A curated list of awesome vscode snippets for PowerShell.
Inspired by the awesome lists, focusing on PowerShell snippets in VSCode
Code snippets are templates that make it easier to enter repeating code patterns, such as loops or conditional-statements. The list of snippets below is not integrated into the extension. However, instead, users can add them to their own, custom snippets file. Check out the VSCode documentation on snippets. It provides an overview and instructions on how to author snippets. It's really simple - just a little bit of JSON.
To contribute, check out our guide here.
Snippet name | Description |
---|---|
AssertMock | Creates assert mock Pester test |
AWSRegionDynamicParameter | Creates a dynamic parameter of current AWS regions by @jbruett |
DataTable | Creates a DataTable |
DateTimeWriteVerbose | Write-Verbose with the time and date pre-pended to your message by @ThmsRynr |
Error-Terminating | Create a full terminating error by @omniomi |
Exchange Online Connection | Create a connection to Exchange Online by @vmsilvamolina |
HTML header | Add HTML header with the style tag by @vmsilvamolina |
MaxColumnLengthinDataTable | Gets the max length of string columns in datatables |
New Azure Resource Group | Create an Azure Resource group by @vmsilvamolina |
Parameter-Credential | Add a standard credential parameter to your function by @omniomi |
PesterTestForMandatoryParameter | Create Pester test for a mandatory parameter |
PesterTestForParameter | Create Pester test for parameter |
Send-MailMessage | Send an mail message with the most common parameters by @fullenw1 |
Creates Assert Mock for Pester Tests y @SQLDBAWithABeard
"AssertMock": {
"prefix": "AssertMock",
"body": [
"$$assertMockParams = @{",
"\t'CommandName' = '${1:Command}'",
"\t'Times' = ${2:1}",
"\t'Exactly' = $$true",
"}",
"Assert-MockCalled @assertMockParams"
],
"description": "AssertMock snippet for Pestering"
}
Creates a dynamic parameter of the current AWS regions. Includes parameter validation.
"AWSRegionDynamicParam": {
"prefix": "aws_region",
"body": [
"DynamicParam {",
"\t$ParamDictionary = New-Object System.Management.Automation.RuntimeDefinedParameterDictionary",
"\t$CR_ParamName = 'Region'",
"\t$CR_AttributeCollection = New-Object System.Collections.ObjectModel.Collection[System.Attribute]",
"\t$CR_Attribute = New-Object System.Management.Automation.ParameterAttribute",
"\t$CR_Attribute.HelpMessage = 'List all the regions to be included in the document'",
"\t$CR_Attribute.Mandatory = $true",
"\t$CR_Attribute.ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName = $true",
"\t$CR_AttributeCollection.add($CR_Attribute)",
"\t$CR_intRegions = Get-AWSRegion -IncludeChina | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Region",
"\t$CR_intRegions += Get-AWSRegion -IncludeGovCloud | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Region",
"\t$CR_intRegions = $CR_intRegions | Select-Object -Unique",
"\t$CR_ValidateSetAttribute = New-Object System.Management.Automation.ValidateSetAttribute($CR_intRegions)",
"\t$CR_AttributeCollection.add($CR_ValidateSetAttribute)",
"\t$CR_Param = New-Object System.Management.Automation.RuntimeDefinedParameter($CR_ParamName, [String[]],$CR_AttributeCollection)",
"\t$ParamDictionary.Add($CR_ParamName, $CR_Param)",
"\treturn $paramDictionary",
"\t}"
],
"description": "A dynamic parameter that builds a list of AWS regions"
}
Quickly create a Data Table object by @SQLDBAWithABeard.
"DataTable": {
"prefix": "DataTable",
"body": [
"# Create DataTable Object",
"$$table = New-Object system.Data.DataTable $$TableName",
"\r# Create Columns",
"$$col1 = New-Object system.Data.DataColumn NAME1,([string])",
"$$col2 = New-Object system.Data.DataColumn NAME2,([decimal])",
"\r#Add the Columns to the table",
"$$table.columns.add($$col1)",
"$$table.columns.add($$col2)",
"\r# Create a new Row",
"$$row = $$table.NewRow() ",
"\r# Add values to new row",
"$$row.Name1 = 'VALUE'",
"$$row.NAME2 = 'VALUE'",
"\r#Add new row to table",
"$$table.Rows.Add($$row)"
],
"description": "Creates a Data Table Object"
}
Quickly add a Write-Verbose
with the current date and time inserted before the message you're going to write to the verbose stream, by @ThmsRynr.
"DateTimeWriteVerbose": {
"prefix": "dtwv",
"body": [
"Write-Verbose \"[$(Get-Date -format G)] ${1:message}\"$0"
],
"description": "Pre-pend datetime for Write-Verbose"
}
Quickly add a fully defined error record and throw. by @omniomi
"Throw Terminating Error": {
"prefix": "error-terminating",
"body": [
"\\$Exception = New-Object ${1:System.ArgumentException} (\"${2:Invalid argument provided.}\")\r",
"\\$ErrorCategory = [System.Management.Automation.ErrorCategory]::${3:InvalidArgument}\r",
"# Exception, ErrorId as [string], Category, and TargetObject (e.g. the parameter that was invalid)\r",
"\\$ErrorRecord = New-Object System.Management.Automation.ErrorRecord(\\$Exception, '${4:InvalidArgument}', \\$ErrorCategory, ${5:\\$null})\r",
"\\$PSCmdlet.ThrowTerminatingError(\\$ErrorRecord)"
],
"description": "Throw a full terminating error."
}
Connect to Exchange Online, by @vmsilvamolina
"Exchange Online Connection": {
"prefix": "ex-ExchangeOnlineConnection",
"body": [
"#Set Execution Policy",
"Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope Process",
"#Define credential",
"\\$UserCredential = Get-Credential",
"# Create the session",
"\\$Session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://outlook.office365.com/powershell-liveid/ -Credential \\$UserCredential -Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection",
"Import-PSSession \\$Session -DisableNameChecking"
],
"description": "Connect to Exchange Online"
}
Add HTML header to a variable with the style tag (for css).
"HtML header": {
"prefix": "ex-AddHTMLheader",
"body": [
"#HTML file and styles",
"\\$htmlHeader = @\"",
"<!doctype html\">",
"<html lang=\"e\">",
"<head>",
"<meta charset=\"UTF-8\">",
"<title>${1:Title}</title>",
"<style type=\"text/css\">",
"body {",
"}",
"</style>",
"</head>",
"\"@"
],
"description": "Add HTML header section"
}
Takes a datatable object and iterates through it to get the max length of the string columns - useful for data loads into a SQL Server table with fixed column widths by @SQLDBAWithABeard
"Max Length of Datatable": {
"prefix": "Max Length of Datatable",
"body": [
"$$columns = ($$datatable | Get-Member -MemberType Property).Name",
"foreach($$column in $$Columns) {",
"\t$$max = 0",
"\tforeach ($$a in $$datatable){",
"\t\tif($$max -lt $$a.$$column.length){",
"\t\t\t$$max = $$a.$$column.length",
"\t\t}",
"\t}",
"\tWrite-Output \"$$column max length is $$max\"",
"}"
],
"description": "Takes a datatable object and iterates through it to get the max length of the string columns - useful for data loads"
}
Create a Resource Group on Azure, by @vmsilvamolina.
"New Azure Resource Group": {
"prefix": "ex-New-AzureRmResourceGroup",
"body": [
"#New Resource Group",
"New-AzureRmResourceGroup -ResourceGroupName \"${1:ResourceGroup}\" -Location \"${2:EastUS}\""
],
"description": "Create an Azure Resource Group"
}
Add a -Credential
parameter that supports a PSCredential object in a variable, -Credential (Get-Credential)
, or -Credential Username
(will prompt). Includes an empty PSCredential object as the default value but this is the first tabstop so pressing backspace after inserting the snippet removes it. by @omniomi
"Parameter-Credential": {
"prefix": "parameter-credential",
"body": [
"# Specifies the user account credentials to use when performing this task.\r",
"[Parameter()]\r",
"[ValidateNotNull()]\r",
"[System.Management.Automation.PSCredential]\r",
"[System.Management.Automation.Credential()]\r",
"$$Credential${1: = [System.Management.Automation.PSCredential]::Empty}"
],
"description": "Parameter declaration snippet for a Credential parameter."
}
Quickly create a Pester Test for existence of a mandatory parameter by @SQLDBAWithABeard
"Pester for Mandatory Parameter": {
"prefix": "mandatoryParamPester",
"body": [
"It \"${1:FunctionName} Should have a mandatory parameter ${2:ParameterName}\" {",
"\t(Get-Command ${1:FunctionName}).Parameters['${2:ParameterName}'].Attributes.Mandatory | Should -BeTrue",
"}"
],
"description": "Pester Test for Parameter"
}
Quickly create a Pester Test for existence of a parameter by @SQLDBAWithABeard
"Pester for Parameter": {
"prefix": "Param Pester",
"body": [
"It \"${1:FunctionName} Should have a parameter ${2:ParameterName}\" {",
"\t(Get-Command ${1:FunctionName}).Parameters['${2:ParameterName}'].Count | Should -Be 1",
"}"
],
"description": "Pester Test for Parameter"
}
Add the Send-MailMessage cmdlet with the most common parameters in a hashtable for splatting, by @fullenw1.
"ex-Send-MailMessage": {
"prefix": "ex-Send-MailMessage",
"body": [
"$$Params = @{",
" 'SmtpServer' = 'smtp.mycompany.com'",
" 'Port' = 25",
" 'Priority' = 'Normal'",
" 'From' = '[email protected]'",
" 'To' = '[email protected]'",
" 'Cc' = '[email protected]'",
" 'Bcc' = '[email protected]'",
" 'Subject' = 'Mail title'",
" 'Body' = 'This is the content of my mail'",
" 'BodyAsHtml' = $$false",
" 'Attachments' = 'c:\\MyFile.txt'",
"}",
"Send-MailMessage @Params"
],
"description": "Send a mail message"
}
To optimize snippet usability and discoverability for end users we will only ship snippets in the extension which we believe meet the following requirements:
- Must be broadly applicable to most PowerShell extension users
- Must be substantially different from existing snippets or intellisense
- Must not violate any intellectual property rights
If your snippet does not meet these requirements but would still be useful to customers we will include it in our list of Awesome Community Snippets. Additionally, snippet creators can publish snippet libraries as standalone extensions in the VSCode Marketplace.
If you'd like a snippet to be considered for addition to the list, open a pull request with the following changes:
You need to add an item to the table of contents. The addition should follow the alpha ordering of the list. The ToC item template looks like this:
| [Name of snippet](link to header of your snippet) | _some short description_ |
An example looks like this (NOTE: all lowercase link):
| [PSCustomObject](#pscustomobject) | _A simple PSCustomObject_ |
which will show up in the ToC like this:
Snippet Name | Description |
---|---|
PSCustomObject | A simple PSCustomObject |
You need to also add an item to the body in alpha order. The body item template looks like this:
### Name of snippet
Enter your description here. It can be the same as the ToC or a longer version.
#### Snippet
```json
{
"Put your":"snippet here",
"indent it":"properly"
}
```
An example looks like this:
### PSCustomObject
A simple PSCustomObject.
#### Snippet
```json
"PSCustomObject": {
"prefix": "PSCustomObject",
"body": [
"[PSCustomObject]@{",
"\t${1:Name} = ${2:Value}",
"}"
],
"description": "Creates a PSCustomObject"
}
```
which will show up in the body like this:
A simple PSCustomObject. Note, this snippet ships with the PowerShell extension.
"PSCustomObject": {
"prefix": "PSCustomObject",
"body": [
"[PSCustomObject]@{",
"\t${1:Name} = ${2:Value}",
"}"
],
"description": "Creates a PSCustomObject"
}