Whether you're creating simple or robust modules, ModuleTools streamlines the process, making it perfect for CI/CD and automation environments. With comprehensive features included, you can start building PowerShell modules in less than 30 seconds. Let ModuleTools handle the build logic, so you can focus on developing the core functionality of your module.
The structure of the ModuleTools module is meticulously designed according to PowerShell best practices for module development. While some design decisions may seem unconventional, they are made to ensure that ModuleTools and the process of building modules remain straightforward and easy to manage.
Important
Checkout this Blog article explaining core concepts of ModuleTools.
Install-Module -Name ModuleTools
Note: ModuleTolls is still in early devleopment phase and lot of changes are expected. Please read through ChangeLog for all updates.
To ensure this module works correctly, you need to maintain the folder structure and the project.json
file path. The best way to get started is by running the New-MTModule
command, which guides you through a series of questions and creates the necessary scaffolding.
All the Module files should be in inside src
folder
.
├── project.json
├── private
│ └── New-PrivateFunction.ps1
├── public
│ └── New-PublicFunction.ps1
├── resources
│ └── some-config.json
└── tests
└── Pester.Some.Tests.ps1
Generated module is stored in dist folder, you can easily import it or publish it to PowerShell repository.
dist
└── TestModule
├── TestModule.psd1
└── TestModule.psm1
The project.json
file contains all the important details about your module and is used during the module build. It should comply with a specific schema. You can refer to the sample project-sample.json
file in the example
directory for guidance.
Run New-MTModule
to generate the scaffolding; this will also create the project.json
file.
- Place all your functions in the
private
andpublic
folders within thesrc
directory. - All functions in the
public
folder are exported during the module build. - All functions in the
private
folder are accessible internally within the module but are not exposed outside the module.
If you want to run pester
tests keep them in tests
folder, if not you can ignore this function.
This interactive command helps you create the module structure. Easily create the skeleton of your module and get started with module building in no time.
## Create a module skeleton in Work Directory
New-MTModule ~/Work
ModuleTools
is designed so that you don't need any additional tools like make
or psake
to run the build commands. There's no need to maintain complex build.ps1
files or sample .psd1
files. Simply follow the structure outlined above, and you can run Invoke-MTBuild
to build the module. The output will be saved in the dist
folder, ready for distribution.
# From the Module root
Invoke-MTBuild
## Verbose for more details
Invoke-MTBuild -Verbose
This functions give you complete info about the project which can be used in pester tests or for general troubleshooting.
All the pester configurations are stored in project.json
, simply run Invoke-MTTest
command from project root, it will run all the tests inside tests
folder
- To skip a test insdie test directory use
-skip
in describe/it/context block within Pester test. - Use
Get-MTProjectInfo
command inside pester to get great amount of info about project and files
A simple command to update the module version by modifying the values in project.json
. You can also manually edit the file in your favorite editor. This command makes it easy to update the semantic version.
- Running
Update-MTModuleVersion
without any parameters will update the patch version (e.g., 1.0.1 -> 1.0.2). - Running
Update-MTModuleVersion -Label Major
updates the major version (e.g., 1.0.1 -> 2.0.1). - Running
Update-MTModuleVersion -Label Minor
updates the minor version (e.g., 1.0.1 -> 1.1.1).
This is not required for local module builds, if you are running github actions, use below template to test, build and publish module with ease.
name: Build, Test and Publish
on:
push:
branches:
- main
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Install ModuleTools module form PSGallery
run: |
Install-PSResource -Repository PSGallery -Name ModuleTools -TrustRepository
shell: pwsh
- name: Build Module
run: Invoke-MTBuild -Verbose
shell: pwsh
- name: Run Pester Tests
run: Invoke-MTTest
shell: pwsh
- name: Publish Package to Github
run: |
Publish-PSResource -Path ./dist/YourModule -Repository SomeRepository -ApiKey $Env:ApiKey
env:
ApiKey: ${{ secrets.API_KEY }}
shell: pwsh
- Only tested on PowerShell 7.4, most likely wont work on 5.1
- No depenedencies. This module doesn’t depend on any other module.
- Support Classes and Enums in modules
Contributions are welcome! Please fork the repository and submit a pull request with your changes. Ensure that your code adheres to the existing style and includes appropriate tests.
This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.