For 2022,
the staff had set out plenty of goals and I’m glad to say we completed most of them!
This yr, we’re persevering with on bettering high quality and in addition including new options throughout our portfolio
based mostly on suggestions from the neighborhood, companions, and clients.
PowerShell 7 in Home windows
PowerShell 7 shipped in Home windows
continues to be a typical query requested by the neighborhood and we’re persevering with to work on making it simpler
to put in PS7 on Home windows.
As a reminder, PowerShell 7 is constructed on the newest .NET which doesn’t have the identical assist lifecycle as Home windows.
We will’t ship one thing as a characteristic in Home windows that doesn’t align with Home windows’ assist lifecycle.
Whereas we proceed to discover many choices, we do plan on continuing with a Set up-PowerShell7
command that could possibly be shipped as a part of Home windows.
Please add your suggestions to that RFC notably if it’ll provide help to or your group (for each Home windows consumer and server SKUs).
PowerShell 7.4
On the finish of 2022, we had been capable of ship Preview 1 of PowerShell 7.4.
It incorporates fixes, options, and enhancements that had been merged, however not completely wanted (or maybe too dangerous) for the 7.3 launch.
As soon as .NET 8 previews can be found, we’ll be transferring to these releases for 7.4 and proceed to have month-to-month preview releases to get
suggestions on modifications from the staff and the neighborhood.
A lot because of our neighborhood for persevering with to establish points in addition to submitting pull requests so as to add options or repair bugs!
Particular because of Ilya who’s our long run neighborhood maintainer for PS7 and continues to be extremely engaged within the mission!
We are going to proceed to deal with points and repair bugs as they’re reported in our GitHub repo,
nevertheless, there are a number of particular areas the place we’re focusing efforts for the 7.4 launch:
FeedbackProvider
As a part of the 7.4-preview.1 launch, we added a brand new subsystem
plugin for FeedbackProvider to interchange the legacy SuggestionFramework.
Many people could not notice it, however they’ve already been utilizing the SuggestionFramework which was already in Home windows PowerShell.
In case you tried to run a command or script within the present working listing with out the “./” prefix,
one of many ideas constructed into the SuggestionFramework was to counsel including the “./” prefix to correctly execute the command.
The PSCommandNotFoundSuggestion
Experimental Characteristic was constructed on high of the SuggestionFramework which uncovered some limitations that prevented additional work on
enhancing and increasing that characteristic.
The PSFeedbackProvider Experimental Characteristic addresses these points and can enable for plugins to be delivered by way of PowerShellGallery.
$env:PSModulePath
We’ve had discussions on a few of the issues with $env:PSModulePath
and want to transfer it out of the Paperwork folder.
Nonetheless, many instruments (together with PowerShellGet) have built-in data on the place to seek out modules within the Paperwork folder.
A needed step is to show an API to permit instruments to find the situation of the person, system, and shared module paths.
After that, we will then work out the best way to transfer the person a part of $env:PSModulePath out of the Paperwork folder.
Extra Linux distro/model assist
Our long run objective is to assist all Linux distros, variations, and architectures which are supported by .NET.
Nonetheless, one in every of our largest challenges is common validation throughout all supported platforms as even 1 or 2 take a look at failures throughout a number of platforms can
lead to plenty of investigation time.
We proceed to make incremental progress in direction of stabilizing the checks in addition to making it simpler for our engineering staff to onboard
and validate towards new platforms.
We additionally plan so as to add assist for some well-liked requested platforms for 7.4 and proceed to enhance protection over time.
Enhanced Native Instructions
An space that we’ve been specializing in for the previous few releases is bettering the expertise for utilizing native instructions (i.e. executables) inside PowerShell.
We’ve already made many enhancements in order that native instructions work extra naturally in PowerShell and in addition much like how they work in different shells.
We additionally acknowledge that though cmdlets present a extra constant expertise throughout platforms, there are nonetheless many native instructions which are used broadly
that aren’t obtainable as cmdlets (even with tooling like Crescendo) being
obtainable.
That is an experimental space that’s unlikely to be prepared for manufacturing by the point 7.4 GA releases.
Conceptually, native instructions that emit JSON (as a substitute of simply textual content) can present a extra constant expertise inside PowerShell by enabling
discovery, filtering, formatting, tab completion, and so on… with structured information as a substitute of freeform textual content.
Though JSON is emitted, the person would work with output as in the event that they had been deserialized objects utilizing their present data of PowerShell and cmdlets.
An in depth RFC shall be revealed to the PowerShell RFC repo detailing the design early in 2023.
JSON adaptor
Enhancing native instructions requires making modifications to present code.
We acknowledge that some instruments can’t be modified to emit JSON so we’re additionally exploring enabling JSON adapters so that somebody
else can write a command that may convert the textual content output of a local command to JSON.
There are present tasks like JC which already has a bunch of Python scripts that may convert
the output of many well-liked instructions to JSON.
An preliminary RFC has been revealed to get suggestions for this characteristic.
Native pipe
PowerShell (by way of .NET) converts output from native instructions to textual content.
This may break situations the place you need to pipe binary information from one command into one other.
We count on to have a brand new experimental characteristic to allow the pipeline to accurately deal with binary output from native instructions.
Desired State Configuration v3
I revealed a RFC awhile again on a brand new path for DSC notably the way it integrates with PowerShell 7.
The excessive stage objectives on the time:
- Cross platform
- Convey your personal agent (which means DSC would merely be a platform for invoking sources, orchestration could be dealt with by different present instruments
like Automanage Machine Configuration, Chef, Puppet, Ansible, and so on…) - Separation of DSC from PowerShell engine so the 2 can iterate independently
- Deprecate use of MOF
We revealed a beta of PSDesiredStateConfiguration module which implements a few of these objectives.
Since that point, we’ve gotten suggestions from the DSC Neighborhood and Microsoft companions and shifting our technique a bit.
Along with the above objectives, we’re including some new ones:
- Allow authoring of DSC Sources in any language
- Simplified authoring expertise of DSC Sources in PowerShell script
- Transfer from MOF to JSON
We’re already actively working with the WinGet staff to allow their configuration
situations constructing on high of DSC v3.
Anticipate some detailed RFCs to be revealed on this throughout the first quarter of 2023 the place you may present suggestions.
OpenSSH 9.1
On the finish 2022, we launched the Home windows port of OpenSSH 9.1 to our Github repo.
We proceed to validate the port of OpenSSH 9.1 for Home windows together with addressing person suggestions in preparation of delivery it in Home windows 11 as an up to date
Characteristic-on-Demand.
We admire the bug reviews and suggestions and can proceed to work on addressing reported points inside that repo.
We’re additionally planning on delivery an replace to the Characteristic-on-Demand for older variations of Home windows.
SSHDConfig
As a part of the DSC v3 work described beforehand, we’re engaged on a cross-platform DSC useful resource for managing SSHD configuration.
This may make it simpler to audit and apply configuration throughout 1000’s of Home windows and Linux techniques in a programmatic and declarative approach.
This DSC useful resource is being written in Rust and shall be Open Supply.
SSHArc
We introduced nearly a yr in the past the general public preview of SSHArc
which permits safe (multi-factor auth by way of Azure) and easy accessibility (AzCLI and AzPowerShell) to your Arc-enabled servers with out exposing a public ip deal with or having a firewall port opened for SSH.
We are going to proceed to deal with suggestions and high quality in direction of Normal Availability this yr.
PowerShell Gallery
The unique structure of PowerShellGallery.com has hit limitations when it comes to scale for our present buyer wants.
The variety of modules being revealed and downloaded has exceeded the size objectives of the unique code base.
We’ve made focused fixes to unblock companions and clients, however want a brand new structure to fulfill the anticipated progress for the following 10 years.
REST API assist for publishing/unlisting
For the close to time period, we’ve had requests from each companions and clients to allow publishing sources to PowerShell initially as unlisted.
They will then be examined end-to-end after which have an API they will name to record the brand new model and make it public.
For this we’ll have to create a brand new REST API and expose the potential by way of PowerShellGet v3.
Personal Galleries
As famous above, scale and reliability have been challenges with the present structure so we’re partnering with the
Azure Container Registry staff to leverage ACR as a backend retailer for PowerShell
artifacts.
Initially, we’re taking a look at utilizing this as a approach for patrons to have personal galleries that may guaranteee the next stage of availability.
Publishing, looking, and putting in from a non-public gallery will nonetheless be dealt with with PowerShellGet v3.
PowerShellGet v3
This mission has turned out to be more difficult than we initially anticipated.
We lately shipped our 18th preview launch
and proceed to concentrate on high quality in direction of a Launch Candidate and eventual GA launch this yr.
Concurrent installations for v3.1
A quite common request is to enhance efficiency notably for putting in modules.
That is notably wanted for automation and steady integration use circumstances the place you need the newest model of a set of modules.
For instance, the Azure PowerShell module can take fairly a little bit of time to put in as a result of it’s really a big household of modules.
Set up-PSResource already helps a hashtable of modules to put in by way of the -RequiredResource parameter.
Nonetheless, it at the moment installs all of them serially. As an alternative, we have to construct a dependency graph eradicating and allow downloading
and putting in to happen concurrently.
Nuget.org dependencies for v3.1
Modules and scripts generally use .NET APIs from assemblies that aren’t shipped with PowerShell.
At present, every module must redistribute the assemblies with their module and generally a number of copies for various platforms/architectures.
As an alternative, the module manifest ought to declare the meeting and model required and have PowerShellGet retrieve the dependency from
Nuget.org, broaden the nupkg, and extract the assemblies acceptable for the present system runtime.
FeedbackProvider for PowerShellGet
With the brand new FeedbackProvider subsystem in PS7.4, we will now allow ideas for putting in a module from PowerShellGallery if the person
makes an attempt to execute a cmdlet from a module that’s not put in.
PowerShell VSCode-Extension/EditorServices
We proceed to have frequent preview releases main in direction of new secure releases addressing person reported points.
There’s a number of areas we’re focusing our efforts:
- Semantic syntax highlighting fixes
- Syncing debugger breakpoints
- Assist WDAC environments
- In style person requests
PlatyPS v2
PlatyPS is for module authors to generate updateable assist from markdown.
It’s utilized by groups at Microsoft that publish PowerShell modules.
Though preview 1 was revealed awhile in the past,
we’ll proceed engaged on this in direction of making 2.0 typically obtainable.
Crescendo
Because the launch of Crescendo,
the variety of modules constructed utilizing Crescendo has been steadily rising.
Primarily based on person reported requests and points, we launched Crescendo 1.1 preview 1 at finish of 2022.
We count on basic availability of Crescendo 1.1 within the first half of 2023.
PSReadLine
We proceed to deal with points and in addition add small options to enhance our prediction expertise.
As extra predictors get revealed, we’re taking a look at methods to enhance how outcomes from a number of predictors get introduced.
Different modules
Proceed to deal with points and assessment neighborhood contributions for our different modules equivalent to PSScriptAnalyzer, ConsoleGuiTools, SecretManagement, and different modules as we discover them.
Conclusion
As you may see, we now have plenty of work deliberate! Some work has already began whereas another will come later this yr.
Please proceed to supply us suggestions on every of our tasks on how we will make them extra productive for you!
