PowerShell Expert Skill

A Claude Code skill for developing PowerShell scripts, tools, and modules following Microsoft best practices.

Features

• Script Development - Templates, naming conventions, parameter design, pipeline patterns
• Best Practices & Style - Error handling, output, performance, security, plus the community (PoshCode) formatting standard
• Cross-Platform Compatibility - Tiered targeting: PowerShell 7 on all platforms by default, Windows PowerShell 5.1 support when feasible; path handling, encoding, platform detection
• Testing - Pester 5 patterns, mocking, and a ready-made PSScriptAnalyzer compatibility settings file
• PowerShell Gallery Integration - Search, install, and manage modules via PSResourceGet
• Module Recommendations - Curated list of popular modules by category
• Live Verification - Validates module availability and cmdlet syntax against live documentation

Installation

As a plugin (recommended)

Add this repo as a marketplace, then install the plugin. Claude Code checks the marketplace for updates and you can pull them with /plugin marketplace update.

/plugin marketplace add ArchitektApx/powershell-expert
/plugin install powershell-expert@powershell-expert

Manual

Copy the skill folder to your Claude Code skills directory:

cp -r powershell-expert ~/.claude/skills/

Or unzip the packaged skill:

unzip powershell-expert.skill -d ~/.claude/skills/

Usage

The skill activates automatically when you ask Claude Code to:

• Write PowerShell scripts or functions
• Find or recommend PowerShell modules
• Follow PowerShell best practices

Example Prompts

"Write a PowerShell script to monitor disk space"
"What module should I use for working with Excel files?"
"Help me add proper error handling to this script"
"Make this script work on both Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7 on Linux"
"Write Pester tests for this function"

Live Verification

When accuracy is critical, the skill verifies information against live sources:

Verification Type	Source
Module exists/active	PowerShell Gallery
Cmdlet syntax	Microsoft Learn / raw GitHub docs
PSResourceGet cmdlets	Raw GitHub markdown (deterministic URL)
Version requirements	Gallery metadata

Module recommendations are always verified before being presented. If live verification fails, the skill falls back to executing Search-Gallery.ps1 locally or prompts the user to verify manually.

Skill Contents

powershell-expert/
├── SKILL.md                          # Core workflow and quick reference
├── scripts/
│   ├── Search-Gallery.ps1            # Enhanced PowerShell Gallery search
│   └── PSScriptAnalyzer.Tier1.psd1   # Compat lint settings (5.1 + 7)
└── references/
    ├── best-practices.md    # Naming, parameters, pipeline, errors,
    │                        #   output, performance, security
    ├── style-guide.md       # Formatting, capitalization, readability,
    │                        #   comments (PoshCode community standard)
    ├── cross-platform.md    # 5.1 + 7 compatibility tiers, paths,
    │                        #   encoding, platform detection
    ├── testing.md           # Pester 5, mocking, static analysis
    └── powershellget.md     # Module management cmdlets

Cross-Platform Targeting

Scripts default to the highest compatibility tier that fits the project:

Tier	Target	When
1 (default)	Windows PowerShell 5.1 + PowerShell 7, all platforms	No constraint against 5.1
2	PowerShell 7+, all platforms	Project targets PS 7, or a required module/feature is Core-only
Windows-only	5.1 and/or 7 on Windows	WinForms/WPF, Registry, Windows-only modules

Dropping 5.1 never means dropping Linux/macOS — cross-platform path, encoding, and cmdlet-availability rules apply in every tier.

Documentation Sources

• PowerShell Docs
• PowerShell Gallery
• Module Browser
• PowerShell-Docs (raw)
• PSResourceGet Docs (raw)
• PowerShell Practice and Style (PoshCode)

License

MIT