📚 PowerShell: From Beginner to Advanced

Master Windows automation and system administration with PowerShell

Welcome to your comprehensive PowerShell learning journey! This repository contains everything you need to go from beginner to advanced PowerShell scripting and automation.

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📖 Table of Contents

🌱 Beginner Level

• Getting Started
• Basic Cmdlets & Syntax
• Variables & Data Types
• Working with Objects
• Pipes & Filters

🌿 Intermediate Level

• Functions & Modules
• Error Handling
• File System Operations
• Working with Arrays & Hash Tables
• Control Flow (If, Switch, Loops)

🌳 Advanced Level

• PowerShell Remoting
• Advanced Functions & Script Blocks
• Working with .NET Classes
• DSC (Desired State Configuration)
• Advanced Scripting Techniques
• Security & Best Practices
• PowerShell for DevOps
• Azure & Cloud Automation

📦 Examples & Projects

• Hello World Script
• System Info Gatherer
• Log Analyzer
• AD User Management
• Azure Resource Automation

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🚀 Quick Start

Installation

PowerShell comes pre-installed on Windows 10/11 and Windows Server 2016+.

For the latest version (PowerShell 7+):

winget install --id Microsoft.Powershell --source winget

Your First Command

Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.CPU -gt 100}

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🎯 Learning Path

1. Week 1-2: Master the fundamentals (Cmdlets, Variables, Objects)
2. Week 3-4: Build working scripts (Functions, Error Handling, File Operations)
3. Week 5-6: Advanced topics (Remoting, DSC, .NET Integration)
4. Week 7-8: Real-world projects and automation

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💻 Key Concepts

PowerShell Philosophy

• Object-Based: Unlike traditional shells that work with text, PowerShell works with .NET objects
• Verb-Noun Naming: Cmdlets follow a consistent Verb-Noun pattern (e.g., Get-Process, Set-Item)
• Pipeline Power: Chain commands together to create powerful one-liners
• Discoverable: Use Get-Command, Get-Help, and Get-Member to explore

Common Cmdlets

Get-Command    # Find available cmdlets
Get-Help       # Get help for any cmdlet
Get-Member     # Explore object properties and methods
Where-Object   # Filter results
Select-Object  # Choose specific properties
ForEach-Object # Loop through items

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📑 Resources

Official Documentation

• 🔗 Microsoft PowerShell Docs
• 🔗 PowerShell Gallery
• 🔗 PowerShell GitHub

Community Resources

• 🔗 PowerShell.org
• 🔗 r/PowerShell
• 🔗 PowerShell Slack

Recommended Books

• "Learn PowerShell in a Month of Lunches" by Don Jones
• "PowerShell for Sysadmins" by Adam Bertram
• "Windows PowerShell in Action" by Bruce Payette

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🧐 Best Practices

1. Always use approved verbs (Get-Verb to see the list)
2. Write comment-based help for your functions
3. Use parameter validation to make scripts robust
4. Implement proper error handling with Try-Catch-Finally
5. Follow naming conventions (PascalCase for functions, camelCase for variables)
6. Use meaningful variable names instead of abbreviations
7. Test scripts in non-production environments first
8. Version control your scripts with Git

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🔧 Tools & Extensions

VS Code Extensions

• PowerShell Extension - Official Microsoft extension
• PowerShell Preview - Latest features and improvements
• PSScriptAnalyzer - Code quality and style checker

Helpful Modules

# Azure modules
Install-Module -Name Az -AllowClobber -Scope CurrentUser

# Active Directory
Install-Module -Name ActiveDirectory

# Pester (Testing framework)
Install-Module -Name Pester -Force

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• Add new examples
• Improve documentation
• Report issues
• Suggest improvements

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📜 License

This repository is for educational purposes. Feel free to use and modify the scripts for your needs.

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👉 Next Steps

Ready to dive in? Start with:

1. 📘 Getting Started Guide
2. 💡 Basic Cmdlets Tutorial
3. 💡 First PowerShell Script

Happy Scripting! 🚀💪