Building PowerShell Modules
Building PowerShell Modules
An in-depth guide from design to production
About the Book
Overview
Are you a PowerShell scripter who wishes to take their skills to the next level? Have you ever wanted to create an open-source PowerShell module but didn't' know where to start? Then this book is for you!
Whether you are creating internal modules for your organization to use or open-source modules for the community to enjoy, you'll find something valuable in this book. This is not a "how to learn PowerShell" book. It is expected you already have the basics of PowerShell down, so things like PowerShell semantics and language features will not be the topic of this book. There are already some excellent books out there that cover the PowerShell language itself. I'd encourage you to take a look at those books first if you're interested in learning more about PowerShell as a language. Consider this book a follow-up to them where you will learn how to create useful, high-quality, and engaging PowerShell modules with real-world guidance, examples, and concept discussion.
This is an Agile-published book
Updates will be published as they are written. As PowerShell module practices evolve, so to will this book. Your one-time purchase grants you lifetime access to updates and any new content. You can even get notified via Leanpub (if you opt-in) when there's new content available, so you're always up to date.
Book Pricing
As significant parts of the book are published, the price will increase accordingly. If you've already purchased a copy, then you're all set! You won't have to pay another dime, and you'll receive any updates for free. This is an excellent reason to purchase it now before it's finished to lock in the lower price.
Book Parts
The book will include four separate parts to cover high-level concepts. Each part will consist of dedicated topic chapters relevant to that concept.
- Part 1 - Modules Primer
- Part 2 - Project and Module Design
- Part 3 - The Build and Test Loop
- Part 4 - Creating a Quality Community Project
Feedback
I love feedback. Use the "Email the Author(s)" link below to contact me. If something is unclear or you feel it is flat out wrong, let me know. All constructive feedback is welcome and ultimately creates a better book for everyone.
About the Author
Reader Testimonials
Jim Birley
It truly is a book that fills a long-standing gap in topics from other PowerShell books. I have been asking other people for good material on module development for quite some time. This book is it.
Table of Contents
-
- About the Author
-
About This Book
- PowerShell version
-
Roadmap
- Part 1
- Part 2
- Part 3
- Part 4
- Bonus
- Feedback
-
Typographic Conventions
- Asides
- Dedication
- Introduction
-
Part 1 - Modules Primer
-
1 Module Basics
- 1.1 What is a module
-
1.2 Why build modules
- 1.2.1 Organizing related functionality
- 1.2.2 Code sharing
- 1.2.3 Code reuse
- 1.2.4 Versioning
- 1.3 Terminology
-
1.4 Module types
- 1.4.1 Script modules
- 1.4.2 Binary modules
- 1.4.3 Manifest
- 1.4.4 What is a manifest
- 1.5 Summary
-
2 Working with Modules
-
2.1 Module locations
- 2.1.1 $env:PSModulePath
-
2.2 PowerShellGet
- 2.2.1 Finding modules online
- 2.2.2 Installing a module
- 2.2.3 Updating modules
- 2.2.4 Uninstalling modules
-
2.3 Discovering module information
- 2.3.1 Listing installed modules
- 2.3.2 Getting module commands
- 2.3.3 Exploring a module
-
2.4 Installing modules
- 2.4.1 Creating a hello world module
- 2.4.2 Manual installation
- 2.4.3 PowerShellGet
- 2.5 Saving modules
-
2.6 Importing modules
- 2.6.1 Modules are single-instance
- 2.6.2 Module prefixes
- 2.7 Being specific with module specifications
-
2.8 Module auto-loading
- 2.8.1 Controlling auto-loading behavior
-
2.9 Removing modules
- 2.9.1 Removing a module by name
- 2.9.2 Removing a module by using a module specification
- 2.9.3 Removing a module by PSModuleInfo
- 2.9.4 Caveats
- 2.10 Summary
-
2.1 Module locations
-
3 Authoring a Module
-
3.1 Basic structure of a module
- 3.1.1 Rules and conventions for module files
- 3.1.2 Exceptions to the rules
-
3.2 Creating a script module
- 3.2.1 Creating a basic script
- 3.2.2 Turning a script into a module
-
3.3 Manifests
- 3.3.1 Manifest structure
- 3.3.2 Creating a module manifest
- 3.3.3 Elements of a manifest
- 3.3.4 Updating a manifest
- 3.3.5 Testing a manifest
- 3.4 Summary
-
3.1 Basic structure of a module
-
4 Dealing with Module Dependencies
-
4.1 Module dependencies
- 4.1.1 Implicit dependencies
- 4.1.2 Explicit dependencies
- 4.1.3 Focusing our efforts
- 4.1.4 Defining dependencies to other modules
- 4.1.5 Installing dependencies
- 4.2 Summary
-
4.1 Module dependencies
-
5 Distributing Modules
-
5.1 PowerShell repositories
- 5.1.1 The default repository
- 5.1.2 Trusting repositories
- 5.1.3 Repository types
-
5.2 Creating a local repository
- 5.2.1 Registering a repository
-
5.3 Publishing a module locally
- 5.3.1 Publishing a module by name
- 5.3.2 Publishing a module by file path
-
5.4 The PowerShell Gallery, a tour
- 5.4.1 Navigating the Gallery
- 5.4.2 Registering on the Gallery
- 5.4.3 Managing API keys
- 5.5 Summary
-
5.1 PowerShell repositories
-
1 Module Basics
-
Part 2 - Project and Module Design
-
6 Choosing a Module Layout
-
6.1 Monolithic PSM1
- 6.1.1 Module structure
-
6.2 Category submodules
- 6.2.1 Grouping by domain
-
6.3 Dot-sourced functions from PSM1
- 6.3.1 What happens during import
- 6.3.2 Advantages and disadvantages
- 6.4 Final verdict
- 6.5 Summary
-
6.1 Monolithic PSM1
-
7 Keeping Some Module Contents Private
-
7.1 Determining the public functions
- 7.1.1 The role of private functions
- 7.1.2 Candidates for private functions
- 7.1.3 Controlling the visibility of variables and aliases
- 7.2 Summary
-
7.1 Determining the public functions
-
8 Using Classes in a Module
-
8.1 Importing classes
- 8.1.1 The using statement
- 8.1.2 Differences from Import-Module
- 8.1.3 Differences from #requires
-
8.2 Using classes internally in a module
- 8.2.1 Trying to dot-source classes
- 8.3 Ordering classes
-
8.4 Extending classes from other modules
- 8.4.1 Having a module reference classes from another module
-
8.5 The user experience of classes
- 8.5.1 Providing functions to create class instances
- 8.6 Summary
-
8.1 Importing classes
-
9 Building a Module From Many Files
- 9.1 Benefits of a monolithic PSM1
- 9.2 Benefits of dot-sourced functions
- 9.3 Creating a dot-sourced module
-
9.4 Building a module - E pluribus enum (out of many, one)
- 9.4.1 Creating a project directory
- 9.4.2 Creating a build script
- 9.4.3 Running the build script
- 9.4.4 Exporting functions in the manifest
- 9.5 Summary
-
10 Versioning a Module
-
10.1 What is a software version
- 10.1.1 Examples of versioning schemes
-
10.2 Semantic Versioning
- 10.2.1 SemVer rules
- 10.2.2 Why SemVer is useful
-
10.3 Automating module versioning
- 10.3.1 Avoid auto-incrementing
- 10.3.2 Incrementing a module version
-
10.4 Pre-release versioning
- 10.4.1 Adding a pre-release moniker
- 10.4.2 Publishing a pre-release module
- 10.4.3 Finding and installing a pre-release module
- 10.5 Tips for avoiding breaking changes
-
10.6 Handling deprecation
- 10.6.1 Communication avenues
-
10.7 Specifying compatible operating systems and PowerShell editions
- 10.7.1 The CompatiblePSEditions module manifest field
- 10.8 Summary
-
10.1 What is a software version
-
11 Building Better Functions
-
11.1 Plan your dive, dive your plan
- 11.1.1 Planning your functions
- 11.1.2 Think about the experience
- 11.2 Functions should do one thing
- 11.3 Creating testable functions
- 11.4 Self-contained functions
-
11.5 Writing defensive functions
- 11.5.1 Enforce mandatory parameters
- 11.5.2 Explicitly define parameter types
- 11.5.3 Use validation attributes
- 11.6 Document your functions
- 11.7 Adhere to approved verbs
- 11.8 Use proper parameter names
- 11.9 Use advanced functions
- 11.10 Support the pipeline
-
11.11 Create safe functions
-
11.11.1 Adding -WhatIf and
-Confirmto your functions - 11.11.2 Using the -Force
-
11.11.1 Adding -WhatIf and
-
11.12 Sensible error handling
- 11.12.1 Creating terminating errors
- 11.12.2 Creating non-terminating errors
-
11.13 Write with cross-platform in mind
- 11.13.1 Working with the PATH environment variable
- 11.13.2 File paths and delimiters
- 11.14 Summary
-
11.1 Plan your dive, dive your plan
-
12 Creating a Quality GitHub Project
-
12.1 The README
- 12.1.1 Elements of the README
- 12.1.2 Jazzing up the README with badges
- 12.2 Choosing a license
- 12.3 Keeping track of what changed
- 12.4 The Code of Conduct
- 12.5 Tell folks how to contribute
-
12.6 Issue and pull request templates
- 12.6.1 Template front matter and Markdown
- 12.6.2 Pull request template
-
12.7 Divvying up the work with CODEOWNERS
- 12.7.1 CODEOWNERS Syntax
- 12.8 Project sponsors and funding
- 12.9 Summary
-
12.1 The README
- 13 Documenting a Project
-
6 Choosing a Module Layout
- Part 3 - The Build and Test Loop
- Part 4 - Creating a Quality Community Project
-
Bonus Chapters
-
14 PowerShell Classes Explained
- 14.1 What is a PowerShell Class
- 14.2 Why use classes
- 14.3 Defining and creating a class
- 14.4 Adding class properties
- 14.5 Defining class methods
- 14.6 Initializing class properties
- 14.7 Validating properties by using attributes
- 14.8 Accessing the class members with $this
- 14.9 Passing input to methods
- 14.10 Method overloading and signatures
-
14.11 Making properties and methods static
- 14.11.1 Accessing static properties
- 14.11.2 Calling static methods
- 14.12 Initializing a class instance with constructors
-
14.13 Inheritance
- 14.13.1 Creating a derived class
- 14.13.2 Overriding methods
- 14.13.3 Calling base methods
- 14.13.4 Calling constructors
- 14.14 Hiding properties and methods
-
14.15 Enumerations
- 14.15.1 Using an enumeration
- 14.15.2 Using enumerations in parameters
- 14.15.3 Creating an enumeration
- 14.15.4 Flag enumerations
- 14.16 Summary
-
14 PowerShell Classes Explained
Other books by this author
The Leanpub 60-day 100% Happiness Guarantee
Within 60 days of purchase you can get a 100% refund on any Leanpub purchase, in two clicks.
See full terms
Do Well. Do Good.
Authors have earned$11,583,453writing, publishing and selling on Leanpub, earning 80% royalties while saving up to 25 million pounds of CO2 and up to 46,000 trees.
Learn more about writing on Leanpub
Free Updates. DRM Free.
If you buy a Leanpub book, you get free updates for as long as the author updates the book! Many authors use Leanpub to publish their books in-progress, while they are writing them. All readers get free updates, regardless of when they bought the book or how much they paid (including free).
Most Leanpub books are available in PDF (for computers), EPUB (for phones and tablets) and MOBI (for Kindle). The formats that a book includes are shown at the top right corner of this page.
Finally, Leanpub books don't have any DRM copy-protection nonsense, so you can easily read them on any supported device.
Learn more about Leanpub's ebook formats and where to read them
Top Books
- #1
SignalR on .NET 6 - the Complete Guide
Fiodar SazanavetsLearn everything there is to learn about SignalR and how to integrate it with the latest .NET 6 and C# 10 features. Learn how to connect any type of client to SignalR, including plain WebSocket client. Learn how to build interactive applications that can communicate with each other in real time without making excessive calls.
- #2
The easiest way to learn design patterns
Fiodar SazanavetsLearn design patterns in the easiest way possible. You will no longer have to brute-force your way through each one of them while trying to figure out how it works. The book provides a unique methodology that will make your understanding of design patterns stick. It can also be used as a reference book where you can find design patterns in seconds.
- #3
Functional event-driven architecture: Powered by Scala 3
Gabriel VolpeExplore the event-driven architecture (EDA) in a purely functional way, mainly powered by Fs2 streams in Scala 3!
Leverage your functional programming skills by designing and writing stateless microservices that scale, powered by stateful message brokers.
- #4
Tech Giants in Healthcare
Dr. Bertalan MeskoThis comprehensive guide, Tech Giants in Healthcare, clarifies how and why big tech companies step into healthcare, and breaks it down from one market player to the other in what direction they are going, what tools they are using and what horizons they have in front of them.
- #5
OpenIntro Statistics
David Diez, Christopher Barr, Mine Cetinkaya-Rundel, and OpenIntroA complete foundation for Statistics, also serving as a foundation for Data Science.
Leanpub revenue supports OpenIntro (US-based nonprofit) so we can provide free desk copies to teachers interested in using OpenIntro Statistics in the classroom and expand the project to support free textbooks in other subjects.
More resources: openintro.org.
- #6
Ansible for DevOps
Jeff GeerlingAnsible is a simple, but powerful, server and configuration management tool. Learn to use Ansible effectively, whether you manage one server—or thousands.
- #7
Recipes for Decoupling
Matthias Noback - #8
CCIE Service Provider Version 4 Written and Lab Exam Comprehensive Guide
Nicholas RussoThe service provider landscape has changed rapidly over the past several years. Networking vendors are continuing to propose new standards, techniques, and procedures for overcoming new challenges while concurrently reducing costs and delivering new services. Cisco has recently updated the CCIE Service Provider track to reflect these changes; this book represents the author's personal journey in achieving that certification.
- #9
Jetpack Compose internals
Jorge CastilloJetpack Compose is the future of Android UI. Master how it works internally and become a more efficient developer with it. You'll also find it valuable if you are not an Android dev. This book provides all the details to understand how the Compose compiler & runtime work, and how to create a client library using them.
- #10
C++20 - The Complete Guide
Nicolai M. JosuttisAll the new language and library features of C++20 (for those who know previous versions).
The book presents all new language and library features of C++20. Learn how this impacts day-to-day programming, to benefit in practice, to combine new features, and to avoid all new traps.
Buy early, pay less, free updates.
Other books:
Top Bundles
- #1
All the Books of The Medical Futurist
6 Books
We put together the most popular books from The Medical Futurist to provide a clear picture about the major trends shaping the future of medicine and healthcare. Digital health technologies, artificial intelligence, the future of 20 medical specialties, big pharma, data privacy, digital health investments and how technology giants such as Amazon... - #2
Practical FP in Scala + Functional event-driven architecture
2 Books
Practical FP in Scala (A hands-on approach) & Functional event-driven architecture, aka FEDA, (Powered by Scala 3), together as a bundle! The content of PFP in Scala is a requirement to understand FEDA so why not take advantage of this bundle!? - #3
CCIE Service Provider Ultimate Study Bundle
2 Books
Piotr Jablonski, Lukasz Bromirski, and Nick Russo have joined forces to deliver the only CCIE Service Provider training resource you'll ever need. This bundle contains a detailed and challenging collection of workbook labs, plus an extensively detailed technical reference guide. All of us have earned the CCIE Service Provider certification... - #5
Software Architecture for Developers: Volumes 1 & 2 - Technical leadership and communication
2 Books
"Software Architecture for Developers" is a practical and pragmatic guide to modern, lightweight software architecture, specifically aimed at developers. You'll learn:The essence of software architecture.Why the software architecture role should include coding, coaching and collaboration.The things that you really need to think about before... - #6
Pattern-Oriented Memory Forensics and Malware Detection
2 Books
This training bundle for security engineers and researchers, malware and memory forensics analysts includes two accelerated training courses for Windows memory dump analysis using WinDbg. It is also useful for technical support and escalation engineers who analyze memory dumps from complex software environments and need to check for possible... - #8
Modern C++ Collection
3 Books
Get All about Modern C++C++ Standard Library, including C++20Concurrency with Modern C++, including C++20C++20Each book has about 200 complete code examples. Updates are included. When I update one of the books, you immediately get the updated bundle. You can expect significant updates to each new C++ standard (C++23, C++26, .. ) and also... - #9
Linux Administration Complet
4 Books
Ce lot comprend les quatre volumes du Guide Linux Administration :Linux Administration, Volume 1, Administration fondamentale : Guide pratique de préparation aux examens de certification LPIC 1, Linux Essentials, RHCSA et LFCS. Administration fondamentale. Introduction à Linux. Le Shell. Traitement du texte. Arborescence de fichiers. Sécurité...
