Getting Started with PsBuildTasks

Previously I explained the vision of PsBuildTasks and how it works. Unfortunately you need a lot about it to get it working. This has changed since it has now it’s own PowerShell module for installation.

In case your module MyModuleName is written in PowerShell and should be cross-platform. Only a few steps are needed.

At first you need to install the module. That can be easily done from PsGallery using the command Install-Module -Name PsBuildTasks.

Then PsBuildTasks container tasks need to be installed with the following commands.

Import-Module -Name PsBuildTasks
Install-PsBuildTask -Path . -Task 'PowerShell-Matrix'

Next the actual features can be installed or updated with:

$ModuleName = 'MyModuleName'
Invoke-Build -File .\tasks\PsBuild.Tasks.ps1 -Task UpdatePsBuildTasks

This includes InvokeBuild tasks. To use them, add the following to your .build.ps1 file:

$ModuleName = 'MyModuleName'
. ./tasks/Build.Tasks.ps1

Now your project should have GitHub Actions, GitHub Pages and VsCode Tasks in place. You can build and test your module with VsCode. GitHub Actions support build validation, releases and pre-releases to PsGallery. GitHub Pages contain your module documentation.