Get-PSReadLineOption

Exploring the Get-PSReadLineOption Cmdlet in PowerShell

Welcome back to Wahmans PowerShell Blog! Today we are diving into a nifty cmdlet that might not be widely known among beginners but offers great utility when customizing your PowerShell experience: Get-PSReadLineOption.

The official description from Microsoft reads:

Get-PSReadLineOption: Gets values for the options that can be configured.

The Get-PSReadLineOption cmdlet retrieves the current settings for the PSReadLine module. This module powers the syntax highlighting, command editing, and history features of the PowerShell command line interface. These configurations can be incredibly useful for tailoring your shell environment to your preferences.

Basic Usage

At its most basic, you can just type:

Get-PSReadLineOption

This will return a list of configurable values in PSReadLine, such as key bindings, colors, and history options.

Example 1: Viewing Current Console Settings (Beginner Level)

If you’re new to PowerShell and you’re customizing your environment, this command helps you view what your current settings look like:

Get-PSReadLineOption

You might see output like:

MaximumHistoryCount         : 4096
EditMode                   : Windows
ContinuationPrompt         : >>
BellStyle                  : Audible
Colors                     : {[Command, Yellow], [Parameter, Green], ... }

Example 2: Change Edit Mode to Emacs (Intermediate)

If you’re coming from a Unix/Linux background and prefer the Emacs editing style over Windows’ default, you can update it like so:

Set-PSReadLineOption -EditMode Emacs

Then confirm it took effect:

Get-PSReadLineOption | Select-Object EditMode

Example 3: Customize Syntax Highlighting Colors (Intermediate)

You can modify the syntax highlighting colors for different code elements. For example, to change the color used for strings in the console:

Set-PSReadLineOption -Colors @{String = [ConsoleColor]::Cyan}

Verify the change:

Get-PSReadLineOption | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Colors

Example 4: Export Current Configuration for Version Control (Advanced)

If you’re managing multiple PowerShell environments or want to version control your configuration, export your settings to a file:

$config = Get-PSReadLineOption
$config | Export-Clixml -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\psreadline-config.xml"

You can later import it with:

$importedConfig = Import-Clixml -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\psreadline-config.xml"
Set-PSReadLineOption @importedConfig

Note: make sure the properties being piped to Set-PSReadLineOption match expected parameter inputs.

Wrapping Up

Understanding and utilizing Get-PSReadLineOption opens the door to creating a deeply personalized PowerShell experience. Whether you’re a beginner learning the ropes or a seasoned scripter fine-tuning your console, this cmdlet is a great tool to have in your arsenal.

Happy scripting, and I will see you in the next post!