The final PowerShell Weekly of 2025 is here.

If you’re new: PowerShell Weekly is hand-curated every single week of the year. No bots, no auto-aggregation. I read, select, and organize the content so it’s actually worth your time.

Which is what I take two weeks off at the end of the year to recharge and get ready to do 50 editions again next year.

If you’ve been reading, sharing, or contributing this year, thank you. It genuinely makes the effort worthwhile.

Go check out this last issue of 2025, enjoy the holidays, and I’ll see you back here the first week of 2026.

Announcements!

• v7.6.0-preview.6 Release of PowerShell
  A ton of great improvement and new feature. Come check them out!

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• F# and PowerShell
  Included in Sergey’s F# advent calendar 2025, thank you Sergey and thank you F# dev community for this magic time of the year again
• Fake Leonardo DiCaprio Movie Torrent Drops Agent Tesla Through Layered PowerShell Chain
  Bitdefender researchers investigate a complex infection chain embedded in a fake movie torrent for One Battle After Another.
• How I Automated the Tracking of the Holiday Metra Train
  This post is a bit different from my usual content, as it may only be of interest to people living in the Chicagoland area. Chicago’s regional commuter rail is called the Metra, and during the holidays they have several trains that are decked out in holiday lights and the inside is decorated with lights, ornaments, and other holiday decor.
• PowerShell Try/Catch specific Error Types
  I use Try/Catch a lot in my scripts, but I usually catch all errors in a single error message... In this short blog post, I will show you how to be more specific when displaying errors.
• When Az PowerShell Gets Weird: How to Clean Up Duplicate Modules Without Breaking Anything
  The companion code for this blog can be found here.One thing you may have noticed is that I have been in PowerShell a bit more frequently as of late.
• Gaining Confidence with Az CLI and Az PowerShell: Introducing What if & Export Bicep | Microsoft Community Hub
  Ever hesitated before hitting Enter on a command, wondering what changes it might make? You’re not alone. Whether you’re deploying resources or updating...

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• PowerShell Preworkout (PSPreworkout)
  A special mix of tools to help jump start your PowerShell session!
• SearchScript: Search PowerShell Scripts
  Every once in a while, we've got to search our scripts, often to make a particular update. Sadly, we're often falling back on Select-String to do this. This isn't ideal, because this means we lose the context around our scripts. So why not make a quick tool to search PowerShell ScriptBlocks using the Abstract Syntax Tree?
• PowerShell Containers
  PowerShell Runtime Containers generation is working again, including the latest 7.6 preview 6

Community

• Mentorship, Mindset, and Microsoft Ignite with Shannon Eldridge-Kuehn
  In this episode of The PowerShell Podcast, Shannon Eldridge-Kuehn returns to discuss her journey since becoming a Microsoft MVP, her experiences at Microsoft Ignite, and her evolving views on technology, communication, and personal growth. Shannon shares stories from Ignite, including Mark Russinovich’s fascinating demo on optical computing, and offers insight into how AI is reshaping IT work, both in efficiency and responsibility.The conversation expands beyond tech, touching on mentorship, emotional intelligence, and the importance of grace, empathy, and connection in professional and personal life. Shannon and host Andrew Pla explore how better communication, mental health awareness, and authentic collaboration can transform careers and communities alike.
• Powerlifting and PowerShell: A Discussion with Jake Hildreth - Phillip Wylie
  About The Guest: Jake is a cybersecurity professional with a background in system administration. He has a deep understanding of Active Directory security and is currently the Active Directory Security Assessment Service Lead at Trimarc. Jake is also the head developer of the open-source tool Locksmith, which focuses on Active Directory Certificate Services misconfigurations.

Fun

• PoshBytes: 12 Logical Days of Christmas
  I just taught PowerShell to sing the 12 Days of Christmas with emojis and had to fight Unicode to do it. Come see how in the latest PoshBytes.

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Announcements!

• Invoke-WebRequest Breaking Change
  Windows PowerShell 5.1 now displays a security confirmation prompt when using the Invoke-WebRequest command to fetch web pages without special parameters.

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Create Web Links as HTML Files using PowerShell
  You know, I’m not even sure of my visitor count these days, but last I looked this site still receives a few hundred pages views per week. Something like that, at least. I wrote something at work today that brought me over here, as it may help others. I guess I still do care enough
• PowerShell String Manipulation: Swap Lines
  In this article I will show you how you can swap lines. I will use an example and show you what is important. Let’s dive in.
• Checking Where Tenant Users Go as Guests
  After all the fuss about Teams users inviting people to chat via email, tenant administrators realize that knowing where users are active as guest accounts is not as easy as it might seem. Part of the problem is that data about user activity is mostly controlled by host rather than home tenants. However, it’s possible to extract some information from audit sign-in logs to figure out where tenant users go as guests.
• When Santa brings you a work request: Searching GitHub Repos and Gists for Text Patterns with PowerShell
  This is my feeble attempt at blogging again. Now that blogging is out of fashion and we trust AI to tell us what to think, drink and eat, it’s probably as good a time to do it as ever. So, th…

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• Entra ECMA2Host Tools PowerShell Module
  If you’ve ever worked with the ECMA2Host for Entra Outbound Provisioning you’ll be immediately presented with a lack of visibility of the connectors. Especially if you’ve previously used Microsoft / Forefront Identity Manager.
• PowerShell OSD Frontend Project
  Hey Folks, so I recently had the need for a front end, so I looked at the regular community ones, but they didn’t fit my needs.
• Deploying and configuring uBlock Origin Lite with PowerShell and Microsoft Intune
  Introduction Ad blocking is often dismissed as a convenience feature for users tired of intrusive banners and pop-ups. But in 2025 – almost 2026 – it’s time to reframe the conversation: ad blocking is a fundamental security control every organization should implement.
• Servers101
  Simple Servers in PowerShell.

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• Invoke-WebRequest Just Started Asking Questions
  This video explains the new security prompt added to Invoke-WebRequest in Windows PowerShell 5.1 and shows how to prevent it from affecting any of your automations.
• Building Custom MCP Tools in PowerShell Universal
  In this video, we look at how to build custom MCP tools using PowerShell Universal. It leverages the experimental MCP plugin to expose PowerShell scripts as tools. As an example, we quickly build a system monitoring dashboard.

Community

• Cryptography, Cracking Codes, and Breaking CBC with Dr. Al Carlson
  In this episode of The PowerShell Podcast, host Andrew Pla welcomes Dr. Al Carlson, a cryptographer, mathematician, and engineer whose career spans more than four decades in military intelligence, embedded systems, and advanced encryption research. Dr. Carlson explains how set theory and mathematical patterns underpin all cryptography, breaking down complex systems like AES into understandable concepts. He discusses his groundbreaking work on isomorphic cipher reduction, polymorphic encryption, and how simplicity, not complexity, is often the key to true security.
• The Cmdlet Decision: When to Be Weird
  I’ve spent a lot of time, and acquired a lot of scar tissue, in this industry, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that most people are terrified of looking different. People hug the cente…

Fun

• Saving Christmas with PowerShell: Building a Reusable Matching Algorithm
  What starts as a simple Secret Santa script quickly turns into a full-blown constraint-based matching engine.

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU 2026 Call for Speakers
  Submissions must be posted by this Sunday, 14 Dec 2025

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

The recent breaking change to Invoke-WebRequest in Windows PowerShell 5.1 has the potential to affect a lot of automation, especially in older environments. To make it easier to assess the impact, I published a script called Search-CmdletParameterUsage.ps1.

This tool recursively scans your scripts and modules for any cmdlet + parameter usage. While I built it to identify places where Invoke-WebRequest is not using -UseBasicParsing, it works generically for any cmdlet you're concerned about.

If you maintain large codebases or inherited automation, this can save a ton of manual review.

Script: https://gist.github.com/mdowst/9d00ff37ea79dcbfb98e6de580cbedbe

KB on the breaking change: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/powershell-5-1-preventing-script-execution-from-web-content-7cb95559-655e-43fd-a8bd-ceef2406b705

Happy scripting! And good luck hunting down those IWR calls.

Saving Christmas with PowerShell: Building a Reusable Matching Algorithm

This video isn’t just “here’s a script.” It walks step-by-step through the whole evolution of the solution:

• Start with a naive random shuffle
• Add constraints and filtering
• Introduce backtracking when things get messy
• Turn it all into a clean, reusable function

The end result is a robust matching engine you can adapt for scheduling, load balancing, on-call rotations, pairing systems, etc.

Watch: https://youtu.be/4uwQh6Nap5M
Code: https://www.dowst.dev/?p=3971

Feedback and ideas welcome!

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• App-Only Authentication for SharePoint Online PowerShell
  The latest versions of the SharePoint Online PowerShell module support app-only authentication (certificate-based authentication) for the Connect-SPOService cmdlet. In other words, applications can now connect to SharePoint Online to run administrative cmdlets by presenting a registered Entra ID app and an X.509 certificate instead of the credentials for a human SharePoint administrator. It’s a good change, even if I still prefer using the Graph APIs for SharePoint automation.
• Using the POSH-SYSLOG PowerShell module for logging
  In my home network, I run a Graylog Syslog instance in Docker for logging network and Linux events. But you can also log events from PowerShell scripts to Syslog for easy filtering or correlation. In this blog post, I will show you how that works.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• rs-devtools
  Various tools I made to automate very niche gamedev & media manipulation tasks
• PSIntro
  A welcome screen for PowerShell and a set of brief tutorials designed for absolute beginners. The module also includes a few commands to help absolute PowerShell beginners manage their environment.
• GitHubBlueSky.ps1
  Get a GitHub user's BlueSky
• PSRainbow 1.1.0
  Provides a library of 24-bit colors that can be used in PowerShell scripts.

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• PoshBytes: Numeric Precision in PowerShell
  In this PoshBytes short you will see how PowerShell can silently lose precision when big integer math is promoted to double and how using the right numeric types and decimal literals helps keep your results exact.
• PowerShell 7 Fundamentals
  More and more we turn to automation in IT to help improve efficiency for our day to day operations. PowerShell has always been at the forefront of automation tools. The courses in this path start with the absolute basics of PowerShell so that you can learn how to automate away your problems from the ground up. You’ll begin with installation before moving on to exploration of the PowerShell language and using your acquired skills to perform tasks from your day to day operations. Finally, you’ll get a taste of writing actual PowerShell scripts to round out your automation skills and toolset.

Community

• Free Security Wins for Sysadmins with Spencer Alessi
  Newly minted Microsoft MVP, pentester, and returning guest Spencer Alessi joins The PowerShell Podcast to talk about growth, giving back, and building security through PowerShell. Spencer shares lessons from his journey from sysadmin to pen tester, including the importance of learning from mistakes, documenting wins, and advocating for yourself in your career. He also introduces his latest open-source project, AppLocker Inspector, and discusses tools like Locksmith, Pink Castle, and Purple Knight that help IT pros secure their environments and build confidence in automation and defense.

Fun

• Advent of Code 2025
  Advent of Code is an Advent calendar of small programming puzzles for a variety of skill levels that can be solved in any programming language you like. People use them as interview prep, company training, university coursework, practice problems, a speed contest, or to challenge each other.

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU 2026 Call for Speakers
  Call closed 14 Dec 2025 - This time it will be held in Wiesbaden, Germany. June 1-4, 2026

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Gaining Confidence with Az CLI and Az PowerShell: Introducing What if & Export Bicep | Microsoft Community Hub
  Ever hesitated before hitting Enter on a command, wondering what changes it might make? You’re not alone. Whether you’re deploying resources or updating...
• Fired techie admits sabotaging ex-employer, causing $862K in damage
  PowerShell script locked thousands of workers out of their accounts
• How to Install Exchange Online PowerShell Module
  The Exchange Online PowerShell module is essential for managing Microsoft 365 mailboxes, compliance tasks, role assignments, transport rules, migrations, and automated scripts.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• IntuneHydrationKit v 0.1.1
  Hydrates Microsoft Intune tenants with best-practice baseline configurations including policies, compliance packs, enrollment profiles, dynamic groups, security baselines, and conditional access starter packs.
• PSYahooFinance-AI v 1.0.1
  PowerShell module for getting financial data from Yahoo Finance. A port of the Python agno YFinanceTools toolkit.
• SpotifyUtils v 1.2.1
  A PowerShell module for managing your Spotify tracks and playlists via Spotify's API.
• Update to PSCloudPc
  Stefan Dingemanse and I made an update to our PowerShell module called PSCloudPc. This PowerShell module enables you to manage Windows 365 via PowerShell with easy to use command lets. The MSGraph powershell module requires you to construct JSON body’s. We made this in to easy to use “one-liners” Check out our Project website.
• PsAstViewer v 1.0.6
  A graphical viewer and explorer for PowerShell Abstract Syntax Trees (AST)

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• Pair Programming a PowerShell Platformer Live
  I am going to be live-coding some improvements to a game written in PowerShell. I will start by getting familiar with the codebase, then I will move into looking at the open issues on the project, choose one, and then hopefully close the issue with a successful PR! Oh, did I mention that the game dev will be watching and criticising my every move? Yeah, Greg Martin is joining me.
• PoshBytes: Mastering Here-Strings in PowerShell
  Learn PowerShell here-strings the fast way with practical examples.

Community

• Falling, Learning, and Laughing with PowerShell Friends
  Recorded live from SpiceWorld 2025 in Austin, Texas, this special PowerShell Podcast bar session brings together community members Jeffery Hayes, Stephen Engler, Sean Wheeler, and Steven Judd for a fun and insightful celebration of PowerShell and community. Host Andrew Pla reflects on reaching the 200-episode milestone while sharing stories about growth, learning, and the value of connection. From early PowerShell journeys to the power of conferences, mentorship, and even a few bar-side life lessons, this lively session captures the heart of the PowerShell community.

Fun

• GitHub - StartAutomating/PowerArcade: A Retro Arcade Game Console in PowerShell
  A Retro Arcade Game Console in PowerShell.

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU 2026 Call for Speakers
  Call closed 14 Dec 2025 - This time it will be held in Wiesbaden, Germany. June 1-4, 2026

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Announcements!

• Happy Birthday to PowerShell
  It released 19 years ago today, and the shell has never been the same!

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Using the EntraExporter PowerShell module
  In the past, I used LDIFDE or CSVDE to export Active Directory information. For Entra ID, there's EntraExporter from Merill Fernando :-) In this blog post, I will show you how it works.
• Renaming Domain Controllers-Without Breaking It
  Yes, you can rename an Active Directory domain controller. (Usual disclaimers apply: just because you can, doesn't mean you should.) If you do, be sure to follow Jorge's advice and use PowerShell to do it!
• Making PowerShell More Comfortable: Configuring PSReadLine
  A practical guide to installing, updating, and configuring PSReadLine to make PowerShell faster, smarter, and more comfortable for everyday use.
• Best Practices for PowerShell Dot Sourcing, Part 2
  Let's dive into some practical advice on naming conventions, variable management and code organization to keep dot sourced scripts efficient, consistent and secure.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• CommandWatch v 1.0.0
  A watch-like command runner for PowerShell.
• Removing Inactive Entra ID User Accounts with PowerShell
  The Entra ID Governance solution includes a workflow to detect and remove inactive user accounts. Sounds good, but the same can be done with PowerShell if you want to avoid the cost of Entra ID Governance licenses or want to create a bespoke workflow that’s better suited to the business needs of the organization. Azure Automation would be a good way to process this workflow.
• Uninstall Microsoft Graph & Entra PowerShell fast!
  Free PowerShell module to completely uninstall Microsoft Graph PowerShell & Entra PowerShell modules. Fixes dependency conflicts and authentication issues.
• Toolbox v 1.0.2
  A robust PowerShell module for parallel remote task orchestration with runspaces, throttling, timeout controls, structured output, error aggregation, retry logic, and pluggable task framework.

Community

• The PSADT Framework Explained and What’s New in Version 4.1 with Dan Cunningham
  In this episode, PowerShell Podcast host Andrew Pla chats with Dan Cunningham, Strategic Innovation Leader for PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit (PSADT), about the history, architecture, and evolution of the open-source framework used for enterprise software deployment. Dan explains how PSADT simplifies installs, improves logging, enhances user experience with UI dialogs, and provides consistency across environments. He also discusses the latest release, v4.1, which removes the need for Microsoft’s ServiceUI, boosting both security and usability for Intune and SCCM deployments.
• Why is "Handles" in PowerShell plural?
  Here the answer from the man himself Jeffery Snover.

Fun

• ThoughtForTheDay v 2.0.2
  Provides a bit of daily wisdom

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU 2026 Call for Speakers
  Call closed 14 Dec 2025 - This time it will be held in Wiesbaden, Germany. June 1-4, 2026

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Announcements!

• dbatools v 2.7.7
  Check out what's all new and updated in the latest version of dbatools

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Notify Requesters When GitLab Issues Move Through the Development Pipeline
  I use GitLab’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) feature to track who requested each item. From there, I wanted a way for requesters to be automatically notified as their item moved through the development pipeline, from Backlog to In Progress, Testing/Review, and finally Done.
• Practical Graph: How to Check Unexpected Sign-Ins Against Utility Accounts
  Utility accounts exist in every Microsoft 365 tenant. These accounts are not intended for normal user activity and include accounts used for Exchange room and shared mailboxes and the break-glass or emergency accounts intended to allow administrators to sign-in if their usual accounts are blocked. This article shows how to use PowerShell and the Microsoft Graph to check sign-in events to ensure that the accounts aren't being accessed.
• How to Run PowerShell Scripts: A Complete Guide
  This guide covers how to run PowerShell scripts: everything from basic script execution to remote operations, parameter passing, and troubleshooting. PowerShell is useful for automating administrative tasks, but before you can run PowerShell scripts, you need to understand the mechanisms that control script execution.
• A beginners guide to Microsoft Graph API rate limiting in Intune
  Ever seen your PowerShell script crash with a mysterious HTTP 429 Too Many Requests from Microsoft Graph? That’s rate limiting - the API’s polite way of telling you to slow down. In this post, we dig into Graph’s global and Intune-specific limits, how to read the Retry-After header when it appears (and what to do when it doesn’t), and how to build exponential backoff into your scripts so your automations stay smooth, resilient, and throttle-friendly
• Notifying users on Windows when an iOS update is required – Microsoft Intune, Automation Account and Toast Notification Script combined
  Introduction Your users carry iPhones but spend most of their workday on Windows devices. When Apple releases an iOS update, Intune can flag non-compliance – but the built-in notifications on iOS are often overlooked and don’t have the same visibility or urgency as alerts on a user’s primary work device. The solution: cross-platform automation.
• Using the DnsClient-PS PowerShell Module for cross-platform DNS querying
  Because it's always DNS, and because you want to query DNS on non-Windows systems, too, using PowerShell... You can use the DnsClient-PS module. In this brief blog post, I will demonstrate how it works.
• Download/Upload to Azure Storage Accounts with SAS-link and PowerShell
  Super short blogpost today, just two commands on how you use SAS link to download and upload files with PowerShell/RestAPI. Same can be done with Python using a link like this. Yes, I know my SAS ID is in the code, but its not valid anymore

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• Check Your vCenter & ESXi Versions in Seconds (PowerCLI One-Liner Guide)
  If you need a quick, reliable way to see which vCenter build you’re on and what versions your ESXi hosts are running, this post is...
• Script To Download the Current Version of PowerShell
  One of the annoying things about well, any software is checking to see if you have the currrent version. This is a thing with PowerShell, and because the PowerShell team in its finite wisdom has de…
• PSWriteHTML v 1.39.0
  PSWriteHTML is PowerShell Module to generate beautiful HTML reports, pages, emails without any knowledge of HTML, CSS or JavaScript. To get started basics PowerShell knowledge is required.

Community

• 200 Episodes of Community with Frank Lesniak
  In this milestone 200th episode of The PowerShell Podcast, Frank Lesniak returns to chat with Andrew Pla about automation, community, and what it means to “bet on yourself.” Frank shares his experiences leading cybersecurity and enterprise architecture projects, using PowerShell for AWS security automation, and developing tools to simplify complex data exports. He also discusses the upcoming PowerShell Summit, his work with DuPage Animal Friends, and the value of giving back through mentorship, community involvement, and open source.

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU 2026 Call for Speakers
  Call closed 14 Dec 2025 - This time it will be held in Wiesbaden, Germany. June 1-4, 2026

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Understanding the trap Statement in PowerShell
  In PowerShell, error handling is a crucial aspect of writing robust and reliable scripts. One of the powerful features to manage errors gracefully is the trap statement.
• Building Event-Driven Automations in Microsoft 365 Using Graph Subscriptions
  This post demonstrates how to use Microsoft Graph Subscriptions to create event-driven automation in Microsoft 365. Graph Subscriptions allow applications to receive real-time notifications when specific changes occur within Microsoft 365 resources such as users, groups, or mailboxes, without the need for constant polling.
• Zero-Touch Microsoft Connected Cache with Intune
  What is Microsoft Connected Cache (or MCC)? Microsoft Connected Cache, or DOINC (Delivery Optimization In-Network Cache) was first released with Configuration Manager Technical Preview 1903 and was created with the intent of replacing distribution points for cloud native devices (aka Entra joined aka AADJ).
• Managing your WSL instances in PowerShell using the WSL Module
  I use WSL instances on my machine in VSCode to test and develop scripts, as well as to easily test Linux-based applications on my Windows machine. In this blog post, I will show how the Module works and make managing WSL easier.
• PowerShell Tab Title in Windows Terminal
  I often have several tabs open in my Windows Terminal. And I like how I can easily identify the right one by its title if it's a tab for WSL or an SSH connection. Fortunately, PowerShell can also auto-update the tab title, it's just not configured to do so by default.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• Reporting the Use of Emojis in Teams Reactions
  This article explains how to use PowerShell to extract audit data to analyze the use of emojis as Teams reactions to chat and channel messages. This is not an exercise that leads to any great business value, but it’s a good way to show the sometimes surprising data that can be extracted from audit records.
• Version 1.5 of the Microsoft 365 User Password and Authentication Report
  The Microsoft 365 User Passwords and Authentication report now includes the last used date for authentication methods (when available).
• Toast Notification Script v3 is here!
  Introduction I’ve completely REWRITTEN my popular Toast Notification Script from the ground up – now exclusively for Microsoft Intune!
• AzNetworkLatency v 0.0.4
  PowerShell module to determine the network latency between two Azure regions.
• PSPlaywright v 0.1.0
  PSPlaywright is a PowerShell module for browser automation using Microsoft Playwright. It enables scripting and automation of web browsers from PowerShell.

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• PoshBytes: Encrypting secrets with Protect-CmsMessage (without summoning eldritch IT beings) [OC]
  Stop sharing secrets in plain text.Use Protect-CmsMessage like a pro to encrypt, decrypt, done.

Community

• BurntToast v1.0 and 10 Years of PowerShell Notifications with Josh King
  Andrew's longtime friend, mentor, and PowerShell legend Josh King joins The PowerShell Podcast to celebrate the tenth anniversary and version 1.0 release of his popular open-source module BurntToast, which powers customizable Windows toast notifications. Josh shares the story behind the project’s evolution, the challenges of maintaining an open-source module with millions of downloads, and the balance between community expectations and personal well-being.

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU 2026 Call for Speakers
  Call closed 14 Dec 2025 - This time it will be held in Wiesbaden, Germany. June 1-4, 2026
• Cliff diving with PowerShell (And other bad ideas) (by Stephen Valdinger)
  Much like you wouldn't go BASE jumping without a parachute, you wouldn't hand a script to someone with validation, right? Right??? In this session, we'll cover some tips and tricks for making your PowerShell code more user-friendly and helpful when things go wrong.

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

You can run it from a single command...if you dare

iex (irm 'https://gist.githubusercontent.com/mdowst/f1d8a64e28477c28f29604d095ad7af2/raw/ef971e4538d078c288a9851979f6b14eb0a26e0f/Get-TrickOrTreat.ps1')

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Migrating from PowerShell 6 to 7.5: Breaking Changes/New Features
  Migrate from PowerShell Core 6 to 7.5: breaking changes, features, and testing tips.
• Creating/downloading videos from Azure OpenAI Sora 2 by PowerShell/API
  Short blogpost today with an updated PowerShell script to generate Sora 2 videos with the Azure AI Foundry API.
• Using Get-Random in PowerShell
  You can roll the dice, select a random name with your eyes closed, etc., or you can use Get-Random :-) In this blog post, I will show you what the Cmdlet does and how you can use it.
• Practical PowerShell: How to Analyze Junk Email and Intercept Traffic from Spammy Domains
  Despite the best efforts of anti-spam solutions, some unwanted messages usually get through to user inboxes. This article explains how to analyze messages that end up in Junk Email and use the results to create a transport rule to block future traffic from the spammy domains.
• Automating ‘Have I Been Pwned’ Breach Checks for Entra ID Groups using PowerShell
  Introduction In today’s digital landscape, data breaches are unfortunately common. As security-conscious professionals, we need to be proactive about monitoring whether our users’ credentials have been compromised. That’s why I built an automated PowerShell tool that checks Entra ID (Azure AD) group members against the Have I Been Pwned database.
• Microsoft Graph: a Practical Guide - Part 2
  From one-off to repeatable functions

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• POSH-ADO-NugetArtefact v 0.5.0
  a few cmdlets to manage your ADO Artifact Nuget Packages and feed from PowerShell
• Logic.Monitor v 7.7.0
  PowerShell module to query the Logic Monitor API.

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• The Joy Of Loop Labels
  Loop labels are a powerful and underused part of many programming languages.

Community

• Always Hype About Automation with Hailey Phillips
  Microsoft MVP Hailey Phillips joins The PowerShell Podcast to share her journey from systems engineer to automation innovator. She talks about IntuneStack, her new PowerShell-driven CI/CD project for Intune environments, and how it bridges the gap between systems engineering and DevOps. Hailey also reflects on her path to becoming an MVP, her experiences at MMS, and the importance of mentorship, collaboration, and authenticity in the tech community.
• Building Toast Notifications in PowerShell with BurntToast v1
  Josh King will show us how to build custom toast notifications for your users, explore the latest features in BurntToast v1, and see practical examples you can use in your scripts today. Whether you want to alert users about updates, display automation results, or just have some fun with PowerShell pop-ups, then this session has you covered.

Fun

• Get-TrickOrTreat
  Do you dare to run it!
• ColorScripts-Enhanced v 2025.10.31.16
  Professional ANSI Art Terminal Experience

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU 2026 Call for Speakers
  Call closed 14 Dec 2025 - This time it will be held in Wiesbaden, Germany. June 1-4, 2026

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Announcements!

• PowerShell 7.6.0 Preview 5 Release
  The latest preview version of PowerShell was released beginning this month. In this small blog post, I will highlight the critical changes and updates from the release notes.

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• The Zip Epiphany
  More files are zip files than you might think.
• Auditing Password Reuse in On-Premises Active Directory with PowerShell and DSInternals
  Introduction Password reuse among privileged accounts represents one of the most critical security vulnerabilities in on-premises Active Directory environments. When multiple privileged accounts share the same password, a single compromise can cascade across your entire infrastructure. In this post, I’ll demonstrate how to audit your Active Directory environment for shared passwords using PowerShell and the DSInternals module.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• Set-PowerShellScriptSig 1.0.1
  A module to make signing scripts easier
• Implement a FileSystemWatcher in PowerShell
  Monitors a file system path for changes and executes a script block in response to specified events.
• v0.0.20 EntraFIDOFinder is out
  4 New keys have been added and a few changes in capabilities! New Keys: Updated Keys: How have your FIDO2 implementations been going? Would love to hear your stories!
• Glass v 0.1
  Get, read, and write invisible glass text. This module is meant for educational purposes and to assist responsible professionals in the discovery of glassware.

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• PoshBytes: Select-Object With Custom Properties
  Because Plain Properties Are Boring
• Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell November 2025 Update
  The November 2025 update for the Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell eBook is available online. Subscribers can download the new PDF and EPUB files from their Gumroad account. As always, the update features a mixture of new and updated information, some corrections, and removal of obsolete information. Look no further for guidance about using PowerShell with the Graph APIs to interact with Microsoft 365 data!

Community

• PSConfEU MiniCon 2025
  Check out a bunch of the great content from PSConfEU MiniCon 2025.
• PowerShell Lightning Demos from the Community
  Over an hour of quick demos.
• Learning, Leading, and Logging with Constantin Hager
  PowerShell community leader Constantin Hager joins The PowerShell Podcast to talk about his favorite tools and journey from discovering PowerShell to organizing user groups and speaking at major conferences. He talks about his early inspiration from PowerShell Conference Europe, his involvement with open-source projects like PSFramework and AutomatedLab, and how mentorship and community involvement shaped his career. Constantin also discusses building a portable VS Code setup for his company, leading a PowerShell team, and mentoring the next generation of IT professionals.

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU 2026 Call for Speakers
  Call closed 14 Dec 2025 - This time it will be held in Wiesbaden, Germany. June 1-4, 2026

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• PowerShell 7 Support Arrives for the Granfeldt PowerShell Management Agent
  For over a decade, the Granfeldt PowerShell Management Agent (PSMA) has been the bedrock for bespoke identity integration within Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM) and its predecessor, Forefront Identity Manager. It provides the essential bridge between the MIM Synchronisation Service and virtually any target system accessible via PowerShell.
• Automate Applocker configuration for Intune
  I wrote a post a while ago about automating the creation of the Applocker policy for intune. You can find it here. This post is a prequel to that post. This post shows you how to automate your Applocker configuration which you can upload with the previous post to Microsoft Intune.
• Creating a Comprehensive Inactive Guest Account Report
  Many examples of how to report inactive guest accounts are available on the internet, but they're all flawed because they make decisions based on the last sign in. That's a shortsighted method because it doesn't take guest activity into account. This article explains how to combine audit data with sign-in data to create an enhanced view of guest account activity so that intelligent decisions can be made to keep or retain the accounts.
• Use Secret Management to Manage Azure Automation Credentials
  Resources are the easiest way to manage credentials for Azure Automation runbooks. The Secret Management module is an alternative, and it's best for shared credentials.
• Install Linux Subsystem for Windows (WSL) on Windows Server 2025
  This article explains the differences between WSL 1 and WSL 2, how they compare to WSL on Windows Server 2022 and Windows Server 2025, and how to install WSL on Windows Server 2025 using the graphical user interface (GUI) or PowerShell.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• PowerShell.Map v1.0.0
  Interactive map visualization for PowerShell using Leaflet.js and OpenStreetMap. Although usable standalone, this module is primarily designed for Claude Desktop integration via the PowerShell.MCP module, enabling AI-powered map visualization.
• PowerShellWeb/OpenXML
  Automate OpenXML. Excel, Word, and PowerPoint automation in PowerShell.
• IntuneMermaid v1.2.0
  This module provides a function to generate a mermaid diagrams for Intune resources
• PSDates v1.0.6
  The new version of PSDates has been uploaded to the PowerShell Gallery with the new Get-DateSummary and Format-TimeSpan functions.
• AsBuiltReport.System.Resources v0.1.1
  AsBuiltReport is an open-sourced community project which utilises PowerShell to produce as-built documentation in multiple document formats for multiple vendors and technologies.

Community

• Authenticity, AI, and the Human Side of Tech with Adil Leghari
  Cybersecurity, automation, and PowerShell advocate Adil Leghari returns to The PowerShell Podcast to kick off Cybersecurity Month. Adil shares insights from his career journey: from PowerShell and automation to identity and now cloud security at Palo Alto Networks. He discusses creating tools like Cyberdle and QR Check, how AI is reshaping cybersecurity, and the importance of empathy, authenticity, and mentorship in tech and community life.

Fun

• What PowerShell commands would you use most in Star Trek?
  Join the discussion now!

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU 2026 Call for Speakers
  Call closed 14 Dec 2025 - This time it will be held in Wiesbaden, Germany. June 1-4, 2026

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

The event starts at 16:00 Central Europe Time, 10:00 Eastern US Time

It's completely virtual and free. Tickets are available up until the start time.

https://synedgy.com/psconfeu-minicon/

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Microsoft 365 Copilot Usage Report API General Availability
  The Copilot usage report Graph API is now generally available. Like the report APIs for the other workloads, the Copilot usage API helps to understand usage of some very expensive licenses. Even better, the usage data can be combined with data from other Microsoft 365 sources to produce interesting and valuable insights. All it takes is some PowerShell to knit everything together.
• Understanding ErrorAction Parameter in PowerShell
  Error handling is an important part of scripting and automation, and PowerShell provides robust tools for managing errors efficiently. One of the key features for error management in PowerShell is the ErrorAction.
• Enable NIC Teaming (LBFO) and Switch Embedded Teaming (SET) in Windows Server 2025
  In Windows Server 2025, LBFO NIC Teaming is blocked for Hyper-V virtual switches, and Switch Embedded Teaming (SET) is the only supported teaming method for Hyper-V. However, LBFO remains available for non-virtualization use cases. In this article, I’ll show you how to enable and configure both LBFO and SET in Windows Server 2025 using the GUI and PowerShell.
• Using -OutVariable in PowerShell
  It's one of the Common Parameters, but not used that often :) In this brief blog post, I will outline its advantages and explain why you should consider using it.
• Windows 11 25H2’s removal of WMIC and the PowerShell alternative
  You probably used it in the past, wmic.exe :) The Command-Line interface for querying WMI information has been removed from Windows 11 25H2 and will not be reintroduced in future versions of Windows. In this blog post, I will highlight what that means and how you can utilize PowerShell as an alternative.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• Updated UEFIv2 module posted
  Since Microsoft has posted some documentation that makes use of my UEFIv2 module, I figured I should fix the module so that it’s compatible with PowerShell 7.
• PSGetLocalMonitors 1.0.17
  Get information about locally installed monitors on computer including model, make, and serial number.
• NerdFonts v 1.0.31
  A PowerShell module to download and install fonts from NerdFonts.
• LinkedIn v 0.0.6
  A PowerShell module to programmatically interact with LinkedIn
• PSCal v 1.1.1
  A PowerShell module to display a linux like calendar in the console.

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• What Is Regex and How to Use It in PowerShell with MVP Steven Judd
  Regex doesn’t have to be scary! In this PowerShell Wednesday, Steven Judd breaks down what regular expressions are, how they work, and how to use them effectively in PowerShell. From simple pattern matching to powerful text parsing, you’ll learn practical ways to clean data, extract info, and make your scripts smarter. Perfect for beginners and anyone who’s avoided regex... until now

Community

• AutomatedLab, GUIs, and automation with Steviecoaster
  Newly minted Microsoft MVP Stephen Valdinger, known as Steviecoaster, joins The PowerShell Podcast to share his journey from IT admin to community mentor and automation advocate. He talks about discovering PowerShell through Exchange, the career-changing power of automation, and his work with AutomatedLab, PowerShell Universal, and WinUI Shell. Stevie also highlights the importance of mentoring, building community, and making PowerShell approachable for everyone.

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU MiniCon 2025
  14 October 2025 - MiniCon is back! Join the PSConfEU community for this virtual event. Secure your free ticket now!

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Do While, While and Do Until in PowerShell
  I used this again in a few scripts while creating packages in Intune for a customer, where I had to wait for specific tasks to finish. In this brief blog post, I will outline how it works and discuss its use cases.
• Set Up Automated Microsoft 365 User Sign-in Summary Email Using PowerShell
  Every organization’s ultimate goal is to keep its Microsoft 365 environment secure. Among the many security measures, monitoring user sign-ins keeps you stay one step ahead of potential attacks. For example, repeated occurrence of sign-in failures may indicate attempts to compromise user accounts or result from Conditional Access policies blocking sign-ins.
• VSCode & Git on Everything during OSD!
  Yeah, I’ve made the switch over to VSCode. I pretty much live in GitHub now days. I find my current website annoying since I’ve been working in GitBook at 2Pint Software.
• Practical Teams Phone: Reporting Missed Calls on Call Queues
  Microsoft Teams Phone has improved over the years, but missed call reporting in call queues remains a gap. In this blog, Martin Heusser shows how to use Microsoft Graph and PowerShell to build a custom report that captures missed and answered calls, complete with caller info and agent details. Until Microsoft adds shared call history natively, this DIY approach is a solid workaround.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• MathML
  MathML is an XML stanard for representing mathematics, and a part of HTML5.
• EntraFIDOFinder Update
  There haven’t been much changes the past couple months, but finally a biggish update happened where Microsoft has added 10 more keys that are Attestation capable. Added Attestation capable keys: Are you requiring attestation? How has your implementation of FIDO2 keys been?
• GitlabCli v 1.138.0
  Interact with GitLab via PowerShell

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• PoshBytes: Arrays vs Lists [OC]
  On this edition of PohBytes, a showdown for the ages, Arrays vs. Lists!Two contenders, two minutes, no fluff, many .Add()s and +=s.
• How to create, update, delete, and manage mailboxes
  Check this out on LinkedIn Learning! I have made it free for you with the link below.
• PowerShell Text Manipulation Basics
  Join Andrew Pla and Greg Martin as they dive into the fundamentals of text manipulation in PowerShell. Whether you’re cleaning up messy logs, parsing configuration files, or just trying to get your output into the right shape, mastering text manipulation is an essential skill.

Community

• From Sysadmin to Security at Microsoft with Thomas Rayner
  Thomas Rayner joins The PowerShell Podcast to share his journey from sysadmin and PowerShell MVP to securing Microsoft 365 as a security professional at Microsoft. He reflects on how PowerShell accelerated his career, the importance of blogging and community involvement, and why clear communication with managers is vital for growth. Thomas also offers advice for beginners, highlighting patience, persistence, and the value of mentorship in tech.

Fun

• Image2Text v1.0.4
  Converts images to ASCII art with optional color output and file export. Built for creative automation and terminal flair.

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU MiniCon 2025
  14 October 2025 - MiniCon is back! Join the PSConfEU community for this virtual event. Secure your free ticket now!

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Practical Graph: Finding the Last App Accessed by a User
  A reader question asked if it was possible to find the last app accessed by a user. Of course, anything is possible with PowerShell, but how?
• Deploy dynamic hostpools using PSNerdio
  New part of the PSNerdio series! This is the final part and it’s about how to deploy dynamic hostpools using PSNerdio!
• Microsoft Graph: a Practical Guide
  If you’ve tried working with Microsoft Graph, I can probably guess that it maybe took a bit of time to appreciate all of its capabilities. I’ve heard MS Graph described as trying to build the car that you need to use to drive to work. For some, that might be up your alley, but for the rest of us, it can be a bit daunting.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• EntraFIDOFinder Update
  There haven’t been much changes the past couple months, but finally a biggish update happened where Microsoft has added 10 more keys that are Attestation capable
• New Autopilot Branding release
  It’s been a while since there was an actual release of the Autopilot Branding script, although there were a few “preview” releases as we worked out kinks in the processes. Things are looking reasonably good now (thanks to feedback from several people on the preview versions), so a new 3.3.0 release was published.
• TeamViewerPS v 2.4.0
  TeamViewerPS allows to interact with the TeamViewer Web API as well as a locally installed TeamViewer client.
• PendingReboot v 0.9.0.6
  Module to detect Windows OS pending reboots.
• PSBlitz
  A PowerShell-based tool that outputs SQL Server health and performance diagnostics data

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell October 2025 Update
  The Office 365 for IT Pros team is happy to announce the availability of the October 2025 update for the Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell eBook. Subscribers can download the latest PDF and EPUB files from Gumroad.com. In other news, a new eBook about Exchange Server Subscription Edition (SE) is available. It’s always nice to see new sources of knowledge open up!

Community

• From Sysadmin to PowerShell Team: The Story of SeeminglyScience
  Patrick Meinecke, known as SeeminglyScience, joins host Andrew Pla to share his journey from sysadmin to joining the PowerShell team at Microsoft. He discusses his early community contributions, the inner workings of the PowerShell engine, and powerful but underused features like ETS and type converters. Patrick also highlights helpful modules such as PowerShell Run, ctypes, and Useful Argument Completers, while reflecting on the importance of community engagement and open source collaboration.
• PowerShell Community Call - September 18th, 2025
  Watch this month PowerShell Community Call if you missed it.

Fun

• Every time I run a PowerShell script with extension .ps1
  It's stuck in my head, so now it'll be stuck in yours.

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU MiniCon 2025
  14 October 2025 - MiniCon is back! Join the PSConfEU community for this virtual event. Secure your free ticket now!

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Always On VPN RRAS and PowerShell 7
  PowerShell is an essential tool for administrators supporting Microsoft Always On VPN. It is critical for configuring supporting infrastructure services, such as Routing and Remote Access (RRAS) and Network Policy Server (NPS), as well as provisioning and managing Always On VPN client configuration settings on endpoints.
• PowerShell MCP Azure Function Server
  Recently under the experimental Azure Functions build Microsoft Developer Advocates have shown enabling Azure Functions as MCP Servers. I wondered if it was possible to use this to MCP enable a number of my PowerShell Identity Tools Modules. Yes, yes it is possible.
• Optimizing SharePoint Online Performance for Large Document Libraries
  In this blog, we explore practical ways to optimize SharePoint Online performance for large document libraries. From avoiding the 5,000-item list view threshold to using PnP PowerShell and Microsoft Graph API for bulk updates, you'll learn how to keep your libraries fast, responsive, and scalable.
• Search and download Microsoft Updates using the MSCatalogLTS PowerShell module
  You can use the Microsoft Update Catalog site to search and download Microsoft Updates, but there's also MSCatalogLTS :-) In this blog post, I will demonstrate how it works and explain why it's superior to the traditional catalog site.
• Dynamically Construct a PowerShell GUI
  Learn how to dynamically generate PowerShell GUI elements from a SQL data source and update values with user input.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• Set-LocationByFragment
  Sets the present working directory to the first path that matches the given fragment

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• PoshBytes: Tee-Object [OC]
  It logs. It pipes. It saves. It doesn't ask for thanks. It's Tee-Object!
• PowerShell for Hackers
  Hey there! Thanks for checking out PowerShell for Hackers – my personal sandbox for all things Windows, automation, and hacker-style mischief. Think of it as a PowerShell playground with a healthy dose of red-team flavor.
• PowerShell Select-Object 101
  and Beyond with Andrew Pla & Fred Weinmann

Community

• Beginnings, Blue Bars, and the Valley of Despair with Steven Judd Beginnings, Blue Bars, and the Valley of Despair with Steven Judd
  In this episode, host Andrew Pla welcomes back Steven Judd, Microsoft MVP, teacher, and longtime community contributor. Together, they dive into the theme of beginnings, from starting careers in IT, to first encounters with PowerShell, and the importance of resilience while navigating the “valley of despair” in learning. Steven shares his journey from music and business studies into technology, where curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to read the manuals shaped his career.

Fun

• Sixel v 0.6.1
  Display images in the terminal using various protocols
• Test-Friday
  The PowerShell function Test-Friday told me it is finally Friday!

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU MiniCon 2025
  14 October 2025 - MiniCon is back! Join the PSConfEU community for this virtual event. Secure your free ticket now!

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Announcements!

• v7.5.3 Release of PowerShell
  It includes the fix for Out-GridView!!!

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Democratizing Performance: The Copilot Profiler Agent in Action on Real Code
  We’re excited to announce the Copilot Profiler Agent available in Visual Studio 2026 Insiders, it’s an AI-powered performance assistant built directly into Visual Studio. Forget staring at endless call trees or walls of mysterious numbers that leave you asking, “where do I even start?” The Copilot Profiler Agent changes that.
• PowerShell: List all USB-Devices
  This blog post will be a short one. I will show you how to list all USB-Devices on your computer. We will use PowerShell for this task, what else?
• Running Teams PowerShell Cmdlets in Azure Automation
  This article describes the prerequisites and how to run cmdlets from the Teams PowerShell module in Azure Automation runbooks. We also consider when you’d want to consider using Teams PowerShell cmdlets instead of Graph API requests or cmdlets from the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK. The bottom line is that it’s possible, but maybe not a frequently-used option.
• No more PowerShell v2.0 in Windows 11 and Server 2025?
  While we sometimes discuss whether to use Windows PowerShell v5 or PowerShell 7, PowerShell v2.0 is being removed in the newer builds of Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025. In this brief blog post, I will share some information about this topic.
• Practical Graph: Analyzing External Meeting Participants for Teams Meetings
  A reader asked if it's possible to analyze the external meeting participants for Teams online events. The information is available through the Events Graph API, and some PowerShell code written using the Graph PowerShell SDK quickly extracts events to analyze and determine the set of external domains meeting participants come from.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• Get-CalendarEvents.ps1
  This PowerShell script retrieves the Outlook calendar events of a single user or a list of users.
• LittleFileServer.ps1
  A small file server to help test with testing.
• EntraAuth.Graph
  Client tools for interacting with the Graph API. This project has been based on the EntraAuth module, for lightweight convenient authentication and request handling.
• OTP
  The module is primarily intended for demonstration purposes, showcasing key PowerShell concepts such as user-friendliness, pipelining, autocompletion, and array processing. However, it is also fully functional in terms of multi-factor authentication with OTP. Or at least it should be.

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• 5 PowerShell Shortcuts for managing Windows
  In today's Rubix mini, I'll show you some helpful PowerShell shortcuts you should know for managing Windows.
• Getting Started with File Management in PowerShell
  Join Andrew for some great content on managing your file with PowerShell.

Community

• PowerShell, OAuth, and Automation in the Cloud with Emanuel Palm
  Microsoft MVP Emanuel Palm joins The PowerShell Podcast to share his journey from managing printers in Sweden to being a Microsoft MVP who is automating the cloud with PowerShell and Azure. He talks about building the AZAuth module for OAuth authentication, using GitHub Actions for CI/CD, and the importance of blogging and community involvement. Plus, Emanuel reveals his unique side hobby... roasting coffee!

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026 Call for Proposals (CFP)
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU MiniCon 2025
  14 October 2025 - MiniCon is back! Join the PSConfEU community for this virtual event. Secure your free ticket now!

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Announcements!

• PowerToys 0.94 is here: Settings search, shortcut conflict detection and more!
  This release is all about quality-of-life improvements — making it easier to find the setting you’re looking for, spot shortcut conflicts, and even adding a new way to move your mouse cursor. Get the update by checking for updates in PowerToys or heading to the release page.

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Boost Your Copilot Collaboration with Reusable Prompt Files
  Writing effective prompts for AI tools can be time-consuming and challenging. Cement those efforts by leveraging reusable prompt files. These custom prompts allow for quick access at the prompt box, and they’re automatically stored and shared with your teammates to make it easy to multiply your Copilot successes.
• How to Update Entra ID Apps to Run Teams Cmdlets
  MC1134747 describes a new permissions requirement for Entra apps that run Teams PowerShell cmdlets. Fixing apps to meet the new requirement is easily done with PowerShell. First, find the apps that use Teams PowerShell (we show two ways), and then assign the two required permissions to the apps. All done with a few lines of Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK code.
• Microsoft Retires Graph CLI and Toolkit in Push Toward PowerShell SDK
  Microsoft has announced the retirement of its Microsoft Graph CLI and the Graph Toolkit. The move is part of the company’s broader effort to simplify and streamline its developer toolset. The Microsoft Graph CLI is a command-line tool designed to help developers and IT professionals interact with Microsoft Graph APIs directly from the terminal.
• Fix: Slow Startup of PowerShell Console and Scripts
  I have noticed that the PowerShell console sometimes takes a long time to open. This issue occurs on different computers.
• Analyze SPF records using the PowerShell module SpfAnalyzer
  I regularly check SPF records for syntax and entries during Exchange migrations or when troubleshooting mail flow. The SpfAnalyzer module from Jiri Formacek can help with that. In this blog post, I will show you how it works.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• No Habla Ingles: PowerShell Localization in Practice
  PowerShell localization made simple: step-by-step localization, community-driven translations, and best practices for developers.
• GoogleFonts v 1.0.56
  A PowerShell module to download and install fonts from GoogleFonts.
• TLSleuth v 1.0.0
  TLSleuth is a PowerShell module for quickly inspecting TLS/SSL endpoints and certificates.
• PSRest v 0.5.1
  VSCode REST Client features in PowerShell.

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• When to Stop Scripting and Start Building a GUI
  When is a script enough? Maybe you want a visual interface for a tool. Or perhaps you are creating a system. Whatever your requirements, we'll take a look at several arrows available for your quiver to make your time as a PowerShell developer, better.
• Lab 01 - Essential Powershell Commands for System Administration and Enumeration
  A great intro or refresher on some PowerShell essentials

Community

• Turtles All the Way Down: PowerShell and Graphics with James Brundage
  James Brundage returns to The PowerShell Podcast to talk about his new project, Turtle, which brings the classic concept of Turtle graphics into PowerShell. From simple shapes to fractals, animations, and more, James shows how PowerShell can be a powerful and fun tool for exploring programming concepts. Tune in for insights on the history of Turtle, its modern applications, and how it can inspire both new learners and seasoned pros.

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026 Call for Proposals (CFP)
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU MiniCon 2025
  14 October 2025 - MiniCon is back! Join the PSConfEU community for this virtual event. Secure your free ticket now!

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Announcements!

• Windows Terminal Preview 1.24 Release
  We’re back with another Terminal release for you! This development cycle, we focused on overall quality of life improvements and bug fixes. We are also updating Windows Terminal stable to version 1.23, which will include all of the features from this previous blog post. Some notable features to call out are: 🌟 A completely new […]

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• September 2025 Update for Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell
  The Office 365 for IT Pros eBook team is proud to announce the availability of update 15 for the Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell eBook. The book includes extensive coverage of how to work with Microsoft 365 workloads through standard modules, Graph APIs, and the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK, including hundreds of practical examples over 350-plus pages. No fluff, just real-world code.
• Creating and Using an Azure Automation Custom Runtime Environment
  A custom runtime environment is a way of defining a specific job execution environment for Azure Automation runbooks, including Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK runbooks. In this article, we create a new environment for PowerShell V7.4, load in some SDK modules, switch a runbook from a system-generated environment, and run some code.
• Windows Terminal v1.23 and v1.24: new features and installation
  Microsoft has released Windows Terminal version 1.23 as a stable update, and version 1.24 as the latest preview, both bringing major improvements to the popular command-line tool. These versions introduce a completely new windowing architecture, expanded settings in the user interface, and other powerful enhancements for productivity and customization. In this article, we’ll explore what’s new in these updates and to how to install the latest stable and preview builds through Microsoft Store, winget, choco, and scoop.
• Update your Lenovo using the LSUClient PowerShell module
  I like my Lenovo hardware, and I want to keep it up to date with the latest drivers, firmware, and other software updates. In this small blog post, I will show you how you can do that using the LSUClient module from Jantari.
• Enrich your image using PSNerdio
  New part of the PSNerdio series! This part is about how to enrich your image using PSNerdio. So, we are adding scripted actions, applications and schedules to the image. This allows you to create a complete image via PSNerdio.
• How to Monitor Windows Events in Real-Time Using PowerShell
  For the trusted readers of my blog yes, this is another event driven architecture topic! And this time we’ll be diving into WMI Events with PowerShell!
• Unleashing Parallelism in PowerShell
  If you’ve been around PowerShell for a while, you know it’s great at looping through stuff. Need to process a list of files? Easy. Query a set of servers? Piece of cake. But sometimes… you hit a wall. The problem? Sequential execution.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• AutomatedLab UI v1.1.0
  A PowerShell Universal frontend for AutomatedLab.Utils

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• Find-TotalJobs Function
  I ended up writing a function to complete this task of searching and applying for jobs for me. I have included a synopsis, but I just want to clarify I was using PowerShell 7 to run this function

Community

• Unlocking Automation with AI Shell and Desired State Configuration with Jason Helmick
  In this episode of the PowerShell Podcast, we’re live from TechMentor at the Microsoft campus with two incredible guests: longtime advocate, educator, and PM on the PowerShell team at Microsoft - Jason Helmick and newcomer Troy Brown. This special episode captures the heart of community, innovation, and the transformative power of PowerShell—from seasoned insight to beginner breakthroughs.
• How to Build a Coding Agent - It's 50 Lines of Code
  Friday, September 5, 2025 - 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM EDT
• PowerShell Community Lightning Demos
  Lightning demos are about 5 minutes long and are a great way to showcase a lot of ideas/projects, quickly.

Fun

• WoW
  A PowerShell module containing utilities for World of Warcraft.

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026 Call for Proposals (CFP)
  April 13-17, 2026 in Bellevue, WA
• PSConfEU MiniCon 2025
  MiniCon is back! Join the PSConfEU community on 14 October 2025. Secure your free ticket now!

The PSWeekly module brings the full PowerShell Weekly newsletter experience right into your terminal.

With it, you can:

• Read the latest issue directly in the terminal
• Browse all past editions (5+ years of archives!)
• Search the entire link collection by keyword

Coming soon:

• Search by author
• Filter by tags

PowerShell Weekly has been and will continue to be:

• Hand-curated - not just an RSS dump
• 100% free
• No ads
• No sponsorships
• No email collection, tracking, or paywalls

Install it now and run Get-PSWeekly to read this week's edition

Install-Module PSWeekly

Built for terminal lovers, automation enthusiasts, and anyone who wants high-quality PowerShell content at their fingertips.

I'd love to hear your feedback and ideas for new features!

Link to PowerShell Gallery: https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/PSWeekly
As with all my modules it is FOSS: https://github.com/mdowst/PSWeekly

Announcements!

• ANNOUNCING PSWeekly the Module!!!
  You can now read and search PowerShell Weekly without leaving the comfort of your shell. Because why should your terminal miss out on the good stuff? Simply Install-Module PSWeekly, then run Get-PSWeekly to get the most recent addition.

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Better Control over Your Copilot Code Suggestions
  Copilot code completions and suggestions in the editor speed you up in your daily programming and coding activities, at every keystroke. They help you finish the line you’re typing or anticipate your next edit, making your workflow smoother and faster.
• Remote HTTP access to self-hosted Ollama AI models
  In my previous post in the Ollama series with OpenAI OSS models, I explained how to install Ollama on an Ubuntu EC2 instance. If you followed my guide, you now have everything set up to remotely access gpt-oss-20b on your self-hosted Ollama installation via HTTP. I will also showcase how to connect to remote AI models in VS Code using popular coding assistants like Cline and Roo Code, as well as through AI apps such as the local Ollama client, BoltAI, and Anything LLM.
• Auto Deploy Progressive Web Applications (PWA) using Intune or PowerShell
  In this article I will walk you through installing progressive web app’s, or PWA’s to endpoint machines using either PowerShell or Microsoft Intune. You may want to do this for users with frontline licenses that grant them web apps but not full desktop application’s.
• Removing Obsolete Mobile Device Partnerships from Exchange Online
  This article discusses how to use PowerShell to find obsolete mobile device partnerships in Exchange Online (or Exchange Server) and remove the obsolete devices. Users won’t be able to remove obsolete mobile devices after the settings to manage mobile devices are removed from OWA and the New Outlook, so cleaning up the mess is the responsibility of administrators (like it usually always is).
• PowerShell: Stop Outlook from Junking Legit Messages
  Outlook often struggles with erroneous junk mail classifications. It seems that some messages can pass through the SMTP perimeter scanning and email authentication, but still end up in Outlook’s junk folder. The internal workings of Outlook’s built-in message filters aren’t fully documented anywhere that I know of. This can lead to some perplexing situations.
• Why is Microsoft Removing PowerShell 2.0 from Windows 11? Critical Steps You Must Take Now
  Will PowerShell 2.0 Removal Break Your Windows System?
• How to Free Up and Automatically Manage Disk Space for WSL on Windows 10/11
  Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) lets you run a Linux environment directly on Windows. This is particularly useful for web development where you can develop and test applications in a Linux environment without leaving Windows.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• Using the Indented.Net.IP PowerShell module for IPv4 Subnet math
  I still do some networking, although not as much as I did during my CCNP certification, and I eventually memorized subnet calculations. That, and using IP Calculators ;-) In this blog post, I will show you how you can use Chris Dent's PowerShell module for that.
• PSTimers
  A PowerShell module with a variety of timer and countdown functions. A perfect compliment to the PSDates module.
• Borg v 0.2.23
  BORG Backup Orchestrator for Reliable Groundwork. A modular PowerShell toolkit for automating SQL Server Docker container workflows, backup and restore operations, and local dev environment setup.

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• Behind the PowerShell Pipeline
  Discover parts of PowerShell that lie under the surface that can make you a better PowerShell user and scripter. From one of the original PowerShell experts.
• Turtles in PowerShell: Drawing Shapes with Code by James Brundage
  Join us for PowerShell Wednesday with James Brundage as he shows off Turtles in a PowerShell -- a fun way to create art with just a few simple commands. From drawing squares and hexagons to building fractals and animations, you’ll see how Forward() and Rotate() can unlock endless creativity right inside PowerShell.

Community

• Live from TechMentor: Profiles, People, and PowerShell Progress with Sean Wheeler and James Petty
  In this episode, Andrew catches up with Sean Wheeler and James Petty live from TechMentor. What starts as casual conversation about conference camaraderie turns into a rich discussion on learning PowerShell, building effective profiles, AI-assisted scripting, module recommendations, and what's next for the PowerShell Summit.

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026 Call for Proposals (CFP)
  You've got 1 week left to submit your proposals! Even if you've never spoken before, don't be scared, this is a friendly welcoming environment that is so supportive.
• PSConfEU MiniCon 2025
  MiniCon is back! Join the PSConfEU community on 14 October 2025. Secure your free ticket now!

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Announcements!

• PowerToys 0.93 is here: faster Command Palette, new dashboard UX and more
  Hey PowerToys fans! We're back with a fresh release: PowerToys 0.93! As usual, we’ve squashed a bunch of bugs and made some small quality of life tweaks, but we’ve also packed in some bigger, exciting changes you’ll want to check out.

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• Microsoft AI Shell Preview 6: MCP support and great PowerShell integration
  The key new feature in the just-released AI Shell Preview 6 is run_command_in_terminal, among several new built-in tools that allow the AI model to run commands and review outputs directly in your PowerShell terminal. Additionally, AI Shell now supports local and remote MCP servers, transforming it into a versatile AI assistant across Windows, Mac, and Linux.
• Who is logged in to PowerShell? Alternatives to whoami
  If you are working with PowerShell, you will often face the question: "Under which user is my script running?" In other words, you want to know who is logged in. Many admins use the whoami command on the Command Prompt (cmd). However, PowerShell provides native alternatives to whoami that give you the username and domain.
• Practical Graph: Creating Dynamic Microsoft 365 Groups without Entra P1 Licenses
  Dynamic Microsoft 365 Groups come with many advantages, but they also require Entra P1 licenses. This article explores how to create and maintain a DIY version of dynamic Microsoft 365 groups using the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK and Azure Automation. At the end of the day, the principle is proven, but maybe it's best to pay for the licenses.
• Create an Image in Nerdio using PSNerdio
  The next part! Create an image in Nerdio using PSNerdio. So, the next step is of course creating an image in Nerdio. We want to do that automatically via PSNerdio. So, let’s add some CMDlets to the module to make sure we can do everything from code. Link to the GitHub repo.
• Using the Microsoft-Extractor-Suite PowerShell module for collecting Microsoft Online logs
  Collecting logs from various Microsoft Endpoints, like Entra, 365 Services, and Azure, can be a hassle sometimes. The Microsoft-Extractor-Suite module from Joey Rentenaar and Korstiaan Tam can help you with that! In this blog post, I will show you how to use it
• Choosing the Right Command-Line Tool for Your Needs: CMD vs PowerShell vs Windows Terminal - Izoate Tech
  Confused about Choosing the Right Command Line Tool? Explore the differences between CMD, PowerShell, and Windows Terminal to find the best fit for your needs.

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• Servy
  Servy lets you run any app as a Windows service with full control over working directory, startup type, process priority, logging, health checks, environment variables, dependencies, pre-launch scripts and parameters. A fully managed alternative to NSSM.
• PixelPoSH
  PixelPoSH is a PowerShell module that generates customizable, random SVG backgrounds using the PSSVG DSL (no System.Drawing).
• PowerShell Localization
  A Visual Studio Code extension that displays PowerShell localization variable values as decorations in your editor, making it easier to develop and debug internationalized PowerShell modules.

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• PowerShell in the Pipeline: Open Source CI/CD with GitHub Actions
  Learn how to build reliable CI/CD pipelines in GitHub with a focus on PowerShell. Microsoft MVP Emanuel Palm will show us the basics of GitHub Actions from VS Code, discuss community collaboration in open source projects, and show how to start automating your own modules or other projects.

Community

• PSStucco, Accessibility, and the Power of Templating in PowerShell with Gilbert Sanchez & Jake Hildreth
  In this high-energy episode, returning guests Gilbert Sanchez and Jake Hildreth join Andrew for a deep dive into:

Fun

• If powershell commands were translated into your language, what would be the best example?
  A fun and light hearted thread

Events

• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026 Call for Proposals (CFP)
  Today is the last day to submit your proposals!
• PSConfEU MiniCon 2025
  MiniCon is back! Join the PSConfEU community on 14 October 2025. Secure your free ticket now!

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.

Announcements!

• Introducing MCP Support in AI Shell Preview 6
  We're excited to share the latest preview release of AI Shell that includes new features and improvements based on your feedback.

Blogs, Articles, and Posts

• How Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK Access Tokens Work
  If you use the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK, you don’t need to worry about obtaining an access token because SDK cmdlets include automatic token management. Although you don’t need to know the details of the access token used in an SDK session, it’s possible to find and examine its contents, and even use the token with a Graph request. It's a nice to know thing that you’ll never need in practice.
• PowerShell Find All Files With Extension
  Ever found yourself needing to quickly list every .pdf or .xlsx file scattered across hundreds of folders on your Windows laptop? PowerShell helps find every file with a particular extension—no matter where it’s hiding. In this tutorial, I will explain how to find all files with extensions using PowerShell with examples.
• Investigating Document Exfiltration with the Graph Activity Log
  In this installment of our Graph Activity Log series, we’ll provide a practical playbook for using the Graph Activity Log and Kusto Query Language (KQL) to hunt for indicators of document exfiltration.
• Linking all required resources to Nerdio via PSNerdio
  Second part of the series! This part is about linking all required resources to nerdio via PSNerdio. So, in the previous part of this series I mentioned that the PowerShell module created by Nerdio needs some love. I wanted to link my resourcegroups to Nerdio and that CMDlet was not working.
• Exploring the PowerShell Gallery using PSGalleryExplorer
  The PowerShell Gallery is the primary source for downloading most of your modules. You can search and find information about them using the website or... By using the PSGalleryExplorer module from Jake Morison :) In this blog post, I will show you how to use it.
• Timing Scripts
  How to manage time effectively in scripts

Projects, Scripts, and Modules

• GenXdev.Queries v 1.236.2025
  A Windows PowerShell module for finding resources and information on the internet
• PowerShellWeb Turtle
  I implemented Turtle in#PowerShell, so now we can draw shapes and fractals in PowerShell.

Books, Media, and Learning Resources

• LAPS Password Not Stored in Intune
  Generate Missing LAPS Password Report

Community

• From EntraAuth to PSConfEU with Fred Weinmann
  In this episode of the PowerShell Podcast, host Andrew Pla reunites with PowerShell legend Fred, diving deep into productivity with hotkeys and key bindings, EntraAuth, C# integration, and community reflections from PowerShell Conference EU. Fred shares practical advice for improving your daily workflow, how to extend PowerShell with C#, and why participation in the community—whether through conferences or contributing modules—can be a game-changer for your career.

Events

• Watch Live: Visual Studio Toolbox at VS LIVE! Redmond 2025
  On Tuesday, August 5, join us for a special edition of Visual Studio Toolbox Live—broadcast from VS LIVE!
• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2026 Call for Proposals (CFP)
  We are thrilled to invite you to submit your session proposals for the 2026 PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit, taking place in Bellevue, WA, from April 13-16, 2026. This Summit is the premier event for PowerShell and DevOps professionals, offering a unique opportunity to share knowledge, solve problems, socialize, and network with peers. Whether you're an Automater, Integrator, Problem-Solver, Tinkerer, Scripter, or Tech Wizard, this event is for you! 

Check out psweekly.dowst.dev for all past editions as well as a searchable archive.