Install-Software "pwsh-sketches"

Introduction

Install my personal script set: “pwsh-sketches ,” which makes daily shell operations slightly more convenient and brings petit ideas to life. The script set is hosted on GitHub and can be installed on your PC using the version control system Git .

Key point: One of the interesting things about the shell is that you can easily craft useful tools tailored to your own work and level.

Disclaimer

“pwsh-sketches ” is an experimental set of PowerShell scripts for prototyping and exploring ideas. Note that while those scripts have been tested by the author to work, they are not intended for production use and may be unstable or incomplete.

License (Copyright)

pwsh-sketches is released on GitHub under the MIT License . You are free to modify and use it under this license. If you publish a modified script, Copyright notices (e.g. Copyright <Year of First Release> <Copyright Holder's Name>) should be included at the beginning of the source code or in the project’s Readme.md as follows:

pwsh-sketches: Copyright 2025 btklab under The MIT License

• The MIT License: https://opensource.org/license/mit
• btklab/pwsh-sketches: https://github.com/btklab/pwsh-sketches

Prerequisites

• ✓ Install PowerShell
• ✓ Install Git
• ✓ (Optional) Create a working directory
• ✓ (Optional) Learn PowerShell Basic
• ✓ Verified environment can be found here

Cloning the Repository

1. Launch PowerShell
2. Create and Move into the directory where you will place the repository
   • Example: Move into the bin directory created in Create a working directory
     • mkdir ~/cms/bin
     • pushd ~/cms/bin
3. Clone the scripts from GitHub
   • Example:
     • git clone https://github.com/btklab/pwsh-sketches.git
4. Installation completed

↓ Directory structure after installation (example)

home
└─cms
  ├─bin
  │  └─pwsh-sketches  <-- Repository cloned from GitHub
  │
  └─drafts

Installation: Minimum

Key point: With minimal installation, you can load only the functions you want (via dot-source).

Move into the cloned repository and ensure that the files and folders are in place. First, Move into the cloned repository using the cd or pushd command:

# Move into the cloned repository
pushd ~/cms/bin/pwsh-sketches

By the way, you can quickly and accurately enter the path using TAB completion. If there are multiple candidates, pressing TAB, TAB, … will display the candidates sequentially:

• Enter ~/cm<TAB>, it completes to ~/cms/
• Enter ~/cms/bi<TAB>, it completes to ~/cms/bin/
• Enter ~/cms/bin/pw<TAB>, and the rest is completed

Next, use the ls command to see if the repository files and folders have been cloned correctly:

## at ~/cms/bin/pwsh-sketches
ls

Output:

    Directory: C:/Users/btklab/cms/bin/pwsh-sketches

Mode         LastWriteTime  Length Name
----         -------------  ------ ----
d-r--  2024/04/27    10:00         .github
d-r--  2024/10/31    14:43         examples
d-r--  2024/04/27    10:00         img
d-r--  2025/03/02    22:31         src
d-r--  2024/04/27    10:00         tests
-a---  2023/10/18     6:57     107 .gitignore
-a---  2025/03/06     1:01    7595 CHANGELOG.md
-a---  2024/08/06    16:54     106 examples.md
-a---  2023/01/04    11:50    1084 LICENSE
-a---  2023/12/05     7:39    2357 operator-extra.ps1
-a---  2025/02/15    10:33     378 operator-minimum.ps1
-a---  2025/03/02    22:49    7580 operator.ps1
-a---  2025/03/02    22:50  387678 README.md

Return to the original directory

popd

Let’s try executing a command as a test. Before that, some points to note:

• pwsh-sketches is basically a collection of one function per file.
  • It is not a PowerShell module.
  • Some functions have dependencies on other functions.
• Loading pwsh-sketches is done by directly specifying the script file using dot-source.
  • For example, . operator.ps1.
  • The Import-Module command is not used.
• Loaded functions are initialized when the window is closed.
  • Functions need to be reloaded every time PowerShell is started.
  • If this process is troublesome, you can add the script to your profile for automatic loading.

First, let’s change the character encoding to UTF-8:

• This operation is probably unnecessary for PowerShell 6 and later (the default value is already UTF-8).
• I use PowerShell as a glue language with other programming languages, so I explicitly specify and unify the character encoding used in all languages.
• However, if you are using Windows PowerShell (PowerShell 5), this operation is necessary.

# Move to the repository
pushd ~/cms/bin/pwsh-sketches

# Dot-source the script to change the character encoding to UTF-8
. ./operator-minimum.ps1

Here is the content of operator-minimum.ps1:

# for windows only
if ($IsWindows){
    ## set encode to utf8
    chcp 65001
    #$OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
    [System.Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::GetEncoding("utf-8")
    [System.Console]::InputEncoding  = [System.Text.Encoding]::GetEncoding("utf-8")
    # compartible with multi byte code
    $env:LESSCHARSET = "utf-8"
}

Next, load the function file to be used with dot-source:

• “Load with dot-source” refers to the method of specifying the file name after a dot (.) and a space.
• This makes the contents of the function file available only in the current session (current scope).
• “Available only in the current session” means that it can be used until you exit the current session (i.e., exit with exit, start another new session, etc.).
• It is a temporary, not permanent, loading.
• This method can be considered cumbersome if you think you have to load the necessary functions with dot-source every time you start PowerShell.
• On the other hand, if you think that the loading is initialized when you close the window, you can control the state where unnecessary functions accumulate and slow down the operation.

Let’s try it. Here is an example of Dot-Source the grep command:

## Case.1 Dot-Source from the root repository of pwsh-sketches
## Note the dot "." and space before the filename!

## at ~/cms/bin/pwsh-sketches
. ./src/grep_function.ps1

## Case.2 Dot-Source from any other location
## Note the dot "." and space before the filename!

## at ~
. ~/cms/bin/pwsh-sketches/src/grep_function.ps1

## Case.3 Dot-Source from the Working Directory "drafts"
## Specify with a Relative Path

## at ~/cms/drafts
. ../bin/pwsh-sketches/src/grep_function.ps1

Note: The relative positions of the working directories drafts and pwsh-sketches assumed in “Case.3” are shown below. As an aside, ../ in a relative path means “the directory one level above the current location” (the parent directory). And ../../ means “the directory two levels above the current location.”

• from Create: Working Directory

home
└─cms
  ├─bin
  │  └─pwsh-sketches <-- Repository cloned from GitHub
  │     └─src
  │        └─grep_function.ps1
  │
  └─drafts <-- Working directory
     └─here_you_are

The grep command is a filter command that returns only lines that match a specified pattern ([regular expression][]) for each line of input text (text object) that comes through the pipeline. Simply put, grep is a “pattern-match searcher for the input text.”

Let’s use the grep command. First, create the input for the grep command. Enumerate numbers from 22 to 26 (reference: Microsoft.Learn – Range Operator .. from about_Operators ):

22..26

Output:

22
23
24
25
26

Pass this output to the grep command using the pipeline (|):

22..26 | grep '3'

Output. Line numbers and single spaces are added to the beginning of each line:

23

Key point: The grep function in pwsh-sketches is a wrapper command for the PowerShell cmdlet “Select-String ”. The behavior of its options is based on the Linux “grep ” command.

You can get help for the grep command as follows:

Get-Help grep

You can also use the alias man for the Get-Help command:

man grep

Installation: Bulk

Key point: Bulk installation loads all functions at once, eliminating the need to be aware of individual function names, but it takes longer to load than minimal installation.

Function files in pwsh-sketches can be loaded all at once. The following is an example of loading pwsh-sketches function files all at once using operator.ps1 in the repository root. Again, the loaded functions are initialized by closing the current session (i.e. closing a window, executing an exit command, starting a new session, etc.).

## Case.1 Running from the Root Directory of pwsh-sketches
## Note: There is a dot (.) and a space before the file name!

## at ~/cms/bin/pwsh-sketches
. ./operator.ps1

## Case.2 Running from Another Directory
## Note: There is a dot (.) and a space before the file name!

## at ~
. ~/cms/bin/pwsh-sketches/operator.ps1

## Case.3 Running from the Working Directory "drafts"
## Specify with a Relative Path

## at ~/cms/drafts
. ../bin/pwsh-sketches/operator.ps1

Note: As written before, the location relationship between the working directory drafts and pwsh-sketches assumed in “Case.3” is shown below. Also, as written before, ../ in a relative path means “the directory one level up from the current location” (parent directory), and ../../ means “the directory two levels up from the current location”.

• from Create: Working Directory

home
└─cms
  ├─bin
  │  └─pwsh-sketches  <-- Repository cloned from GitHub
  │     └─operator.ps1
  │
  └─drafts <-- Working directory
     └─here_you_are

Note: Some functions in pwsh-sketches have aliases. When you load operator.ps1, the aliases are also loaded simultaneously. If an alias with the same name already exists, an error message will be displayed during the loading of operator.ps1. In that case, you need to either rename the alias in the pwsh-sketches function file or delete the existing alias.

Verify the installation of pwsh-sketches. Try running the command man2, which lists the functions loaded by pwsh-sketches:

man2

Output:

Add-ForEach              Get-Last              Unique-Object  getfirst    pwsync
Add-ID                   Get-OGP               Unzip-Archive  getlast     retu
Add-LineBreakEndOfFile   Get-Ticket            addb           grep        rev2
Add-LineBreak            GetValueFrom-Key      addl           gyo         rev
Add-Quartile             Grep-Block            addr           han         say
Add-Stats                GroupBy-Object        addt           head        sed-i
Apply-Function           Inkscape-Converter    cat2           image2md    sed
Auto-Clip                Invoke-Link           catcsv         jl          self
Cast-Date                Join-Line2            chead          json2txt    seq2pu
Cast-Decimal             Join2-Object          clip2file      juni        sleepy
Cast-Double              Measure-Quartile      clip2hyperlink keta        sm2
Cast-Integer             Measure-Stats         clip2img       kinsoku     summary
ClipImageFrom-File       Measure-Summary       clip2normalize lcalc2      table2md
ConvImage                Override-Yaml         clip2push      lcalc       tac
Decode-Uri               Plot-BarChart         clip2shortcut  linkcheck   tail-f
Decrease-Indent          PullOut-String        conv           linkextract tail
Delete-Field             Rename-Normalize      count          list2table  tarr
Detect-XrsAnomaly        Replace-ForEach       csv2sqlite     logi2dot    tateyoko
Drop-NA                  Replace-NA            csv2txt        logi2pu     teatimer
Edit-Function            Select-Field          ctail2         man2        tenki
Edit-Property            Set-DotEnv            ctail          map2        tex2pdf
Encode-Uri               Set-Lang              decil          math2tex    toml2psobject
Execute-Lang             Set-NowTime2Clipboard delf           mdfocus     uniq
Execute-RMarkdown        Shorten-PropertyName  dot2gviz       mdgrep      vbStrConv
Execute-TinyTex          Shutdown-ComputerAFM  filehame       mind2dot    watercss
ForEach-Block            Sleep-ComputerAFM     fillretu       mind2pu     wrap
ForEach-Step             Sleep-Computer        flat           movw        yarr
Get-AppShortcut          Sort-Block            flow2pu        pawk        ycalc
Get-ClipboardAlternative Tee-Clip              fpath          percentile  ysort
Get-DateAlternative      Test-isAsciiLine      fval           pu2java     zen
Get-First                Transpose-Property    fwatch         push2loc
Get-Histogram            Trim-EmptyLine        gantt2pu       pwmake

Terms

pwsh-sketches

My script set to make everyday shell operations a little more convenient and to shape a few ideas. It is publicly available on GitHub . Please note that the source code in this repository should be viewed as an idea for command implementation, not as a source code example. Please keep in mind that this script set was implemented as quickly as possible as a prototype for my own use by embodying my ideas, and the code is difficult to maintain and contains many bugs.

“My” in Japanese means “個人的/私的” (こじんてき・してき: ko-jin-teki/shi-teki). In this article, “My” is used in the sense of “自家製” (じかせい: jika-sei) or “自家醸造” (じかじょうぞう: jika-jou-zou), meaning “homebrewed”. So, pwsh-sketches means “a script set I made myself for private use.”

grep – pwsh-sketches

A filter command (function) for string search included in pwsh-sketches .

Returns only the lines that contain the specified string pattern for each line of input (text object) that has passed through the pipeline.

The implementation is a wrapper script for Select-String .

Note that the specified string pattern is a regular expression , not a simple string. Some symbols, such as ., *, +, ?, ^, $, [], {}, (), |, \, etc., have special meanings as metacharacters in regular expression.

If you want to search for a simple string instead of a regular expression, specify the -SimpleMatch parameter.

Links

• Microsoft.Learn – PowerShell Glossary - Dot Source
• Microsoft.Learn – about_Scopes
• Microsoft.Learn – Range Operator .. from about_Operators
• Microsoft.Learn – Get-Help
• Microsoft.Learn – Select-String
• Microsoft.Learn – about_Regular_Expressions