Agent Skills: Windows PowerShell Commands

Windows PowerShell Commands

Windows PowerShell command patterns for terminal operations on Windows. This skill provides comprehensive guidance on PowerShell syntax, command chaining, and development workflow commands.

When to Apply

Reference these patterns when:

• Running commands on Windows
• Writing PowerShell scripts
• Chaining commands
• Managing files and directories
• Working with environment variables

⚠️ CRITICAL: NEVER Use && in PowerShell

PowerShell does NOT support && for command chaining. Use semicolons ; instead.

# ❌ WRONG - Will fail
cd embedded-components && yarn test

# ✅ CORRECT - Use semicolon
cd embedded-components; yarn test

Quick Reference

Command Chaining

• Semicolon (;): Execute regardless of previous command result
• Pipeline (|): Pass output from one command to another
• Logical AND (-and): Conditional execution

Common Commands

# Navigation
cd embedded-components

# Package management
cd embedded-components; yarn test

# Git operations
git add .; git commit -m "message"; git push

Command Chaining

Semicolon (;) - Execute Regardless

Runs the second command even if the first fails:

cd embedded-components; yarn test

Pipeline (|) - Pass Output

Passes output from one command to another:

Get-ChildItem | Where-Object { $_.Extension -eq ".tsx" }

Logical AND (-and) - Conditional Execution

PowerShell equivalent of &&:

if (Test-Path embedded-components) { cd embedded-components; yarn test }

Common Development Commands

Navigation

# Change directory
cd embedded-components

# Go to parent
cd ..

# Go to root
cd \

# List contents
Get-ChildItem
# or shorthand
ls
dir

File Operations

# Create file
New-Item -Path "file.txt" -ItemType File

# Create directory
New-Item -Path "folder" -ItemType Directory

# Remove file
Remove-Item -Path "file.txt"

# Remove directory recursively
Remove-Item -Path "folder" -Recurse -Force

# Copy file
Copy-Item -Path "source.txt" -Destination "dest.txt"

# Move file
Move-Item -Path "source.txt" -Destination "dest.txt"

Package Management

# Install dependencies
cd embedded-components; yarn install

# Run tests
cd embedded-components; yarn test

# Run specific script
cd embedded-components; yarn format

# Multiple commands
cd embedded-components; yarn format; yarn lint:fix; yarn test

Git Operations

# Status
git status

# Add files
git add .

# Commit
git commit -m "feat: add new component"

# Push
git push

# Pull
git pull

# Create branch
git checkout -b feature/new-feature

# Multiple git commands
git add .; git commit -m "fix: update tests"; git push

Process Management

# Find process by port
netstat -ano | findstr :3000

# Kill process by PID
taskkill /PID 1234 /F

# Stop all node processes
Get-Process node | Stop-Process -Force

Environment Variables

# Set environment variable (current session)
$env:NODE_ENV = "development"
$env:NODE_OPTIONS = "--max-old-space-size=4096"

# Use environment variable
Write-Output $env:NODE_ENV

# Set for command execution
$env:NODE_ENV="test"; yarn test

Path Operations

# Get current directory
$PWD
Get-Location

# Check if path exists
Test-Path "embedded-components"

# Get absolute path
Resolve-Path "embedded-components"

# Join paths
Join-Path "embedded-components" "src"

File Search

# Find files by name
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.tsx"

# Find files with content
Select-String -Path "*.tsx" -Pattern "useEffect"

# Find and count
(Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.test.tsx").Count

Text Processing

# Read file
Get-Content "file.txt"

# Write file
"content" | Out-File "file.txt"

# Append to file
"content" | Add-Content "file.txt"

# Search and replace
(Get-Content "file.txt") -replace "old", "new" | Set-Content "file.txt"

Development Workflow Commands

Complete Test Workflow

# Navigate and run tests
cd embedded-components; yarn test

# Fix formatting and linting
cd embedded-components; yarn format; yarn lint:fix

# Re-run tests
cd embedded-components; yarn test

# If all pass, commit
git add .; git commit -m "fix: update component"; git push

Build and Deploy

# Clean, install, build
cd embedded-components; Remove-Item -Recurse -Force node_modules; yarn install; yarn build

# Run Storybook
cd embedded-components; yarn storybook

Cache Management

# Clear yarn cache
cd embedded-components; yarn cache clean

# Remove node_modules and reinstall
cd embedded-components; Remove-Item -Recurse -Force node_modules; yarn install

# Clear all caches
cd embedded-components; yarn cache clean; Remove-Item -Recurse -Force node_modules, .cache; yarn install

PowerShell-Specific Features

Aliases

# Common aliases
ls    # Get-ChildItem
dir   # Get-ChildItem
cd    # Set-Location
pwd   # Get-Location
cat   # Get-Content
rm    # Remove-Item
cp    # Copy-Item
mv    # Move-Item

Execution Policy

# Check current policy
Get-ExecutionPolicy

# Set execution policy (admin required)
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

Profile

# Edit PowerShell profile
notepad $PROFILE

# Reload profile
. $PROFILE

Error Handling

# Try-catch block
try {
    cd embedded-components
    yarn test
} catch {
    Write-Error "Command failed: $_"
}

# Check if command succeeded
if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
    Write-Output "Success"
} else {
    Write-Output "Failed with code $LASTEXITCODE"
}

Variables and Strings

# Variables
$projectPath = "embedded-components"
$command = "yarn test"

# String interpolation
cd $projectPath; Invoke-Expression $command

# Here-strings for multi-line
$script = @"
cd embedded-components
yarn format
yarn lint:fix
yarn test
"@
Invoke-Expression $script

Common Patterns

Conditional Navigation and Execution

if (Test-Path "embedded-components") {
    cd embedded-components
    yarn test
} else {
    Write-Error "Directory not found"
}

Loop Through Files

Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.test.tsx" | ForEach-Object {
    Write-Output "Testing: $($_.Name)"
    yarn test $_.Name
}

Backup and Restore

# Backup
Copy-Item -Path "embedded-components" -Destination "embedded-components-backup" -Recurse

# Restore
Remove-Item -Path "embedded-components" -Recurse -Force
Move-Item -Path "embedded-components-backup" -Destination "embedded-components"

Best Practices

1. Use semicolons (;) - Never use &&
2. Quote paths with spaces - Use quotes for paths containing spaces
3. Use cmdlet names - Prefer Get-ChildItem over ls in scripts
4. Check exit codes - Use $LASTEXITCODE to verify command success
5. Use try-catch - For error-prone operations
6. Test paths - Use Test-Path before operations
7. Be explicit - Use full cmdlet names in important scripts

Common Mistakes

❌ Using && for command chaining
❌ Not quoting paths with spaces
❌ Forgetting to check $LASTEXITCODE
❌ Not handling errors
❌ Using forward slashes in paths (use backslashes or forward slashes, but be consistent)

Quick Reference

# Navigate to project
cd i:\ds\projects\oss\embedded-banking\embedded-components

# Run quality workflow
yarn test

# Fix issues
yarn format; yarn lint:fix

# Re-test
yarn test

# Commit changes
cd ..; git add .; git commit -m "feat: new component"; git push

How to Use

For detailed instructions, examples, and patterns:

• Full guide: AGENTS.md - Complete PowerShell documentation

References

• See AGENTS.md for complete PowerShell documentation
• See .github/skills/code-quality-workflow/ for testing workflow
• Microsoft PowerShell documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/powershell/