covering a specific operation, such as reading a file or pinging a host machine.

Why Should You Use Powershell?

The following are some compelling reasons to use Powershell:

• PowerShell provides an integrated command-line interface for the operating system.
• PowerShell provides complete access to all of the .NET framework’s types.
• PowerShell is a quick approach to manage server and workstation components
• It is targeted at system administrators through its simplified syntax
• PowerShell is more reliable than VBScript or other scripting languages

Powershell’s characteristics

• PowerShell Remoting: PowerShell enables the execution of scripts and cmdlets on a remote system.
• Network File Transfer: Using the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) technology, Powershell natively supports prioritized, asynchronous, and throttled file transfers between computers.
• Transactions: Enables the cmdlet and enables developers to conduct specific tasks.
• **Background Jobs: **It enables you to launch a script or pipeline asynchronously. You may execute your tasks on a single local workstation or a network of remote devices.
• Evening: This command assists you in monitoring, forwarding, and responding to management and system events.
• Reusability: Once produced, scripts may be stored for subsequent use or combined with other scripts to accomplish additional tasks. As a result, repeated operations might be carried out to execute the scripts. This saves administrators time and money in terms of system configuration.

Powershell vs Powershell core

There are significant differences between Powershell’s Core and Desktop editions. It’s worth noting that the Core version of Powershell lacks several modules; thus, if your organization’s systems rely on such modules, switching to Powershell Core may not be a realistic solution.

Apart from that, Microsoft is attempting to replace Powershell with Powershell Core, with the Core version receiving new updates. Therefore it may be preferable to switch to Core if no key modules are missing. we have listed down some of the differences in the table below:

How to install PowerShell core

PowerShell Core installation is a simple process. As shown in the graphic below, PowerShell core installs using a basic wizard similar to that used by most other Windows apps.

Take a look at the following screenshot to see what the PowerShell core looks like. The PowerShell supplied with Windows 10 is running in the left-hand window, while PowerShell Core is running in the right-hand window.

The most apparent difference between the two windows is the background color, but a closer examination reveals more details. First, both PowerShell and PowerShell Core have notifications indicating that they are Microsoft-developed tools. The GitHub page for PowerShell Core nearly gives the impression that it is a third-party program, however, it is sanctioned by Microsoft.

Furthermore, you’ll see the version number in the screenshot. PowerShell 5.x is pre-installed on Windows. The version information for PowerShell Core does not even refer to it as “PowerShell Core,” but rather to PowerShell 6.1.3.

In most cases, when Microsoft releases a new version of a Windows component, the latest version replaces the previous version. That will not be the case with PowerShell. PowerShell Core is more than a replacement for PowerShell. Indeed, it serves a somewhat different function.

PowerShell on Linux

Microsoft has developed packages for nearly all Linux distributions that make it easy to install PowerShell on Linux. For instance, the following scripts will install PowerShell Core in Ubuntu:

• Import the public repository GPG keys

  curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | sudo apt-key add -
  

• Register the Microsoft Ubuntu 20.04 LTS repository

  curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/20.04/prod.list | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/microsoft.list
  

• Update packages

  sudo apt-get update
  

• Install PowerShell

  sudo apt-get install -y powershell
  

• Start PowerShell

  pwsh
  

PowerShell with Docker

You can easily experiment with PowerShell by using one of the official Microsoft PowerShell docker image

docker run -it --rm  mcr.microsoft.com/powershell:latest pwsh -Command Write-Host "Hello World"

How to create a PowerShell script?

Using the Notepad to create scripts

To build a PowerShell script on Windows 10 using the Notepad editor, follow these steps:

• Open Start.
• Type Notepad into the search bar and select the first result to start the tool.
• Write a new, or paste your script, in the text file —

Example: Write-Host "Hi Nicolas, here’s How to create a script using Notepad"

• Click the File menu.
• Select the Save As option.
• Type a descriptive name for the script — for example, first script.ps1.
• Save the changes by clicking the Save button.

Using PowerShell ISE terminal to create scripts

Alternatively, you may code your scripts on Windows 10 using the built-in PowerShell ISE terminal. Although the Integrated Scripting Environment is a sophisticated tool, the following steps will get you started:

• Open Start.
• Type Windows PowerShell ISE into the search box, right-click the first result, and choose Run as administrator.
• Select File from the menu bar.
• Click New to generate a new, empty.ps1 file.
• Create a new script or copy and paste the one you want to execute, for example, Write-Host "Congratulations! Your first script was successfully performed."

• Select File from the menu bar.
• Select the Save button.
• Give the script a name – for example, first script.ps1.

• Specify the folder in which to save the script.
• Select the Save button.

After completing the steps in Notepad or PowerShell ISE, the script is ready to start but initially fails. The default PowerShell settings are always configured to prevent any script from being executed. (Except running the script’s contents inside Visual Studio Code or PowerShell ISE.)

How to run PowerShell script file on Windows 10

If you want to launch a script file using PowerShell on Windows 10, you must update the execution policy.

To modify the execution policy to permit the execution of PowerShell scripts, follow these steps:

• Open Start.
• Type PowerShell into the search box, right-click the first option and choose the Run as administrator option.
• Type the following command and press Enter to enable scripts to run: Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
• Press Enter after typing A. (if applicable).

• Enter the following command to launch the script:

	& "C:\PATH\TO\SCRIPT\first script.ps1"

• Ensure that you replace PATH\TO\SCRIPT with the path to your script in the above command.
• For instance, the following command executes a script located in the Downloads folder: & "C:\Users\username\Downloads\first script.ps1

After you’ve completed all of the steps, the script will run, and if it was created properly, you should see the output without any problems.

On Windows 10, PowerShell supports four different execution policies, including the following:

• Restricted — Prevents the execution of any script.
• RemoteSigned — Allows scripts to be generated on the device to run, but scripts created on another computer will not execute unless they have the signature of a trusted publisher.
• AllSigned — All scripts will run only if a reputable publisher has signed them.
• Unrestricted – Allows the execution of any script.

In the above steps, we used the command to execute local scripts on Windows 10. However, if you are not expecting to execute scripts frequently, you may restore the default settings to prohibit untrusted scripts by following the identical procedures as above, but on step No. 4, use the Set-ExecutionPolicy Restricted command.

How to check your Powershell version

To determine the PowerShell version installed on Windows, do the following steps:

• Open PowerShell.
• Type the following command or copy-paste it: Get-Host | Select-Object Version.
• The output will include the PowerShell version.
• Alternatively, you may write $PSVersionTable and press Enter.
• Take note of the PSVersion line.

PowerShell commands

PowerShell commands are referred to as cmdlets. In PowerShell, the simplest approach to locate these commands is to perform Get-Command -Type Cmdlet.

# Get all cmdlets, functions, and aliases
Get-Command

# Get all commands of all types
Get-Command *

# Get cmdlets and display them in order
Get-Command -Type Cmdlet | Sort-Object -Property Noun | Format-Table -GroupBy Noun

This generates a list of all possible commands in PowerShell. You may scroll down the list till you locate the correct one.

What are the drawbacks of Windows PowerShell?

Custom software firms should consider a few downsides to employing PowerShell scripts for software development. The following are some of the points to consider.

• PowerShell needs the .NET framework and is Object-based. With most shells, text-based commands are utilized to accomplish tasks while developing scripts. When a programmer switches from another shell to PowerShell, he or she must adjust to a new way of thinking. This may take some time to adjust to.
• Another possible disadvantage of utilizing Windows PowerShell is that it may introduce certain security risks. Numerous IT experts use it to establish remote connections to other PCs and servers. When executed without care, PowerShell may leave certain security flaws exposed.
• Another problem with Windows PowerShell is that it needs a Web server running on the server to use remote capability. This requires more server space. Custom software development enterprises are often unwilling to dedicate additional resources to this.

Conclusion

PowerShell is a Microsoft-developed platform for tasks/job automation and configuration management that comprises of a command-line shell and a scripting language based on the .NET framework. It is a Windows first shell that can run cross-platform and can rival with other shell like bash on Windows 10.

Although PowerShell is a very powerful shell and scripting language, it might take some time to fully comprehend, particularly if you are unfamiliar with the .NET Framework. If you want to go further, Microsoft provide an extensive PowerShell documentation, which is fully opensourced and available in this Github PowerShell-Docs repository.

Reference Table: Cmdlet and Function

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