ModuleTools

Fast, Versatile, standalone PowerShell module builder. Built for CICD and Automation.

💬 Description

Whether you're creating simple or robust modules, ModuleTools streamlines the process, making it perfect for CI/CD and automation environments. With comprehensive features included, you can start building PowerShell modules in less than 30 seconds. Let ModuleTools handle the build logic, so you can focus on developing the core functionality of your module.

The structure of the ModuleTools module is meticulously designed according to PowerShell best practices for module development. While some design decisions may seem unconventional, they are made to ensure that ModuleTools and the process of building modules remain straightforward and easy to manage.

Important

Checkout this Blog article explaining core concepts of ModuleTools.

⚙️ Install

Install-Module -Name ModuleTools

Note: ModuleTolls is still in early devleopment phase and lot of changes are expected. Please read through ChangeLog for all updates.

🧵 Design

To ensure this module works correctly, you need to maintain the folder structure and the project.json file path. The best way to get started is by running the New-MTModule command, which guides you through a series of questions and creates the necessary scaffolding.

📂 Folder Structure

All the Module files should be in inside src folder

 .
├──  project.json
├──  private
│  └──  New-PrivateFunction.ps1
├──  public
│  └──  New-PublicFunction.ps1
├──  resources
│  └──  some-config.json
└──  tests
   └──  Pester.Some.Tests.ps1

Dist Folder

Generated module is stored in dist folder, you can easily import it or publish it to PowerShell repository.

 dist
└──  TestModule
   ├──  TestModule.psd1
   └──  TestModule.psm1

Project JSON File

The project.json file contains all the important details about your module and is used during the module build. It should comply with a specific schema. You can refer to the sample project-sample.json file in the example directory for guidance.

Run New-MTModule to generate the scaffolding; this will also create the project.json file.

Src Folder

• Place all your functions in the private and public folders within the src directory.
• All functions in the public folder are exported during the module build.
• All functions in the private folder are accessible internally within the module but are not exposed outside the module.

Tests Folder

If you want to run pester tests keep them in tests folder, if not you can ignore this function.

💻 Commands

New-MTModule

This interactive command helps you create the module structure. Easily create the skeleton of your module and get started with module building in no time.

## Create a module skeleton in Work Directory
New-MTModule ~/Work

Invoke-MTBuild

ModuleTools is designed so that you don't need any additional tools like make or psake to run the build commands. There's no need to maintain complex build.ps1 files or sample .psd1 files. Simply follow the structure outlined above, and you can run Invoke-MTBuild to build the module. The output will be saved in the dist folder, ready for distribution.

# From the Module root 
Invoke-MTBuild

## Verbose for more details
Invoke-MTBuild -Verbose

Get-MTProjectInfo

This functions give you complete info about the project which can be used in pester tests or for general troubleshooting.

Invoke-MTTest

All the pester configurations are stored in project.json, simply run Invoke-MTTest command from project root, it will run all the tests inside tests folder

• To skip a test insdie test directory use -skip in describe/it/context block within Pester test.
• Use Get-MTProjectInfo command inside pester to get great amount of info about project and files

Update-MTModuleVersion

A simple command to update the module version by modifying the values in project.json. You can also manually edit the file in your favorite editor. This command makes it easy to update the semantic version.

• Running Update-MTModuleVersion without any parameters will update the patch version (e.g., 1.0.1 -> 1.0.2).
• Running Update-MTModuleVersion -Label Major updates the major version (e.g., 1.0.1 -> 2.0.1).
• Running Update-MTModuleVersion -Label Minor updates the minor version (e.g., 1.0.1 -> 1.1.1).

Advanced - Use it in Github Actions

This is not required for local module builds, if you are running github actions, use below template to test, build and publish module with ease.

name: Build, Test and Publish

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install ModuleTools module form PSGallery
        run: |
          Install-PSResource -Repository PSGallery -Name ModuleTools -TrustRepository
        shell: pwsh

      - name: Build Module
        run: Invoke-MTBuild -Verbose
        shell: pwsh

      - name: Run Pester Tests
        run: Invoke-MTTest
        shell: pwsh
      - name: Publish Package to Github
        run: |
          Publish-PSResource -Path ./dist/YourModule -Repository SomeRepository -ApiKey $Env:ApiKey
        env:
          ApiKey: ${{ secrets.API_KEY }}
        shell: pwsh

📝 Requirement

• Only tested on PowerShell 7.4, most likely wont work on 5.1
• No depenedencies. This module doesn’t depend on any other module.

✅ ToDo

• Support Classes and Enums in modules

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please fork the repository and submit a pull request with your changes. Ensure that your code adheres to the existing style and includes appropriate tests.

📃 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.