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Copy-paste PowerShell for beginners: plain-English commands, preview-first scripts, fill-in-the-blank builders, and a bash-to-PowerShell translator.

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Copy-Paste PowerShell

Plain-English PowerShell you can copy, paste, and trust.

CI and Pages License: Apache 2.0

A builder page: fill in a folder, prefix, and filter, and get a ready-to-run rename script with -WhatIf

What's inside

  • Commands: 70+ everyday cmdlets, each with a one-click copyable one-liner, a plain-English explanation, which OS and PowerShell version it works on, whether it needs admin, and what the output looks like.
  • Scripts: ready-to-run .ps1 files (backups, cleanup, bulk rename, inventories, host checks). Every script that changes something previews first and supports -WhatIf.
  • Builders: fill in a short form and get a working command or script: copy, rename, find and replace, zip, delete old files, schedule a task. Your input is quoted safely, and you can share the filled-in form as a link.
  • From bash / From cmd: know grep, ls -la, or ipconfig? Find the PowerShell way, plus the gotchas.
  • Explain a command: paste a line from a forum or an AI chat and see each step in plain English, with warnings for anything that deletes, downloads and runs code, or turns off protection. Nothing is executed.
  • Guides: a short reading path from "what is PowerShell?" to pipelines, objects, variables, and your profile.
  • Printable cheat sheet: every command on two sides of paper.

Who it's for

People who need PowerShell to get something done today: helpdesk and junior sysadmins, students, Mac and Linux users who landed on a Windows box, and anyone handed a script they are not sure they should run.

How it keeps you safe

  • Preview first. Scripts default to a preview or support -WhatIf. Destructive commands say so in a yellow box.
  • No hidden surprises. Scripts take parameters. No hardcoded paths, machine names, or credentials.
  • Tested. On every change, CI does all of the following:
    • parses every snippet on the site;
    • runs every script and the builders' output against test folders, on Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7 with Pester;
    • lints with PSScriptAnalyzer;
    • checks every internal link;
    • runs an axe accessibility check on every page, in light and dark mode.

PowerShell module (preview)

The scripts are also packaged as a module, CopyPastePowerShell, with approved-verb names (Backup-Folder, Remove-OldFile, Rename-FileBatch, Find-LargeFile, ...) and Find-Snippet, which searches the command catalog from your prompt:

Find-Snippet zip
Find-Snippet grep -Copy   # puts the one-liner on your clipboard

It is not on the PowerShell Gallery yet. To try it from a clone of this repo:

npm install
node tools/build-module.mjs
Import-Module .\module\CopyPastePowerShell

Pushing a v*.*.* tag on main runs .github/workflows/release-module.yml. It packages the module into dist/, tests the package on Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7, and then waits for approval in the psgallery environment before publishing. The PSGALLERY_API_KEY secret belongs on that environment, so only the publish step can read it. Running the workflow by hand is a dry run that never publishes.

Contribute

Found a mistake or want a command added? Every page has Edit this page on GitHub and Report a problem links.

Run it locally

Requires Node.js 22 or later.

npm install
npm start

Then open http://localhost:8080.

Script What it does
npm start Serve locally with live reload
npm run build Write _site/
npm run validate Check frontmatter and builder templates
npm run hygiene Fail on local paths and secret-like strings
npm test Builder rendering and escaping tests
npm run check-links Check internal links after npm run build:gh
npm run a11y Accessibility check of every page after npm run build:gh (run npx playwright install chromium once)
./tests/run.ps1 -Lint Pester tests and PSScriptAnalyzer

Layout

commands/     one markdown file per command
scripts/      folder per script: .ps1 plus index.md
builders/     form spec plus template, in markdown frontmatter
guides/       beginner reading path
tests/        Pester and Node tests
tools/        validation, link and accessibility checks

License

Apache License 2.0. Copyright 2026 TMHSDigital. See LICENSE and NOTICE. A community project, not affiliated with Microsoft.

About

Copy-paste PowerShell for beginners: plain-English commands, preview-first scripts, fill-in-the-blank builders, and a bash-to-PowerShell translator.

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