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What is PSReadLine?

PSReadLine is a module that replaces the default PowerShell console line editor with a more feature-rich and user-friendly one. It significantly improves the command-line experience by providing:

  • Command History: Persistent and easily accessible command history.
  • Syntax Highlighting: Makes code easier to read and identify errors.
  • Tab Completion: Intelligent tab completion for commands, parameters, file paths, and more.
  • Vi Mode: An optional editing mode that emulates the Vi/Vim text editor.
  • Emacs Mode: An optional editing mode that emulates the Emacs text editor.
  • Windows Mode: The default editing mode.
  • Predictive IntelliSense: Suggests commands based on your history and other factors.
  • Key Bindings: Customizable key bindings for common actions.

PSReadline

Windows Terminal has a "mark mode" that allows you to select text using the keyboard.

Here's how to use it:

  1. Enable Mark Mode: Press Ctrl + Shift + M. This puts the terminal into mark mode.
  2. Select Text: Use the arrow keys (with Shift held down) to move the cursor and select the desired text. You can also use Ctrl + A to select all text in the terminal buffer.
  3. Copy Text: Once the text is selected, press Ctrl + Shift + C to copy it to the clipboard.

Some additional information about text selection in Windows Terminal:

  • Hyperlink Navigation: In mark mode, you can use Tab or Shift + Tab to navigate between hyperlinks in the buffer if hyperlink detection is enabled (experimental.detectUrls).
  • Block Selection: Use the toggleBlockSelection action to switch to block selection mode.
  • Copy on Select: You can enable the copyOnSelect setting so that text is automatically copied to the clipboard when you select it. If this setting is enabled, right-clicking the terminal will paste the selected text.

PSReadLine History Features

The history features in PSReadLine are a major benefit. Here's a breakdown:

  • Persistent History: PSReadLine saves your command history to a file (by default, ~\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadLine\ConsoleHost_history.txt). This means your commands are remembered across PowerShell sessions. You can delete unwanted entries from this file.
  • History Navigation:
    • Up/Down Arrow Keys: Navigate through your command history.
    • Ctrl+R (Reverse Search): Start typing a command, and PSReadLine will search backward through your history for matching commands. Press Ctrl+R repeatedly to cycle through matches.
    • Ctrl+S (Forward Search): Similar to Ctrl+R, but searches forward. (Less commonly used).
    • Get-History Cmdlet: Retrieves the command history from the current session. This is useful for scripting or further analysis.
    • Invoke-History Cmdlet: Executes a command from the history by its ID (as shown by Get-History).
  • History Duplicates: By default, PSReadLine prevents consecutive duplicate commands from being added to the history.
  • History Size: You can control the maximum number of commands saved in the history file and the maximum number of commands stored in the current session's history.
  • History Location: You can change the location of the history file.

Key Cmdlets for Managing History

  • Get-History: Gets the history of the current session.
  • Get-History -Id <ID>: Gets a specific history entry by its ID.
  • Get-History -Count <N>: Gets the last N history entries.
  • Invoke-History: Executes a command from the history.
  • Invoke-History <ID>: Executes the history entry with the specified ID. You can get the ID from Get-History.
  • Add-History: Adds a command to the history. (Less commonly used directly).
  • Clear-History: Clears the history of the current session.
  • Clear-History -Newest <N>: Deletes the newest N entries.
  • Clear-History -Oldest <N>: Deletes the oldest N entries.

Configuration and Customization

You can customize PSReadLine's behavior using the Set-PSReadLineOption cmdlet. Here are some common settings related to history:

  • HistorySavePath: Specifies the path to the history file.
Set-PSReadLineOption -HistorySavePath "C:\MyPowerShellHistory.txt"
  • MaximumHistoryCount: Specifies the maximum number of commands to store in the session history.
Set-PSReadLineOption -MaximumHistoryCount 4096
  • MaximumKillRingCount: Specifies the maximum number of commands to store in the "kill ring" (used for cutting and pasting). This is less directly related to history but can affect your command editing experience.
Set-PSReadLineOption -MaximumKillRingCount 10
  • HistoryNoDuplicates: Specifies whether to prevent consecutive duplicate commands from being added to the history. (Defaults to $true).
  • HistorySearchCaseSensitive: Specifies whether history searches (Ctrl+R, Ctrl+S) are case-sensitive. (Defaults to $false).
  • HistorySaveStyle: Specifies how the history is saved. The default is SaveIncrementally, which saves each command to the history file as it's executed.

Example: Configuring PSReadLine History

To configure PSReadLine history, you typically add the Set-PSReadLineOption commands to your PowerShell profile. The profile is a script that runs automatically when PowerShell starts.

1. Find Your Profile:

$PROFILE

This will show you the path to your current PowerShell profile. If the file doesn't exist, you can create it.

2. Edit Your Profile:
Open the profile file in a text editor (like VS Code or Notepad).

3. Add Configuration:
Add the Set-PSReadLineOption commands to the profile. For example:

Set-PSReadLineOption -HistorySavePath "$env:USERPROFILE\.powershell\MyHistory.txt"
Set-PSReadLineOption -MaximumHistoryCount 10000
Set-PSReadLineOption -HistoryNoDuplicates $true

4. Save and Restart:
Save the profile file and restart PowerShell. Save the profile file and restart PowerShell.

Troubleshooting

  • History Not Saving:
    • Make sure PSReadLine is installed (Get-Module PSReadLine -ListAvailable). If not, install it: Install-Module PSReadLine -Force.
    • Check that the HistorySavePath is valid and that PowerShell has permissions to write to that location.
    • Ensure that HistorySaveStyle is set to SaveIncrementally (the default) or SaveAtExit.
  • History Not Showing Up:
    • Verify that MaximumHistoryCount is set to a reasonable value.
    • Make sure you're using the correct key bindings for history navigation (Up/Down arrows, Ctrl+R, Ctrl+S).
    • If you've recently cleared the history, it will be empty.