Intro to PowerShell Lab Scripting with Powershell

Learning objective: By the end of this exercise, students will be able to write and execute a simple PowerShell script to automate a routine task.

Scripting is where the true power of PowerShell shines. By combining the commands you’ve learned so far, you can create scripts to automate repetitive tasks and streamline your workflow. Let’s create a simple script to get you started. ✨

Steps

1. In your Powershell console, you should be in the intro-to-powershell-lab directory if you’re not already.

2. Create a new file called get-system-processes.ps1 using New-Item -ItemType File.

3. Open the current directory in Visual Studio Code using code ..

4. Add code that will implement this functionality to the script:

   • Research the Write-Host cmdlet to display a message reading: “Running Processes:”.

   • Use the Get-Process cmdlet to display a list of running processes. Research how to use the Select-Object cmdlet in combination with the Get-Process cmdlet to only show the Name, Id, CPU, and WorkingSet of each process.

5. Ensure the script is saved and close VS Code.

6. Execute the script by running ./get-system-processes.ps1 in the PowerShell console to test it.

   Congratulations! You’ve just written and executed your first PowerShell script. The script retrieves computer system information and displays a list of running processes. Scripts can be customized and expanded on to automate various tasks based on your needs.