History
PSReadLine records all actions in a dedicated history file that exists next to the default PowerShell history:
PS> (Get-PSReadLineOption).HistorySavePath
C:\Users\megamorf\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadLine\ConsoleHost_history.txt
In the past plaintext credentials were written to that file potentially exposing secrets unintentionally. This has been fixed in PowerShell/PSReadLine #1058 which prevents lines that match password|asplaintext|token|key|secret from being written to the log.
You can add your own filter logic like this:
Set-PSReadLineOption -AddToHistoryHandler {
param([string]$line)
$sensitive = "password|asplaintext|token|key|secret"
return ($line -notmatch $sensitive)
}
Increase the number of records in your PSReadLine history with (default: 4096):
Set-PSReadLineOption -MaximumHistoryCount 10000
The Clear-History cmdlet can not be used to clear the history of commands. It clears only the list of previous commands that the Get-History cmdlet displays.
To delete the history of previous commands, you need to delete the file in which they are stored. The easiest way to do this is with the command:
Remove-Item (Get-PSReadlineOption).HistorySavePath
You can further improve your history handling with:
# Searching for commands with up/down arrow is really handy. The
# option "moves to end" is useful if you want the cursor at the end
# of the line while cycling through history like it does w/o searching,
# without that option, the cursor will remain at the position it was
# when you used up arrow, which can be useful if you forget the exact
# string you started the search on.
Set-PSReadLineOption -HistorySearchCursorMovesToEnd
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key UpArrow -Function HistorySearchBackward
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key DownArrow -Function HistorySearchForward
Misc
Prevent annoying beeping noises (e.g. when pressing backspace on empty line):
Set-PSReadLineOption -BellStyle None
You can use Ctrl+L in PowerShell to clear the screen, but I miss Ctrl+D to exit the shell:
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key Ctrl+d -Function DeleteCharOrExit
If you want pwsh to behave like linux shells, .i.e. navigate with Ctrl+a / Ctrl+e use emacs edit mode:
Set-PSReadLineOption -EditMode emacs
Insert the last argument from the previous command with Alt+.:
md newdir
cd <Alt+.>
vim path\to.ps1
<Alt+.><Enter>
To give you an arrow navigable list of possible completion choices run:
Set-PSReadlineKeyHandler -Key Tab -Function MenuComplete
If you want to set multiple settings you can condense them via splatting:
$PSReadLineOptions = @{
EditMode = "Emacs"
HistoryNoDuplicates = $true
HistorySearchCursorMovesToEnd = $true
Colors = @{
"Command" = "#8181f7"
}
}
Set-PSReadLineOption @PSReadLineOptions
Use Ctrl+Shift+P to copy the current working directory to the clipboard:
Set-PSReadlineKeyHandler -Key Ctrl+Shift+P `
-BriefDescription CopyPathToClipboard `
-LongDescription "Copies the current path to the clipboard" `
-ScriptBlock { (Resolve-Path -LiteralPath $pwd).ProviderPath.Trim() | clip }
Useful handlers
Taken from SamplePSReadLineProfile.ps1
using namespace System.Management.Automation
using namespace System.Management.Automation.Language
$PSReadLineOptions = @{
EditMode = "Emacs"
BellStyle = "None"
HistorySearchCursorMovesToEnd = $true
MaximumHistoryCount = 10000
}
Set-PSReadLineOption @PSReadLineOptions
Set-PSReadlineKeyHandler -Key Tab -Function MenuComplete
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key UpArrow -Function HistorySearchBackward
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key DownArrow -Function HistorySearchForward
Set-PSReadlineKeyHandler -Key Ctrl+Shift+P `
-BriefDescription CopyPathToClipboard `
-LongDescription "Copies the current path to the clipboard" `
-ScriptBlock { (Resolve-Path -LiteralPath $pwd).ProviderPath.Trim() | Set-Clipboard }
#region Smart Insert/Delete
# The next four key handlers are designed to make entering matched quotes
# parens, and braces a nicer experience. I'd like to include functions
# in the module that do this, but this implementation still isn't as smart
# as ReSharper, so I'm just providing it as a sample.
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key '"',"'" `
-BriefDescription SmartInsertQuote `
-LongDescription "Insert paired quotes if not already on a quote" `
-ScriptBlock {
param($key, $arg)
$quote = $key.KeyChar
$selectionStart = $null
$selectionLength = $null
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::GetSelectionState([ref]$selectionStart, [ref]$selectionLength)
$line = $null
$cursor = $null
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::GetBufferState([ref]$line, [ref]$cursor)
# If text is selected, just quote it without any smarts
if ($selectionStart -ne -1)
{
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::Replace($selectionStart, $selectionLength, $quote + $line.SubString($selectionStart, $selectionLength) + $quote)
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::SetCursorPosition($selectionStart + $selectionLength + 2)
return
}
$ast = $null
$tokens = $null
$parseErrors = $null
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::GetBufferState([ref]$ast, [ref]$tokens, [ref]$parseErrors, [ref]$null)
function FindToken
{
param($tokens, $cursor)
foreach ($token in $tokens)
{
if ($cursor -lt $token.Extent.StartOffset) { continue }
if ($cursor -lt $token.Extent.EndOffset) {
$result = $token
$token = $token -as [StringExpandableToken]
if ($token) {
$nested = FindToken $token.NestedTokens $cursor
if ($nested) { $result = $nested }
}
return $result
}
}
return $null
}
$token = FindToken $tokens $cursor
# If we're on or inside a **quoted** string token (so not generic), we need to be smarter
if ($token -is [StringToken] -and $token.Kind -ne [TokenKind]::Generic) {
# If we're at the start of the string, assume we're inserting a new string
if ($token.Extent.StartOffset -eq $cursor) {
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::Insert("$quote$quote ")
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::SetCursorPosition($cursor + 1)
return
}
# If we're at the end of the string, move over the closing quote if present.
if ($token.Extent.EndOffset -eq ($cursor + 1) -and $line[$cursor] -eq $quote) {
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::SetCursorPosition($cursor + 1)
return
}
}
if ($null -eq $token -or
$token.Kind -eq [TokenKind]::RParen -or $token.Kind -eq [TokenKind]::RCurly -or $token.Kind -eq [TokenKind]::RBracket) {
if ($line[0..$cursor].Where{$_ -eq $quote}.Count % 2 -eq 1) {
# Odd number of quotes before the cursor, insert a single quote
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::Insert($quote)
}
else {
# Insert matching quotes, move cursor to be in between the quotes
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::Insert("$quote$quote")
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::SetCursorPosition($cursor + 1)
}
return
}
if ($token.Extent.StartOffset -eq $cursor) {
if ($token.Kind -eq [TokenKind]::Generic -or $token.Kind -eq [TokenKind]::Identifier -or
$token.Kind -eq [TokenKind]::Variable -or $token.TokenFlags.hasFlag([TokenFlags]::Keyword)) {
$end = $token.Extent.EndOffset
$len = $end - $cursor
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::Replace($cursor, $len, $quote + $line.SubString($cursor, $len) + $quote)
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::SetCursorPosition($end + 2)
return
}
}
# We failed to be smart, so just insert a single quote
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::Insert($quote)
}
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key '(','{','[' `
-BriefDescription InsertPairedBraces `
-LongDescription "Insert matching braces" `
-ScriptBlock {
param($key, $arg)
$closeChar = switch ($key.KeyChar)
{
<#case#> '(' { [char]')'; break }
<#case#> '{' { [char]'}'; break }
<#case#> '[' { [char]']'; break }
}
$selectionStart = $null
$selectionLength = $null
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::GetSelectionState([ref]$selectionStart, [ref]$selectionLength)
$line = $null
$cursor = $null
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::GetBufferState([ref]$line, [ref]$cursor)
if ($selectionStart -ne -1)
{
# Text is selected, wrap it in brackets
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::Replace($selectionStart, $selectionLength, $key.KeyChar + $line.SubString($selectionStart, $selectionLength) + $closeChar)
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::SetCursorPosition($selectionStart + $selectionLength + 2)
} else {
# No text is selected, insert a pair
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::Insert("$($key.KeyChar)$closeChar")
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::SetCursorPosition($cursor + 1)
}
}
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key ')',']','}' `
-BriefDescription SmartCloseBraces `
-LongDescription "Insert closing brace or skip" `
-ScriptBlock {
param($key, $arg)
$line = $null
$cursor = $null
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::GetBufferState([ref]$line, [ref]$cursor)
if ($line[$cursor] -eq $key.KeyChar)
{
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::SetCursorPosition($cursor + 1)
}
else
{
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::Insert("$($key.KeyChar)")
}
}
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key Backspace `
-BriefDescription SmartBackspace `
-LongDescription "Delete previous character or matching quotes/parens/braces" `
-ScriptBlock {
param($key, $arg)
$line = $null
$cursor = $null
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::GetBufferState([ref]$line, [ref]$cursor)
if ($cursor -gt 0)
{
$toMatch = $null
if ($cursor -lt $line.Length)
{
switch ($line[$cursor])
{
<#case#> '"' { $toMatch = '"'; break }
<#case#> "'" { $toMatch = "'"; break }
<#case#> ')' { $toMatch = '('; break }
<#case#> ']' { $toMatch = '['; break }
<#case#> '}' { $toMatch = '{'; break }
}
}
if ($toMatch -ne $null -and $line[$cursor-1] -eq $toMatch)
{
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::Delete($cursor - 1, 2)
}
else
{
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::BackwardDeleteChar($key, $arg)
}
}
}
#endregion Smart Insert/Delete
# Sometimes you want to get a property of invoke a member on what you've entered so far
# but you need parens to do that. This binding will help by putting parens around the current selection,
# or if nothing is selected, the whole line.
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key 'Alt+(' `
-BriefDescription ParenthesizeSelection `
-LongDescription "Put parenthesis around the selection or entire line and move the cursor to after the closing parenthesis" `
-ScriptBlock {
param($key, $arg)
$selectionStart = $null
$selectionLength = $null
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::GetSelectionState([ref]$selectionStart, [ref]$selectionLength)
$line = $null
$cursor = $null
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::GetBufferState([ref]$line, [ref]$cursor)
if ($selectionStart -ne -1)
{
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::Replace($selectionStart, $selectionLength, '(' + $line.SubString($selectionStart, $selectionLength) + ')')
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::SetCursorPosition($selectionStart + $selectionLength + 2)
}
else
{
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::Replace(0, $line.Length, '(' + $line + ')')
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::EndOfLine()
}
}
# This example will replace any aliases on the command line with the resolved commands.
Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Key "Alt+%" `
-BriefDescription ExpandAliases `
-LongDescription "Replace all aliases with the full command" `
-ScriptBlock {
param($key, $arg)
$ast = $null
$tokens = $null
$errors = $null
$cursor = $null
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::GetBufferState([ref]$ast, [ref]$tokens, [ref]$errors, [ref]$cursor)
$startAdjustment = 0
foreach ($token in $tokens)
{
if ($token.TokenFlags -band [TokenFlags]::CommandName)
{
$alias = $ExecutionContext.InvokeCommand.GetCommand($token.Extent.Text, 'Alias')
if ($alias -ne $null)
{
$resolvedCommand = $alias.ResolvedCommandName
if ($resolvedCommand -ne $null)
{
$extent = $token.Extent
$length = $extent.EndOffset - $extent.StartOffset
[Microsoft.PowerShell.PSConsoleReadLine]::Replace(
$extent.StartOffset + $startAdjustment,
$length,
$resolvedCommand)
# Our copy of the tokens won't have been updated, so we need to
# adjust by the difference in length
$startAdjustment += ($resolvedCommand.Length - $length)
}
}
}
}
}