Create a Crescendo cmdlet definition

After you have researched the tool’s syntax and output and created parsers for the output, you can create a Crescendo configuration. A Crescendo configuration describes a new cmdlet. The cmdlet definition includes:

  • The Verb-Noun name of the new cmdlet
  • The parameters used by the cmdlet
  • The location of the original command-line tool
  • The subcommands and parameters passed to the command-line tool
  • The output handler that parses the output of the command-line tool

The configuration is stored as a JSON file. Crescendo uses the configuration file to create proxy cmdlets that call the original command-line tool. Crescendo exports the configuration as a PowerShell script module file and manifest that’s ready to deploy.

There are two ways to create a Crescendo definition file:

  1. The Microsoft.PowerShell.Crescendo module includes cmdlets that create command, parameter, example, help, and output handler objects for Crescendo.

    • New-CrescendoCommand
    • New-ExampleInfo
    • New-OutputHandler
    • New-ParameterInfo
    • New-UsageInfo

    These objects are then serialized to a JSON file that’s used as the Crescendo definition file using the Export-CrescendoModule command.

  2. You can manually create a JSON file that describes the cmdlet syntax and parameters. Crescendo includes a JSON schema file that enables IntelliSense in Visual Studio Code and ensures that the JSON file is correctly structured.

    Use the following JSON template to create a new Crescendo definition file:

    {
    "$schema": "https://aka.ms/PowerShell/Crescendo/Schemas/2022-06",
    "Commands": [

    ]
}