PowerShell Dev Toolkit for Windows

A comprehensive collection of PowerShell productivity scripts for Windows developers. Streamline your development workflow with SSH tunneling, project management, AI integration, and much more.

Windows
PowerShell
License

Features

• SSH Management - Easy SSH connections and database tunneling with credential management
• Development Tools - Auto-detecting dev servers, port management, project detection
• Code Search - Fast project-wide search with smart filtering
• Git Integration - Enhanced git status and branch information
• AI Assistant Integration - Generate AI rules files for Cursor IDE, Claude, and other AI coding assistants
• Log Monitoring - Real-time log file watching with filtering
• Quick Commands - 30+ productivity commands with short aliases

Quick Start

Option A: Install from PowerShell Gallery (recommended)

# Install the module
Install-Module PowerShellDevToolkit -Scope CurrentUser

# Or using the newer PSResourceGet
Install-PSResource PowerShellDevToolkit

# Import it (add this line to your $PROFILE to load automatically)
Import-Module PowerShellDevToolkit

# First-run setup: creates config.json and the creds folder, then opens the config
Initialize-Toolkit

# Store your SSH username and password (encrypted with Windows DPAPI)
New-SSHCredential

# Verify installation
helpme

Option B: Install from source

1. Clone the repository

 git clone https://github.com/joshuaevan/powershell-dev-toolkit.git
 cd powershell-dev-toolkit

1. Run the setup script

 .\Setup-Environment.ps1

1. Create your configuration

 Initialize-Toolkit          # creates config.json, opens it in your editor
 New-SSHCredential           # stores your SSH username/password

1. Reload your profile

 . $PROFILE

Requirements

Essential

• Windows 10/11
• PowerShell 5.1+ (comes with Windows)
• Git - Download

Recommended

• WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) - For better SSH support

  wsl --install
  

• Notepad++ - For quick file editing - Download

Optional (Install as needed)

• Node.js & npm - For JavaScript/Node projects - Download
• PHP - For PHP/Laravel projects - Download
• Python - For Python projects - Download
• Composer - For PHP dependency management - Download

Configuration

Initialize-Toolkit creates config.json and a creds folder in the toolkit
data folder. Where that is depends on how you installed:

helpme shows the resolved path. Set PSDT_SKIP_UPDATE_CHECK=1 to disable the
startup update check, or set toolkit.updateCheckDays to 0 in config.json.

Key Commands

Toolkit

Initialize-Toolkit               # First-run setup (config.json + creds folder)
New-SSHCredential                # Store SSH username/password
Update-Toolkit                   # Update from git or the PowerShell Gallery

SSH & Remote Access

cssh myserver                    # SSH to server
tunnel myserver postgres         # PostgreSQL tunnel (port 5432)
tunnel myserver mysql 3307       # MySQL tunnel with custom local port
cssh <Tab>                       # Tab-complete server aliases from config.json

Development

serve                            # Auto-detect & start dev server
serve -Port 8080                 # Custom port
port 3000                        # Check what's using port 3000
port 3000 -Kill                  # Kill process on port
search "function login"          # Search codebase
gs                               # Pretty git status

Project Management

context                          # Generate project summary
context -Copy                    # Copy to clipboard
proj                             # Detect project type
useenv                           # Load .env file

AI Integration

ai-rules php                     # Generate .airules for PHP (default)
ai-rules laravel -RuleType Cursor   # Generate .cursorrules for Laravel
ai-rules react -RuleType Claude     # Generate .clauderules for React
ai-rules -Auto                   # Auto-detect project type

File & Directory

e .\file.ps1 -Line 42           # Edit in Notepad++
touch .\newfile.txt              # Create file or update timestamp
ll                               # Enhanced directory listing
la                               # List all including hidden
mkcd new-project                 # Create dir and cd into it
open .\document.pdf              # Open with default app

Utilities

which node                       # Find command location
sudo notepad hosts               # Run as administrator
reload                           # Reload PowerShell profile
grep "pattern" *.ps1             # Search text in files
ip                               # Show IPv4 addresses
tail .\app.log -Filter "error"   # Watch and filter logs
rc -Interactive                  # Browse command history

Full Command Reference

Run helpme to see all commands, or check the complete documentation.

Configuration

SSH Setup

1. Configure servers in config.json:

 {
   "ssh": {
     "credentialFile": "ssh-credentials.xml",
     "servers": {
       "myserver": {
         "hostname": "server.example.com",
         "description": "Production server"
       },
       "aws-server": {
         "hostname": "ec2-xxx.amazonaws.com",
         "description": "AWS EC2 instance",
         "keyFile": "aws-key.pem"
       }
     }
   }
 }

1. Store SSH credentials (password auth):

 # Create creds directory
 New-Item -Path ".\creds" -ItemType Directory -Force

 # Store encrypted credentials
 $cred = Get-Credential -UserName 'your-ssh-username'
 $cred | Export-Clixml '.\creds\ssh-credentials.xml'

1. Or use key file authentication (.pem):

 # Copy your key file to creds directory
 Copy-Item 'C:\path\to\your-key.pem' '.\creds\your-key.pem'

 # Still need credential file for username
 $cred = Get-Credential -UserName 'ec2-user'
 $cred | Export-Clixml '.\creds\ssh-credentials.xml'

Editor Integration

Configure your preferred editor in config.json:

{
  "editor": {
    "notepadPlusPlus": "C:\\Program Files\\Notepad++\\notepad++.exe"
  }
}

Customization

Module Structure

The toolkit is organized as a standard PowerShell module:

PowerShellDevToolkit/
  PowerShellDevToolkit.psd1   # Module manifest (version, exports)
  PowerShellDevToolkit.psm1   # Root module (auto-loader)
  Public/                     # Exported functions (one per file)
  Private/                    # Internal helpers (not exported)

Adding Custom Commands

1. Create a new Verb-Noun.ps1 file in PowerShellDevToolkit\Public\
2. Wrap your code in a function with the same name
3. Add the function name to FunctionsToExport in the .psd1
4. Optionally add an alias in the .psm1 and AliasesToExport in the .psd1
5. Run Import-Module .\PowerShellDevToolkit -Force to reload

Extending SSH Servers

Edit config.json to add more servers:

"servers": {
  "prod": {
    "hostname": "prod.example.com",
    "description": "Production"
  },
  "staging": {
    "hostname": "staging.example.com", 
    "description": "Staging"
  },
  "aws": {
    "hostname": "ec2-xxx.amazonaws.com",
    "description": "AWS EC2",
    "keyFile": "aws-key.pem"
  }
}

Note: For key file auth, place .pem files in .\creds\ and set keyFile in config.

Testing

Run the full test suite locally with one command:

.\Invoke-Tests.ps1

Tests also run automatically on every push and pull request via GitHub Actions CI.

Documentation

• Complete Command Reference
• SSH Configuration Guide
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing Guidelines

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Troubleshooting

Scripts won't execute

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

SSH commands not working

1. Check if WSL is installed: wsl --version
2. If not, install Posh-SSH: Install-Module -Name Posh-SSH
3. Verify credentials file exists: Test-Path .\creds\ssh-credentials.xml

Missing commands after setup

# Reload your profile
. $PROFILE

# Or rerun setup
.\Setup-Environment.ps1 -UpdateProfile

License

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

Acknowledgments

• Built for developers who love PowerShell or Have no choice but to use it
• Inspired by Unix productivity tools
• Optimized for Windows 10/11 development environments

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

Made for Windows developers

Star this repo if you find it helpful!