Setting up your environment

  • Tool and application settings

    Your profile script is where you configure your environment. Use it to set configuration options that don’t persist across sessions.

  • Loading modules

    Load the modules you use the most. Let PowerShell command discovery autoload other modules on demand.

  • Adding helper functions

    Don’t define a bunch of utility functions in your profile script. Instead, create a module and put your functions there. Only define the functions needed to bootstrap your environment in your profile script.

  • Configuring colors and keybindings

    PSReadLine allows you to configure colors and keybindings. Add these commands to your profile so they persist across sessions.

  • $PSDefaultParameterValues

    The $PSDefaultParameterValues preference variable allows you to set default parameter values for cmdlets. For example, you may want the Install-Module to alway use the SkipPublisherCheck parameter.

    Here are several examples:

    $PSDefaultParameterValues = @{
    'Out-Default:OutVariable'           = 'LastResult'  # Save output to $LastResult
    'Out-File:Encoding'                 = 'utf8'        # PS5.1 defaults to ASCII
    'Export-Csv:NoTypeInformation'      = $true         # PS5.1 defaults to $false
    'ConvertTo-Csv:NoTypeInformation'   = $true         # PS5.1 defaults to $false
    'Receive-Job:Keep'                  = $true         # Prevents accidental loss of output
    'Install-Module:AllowClobber'       = $true         # Default behavior in Install-PSResource
    'Install-Module:Force'              = $true         # Default behavior in Install-PSResource
    'Install-Module:SkipPublisherCheck' = $true         # Default behavior in Install-PSResource
    'Group-Object:NoElement'            = $true         # Minimize noise in output
    'Find-Module:Repository'            = 'PSGallery'   # Useful if you have private test repos
    'Install-Module:Repository'         = 'PSGallery'   # Useful if you have private test repos
    'Find-PSResource:Repository'        = 'PSGallery'   # Useful if you have private test repos
    'Install-PSResource:Repository'     = 'PSGallery'   # Useful if you have private test repos
}

  • Custom prompts

    In PowerShell, the command prompt that is displayed is created by the prompt function. You can write your own custom prompt function to display whatever you want.