My most recent post in the Linux Prompt on Windows series, is Part V. Now, we’re on VI and it’s all because of PowerShell 6.0.

As 6.0 uses a different $PROFILE script, it was mandatory that I created a new one and quickly copied over my Linux prompt. I hate to be anywhere without it. You can create a $PROFILE script in PowerShell 6.0 the same way we did previously. It’s New-Item -Path $PROFILE -Force (press Enter) followed by notepad $PROFILE (press Enter) to open the file, in Notepad, which should be obvious.

The newest change is adding the version number, just to the right of the host program’s name in the WindowTitle. Here’s an example of how that appears. As it should the WindowTitle indicates it’s PowerShell 6.0.

Type in powershell.exe and press Enter, and the WindowTitle changes. Now we’re in PowerShell 5.1.

Go deeper in time and type powershell.exe -version 2, press Enter, and it changes again, but this time to 2.0. By adding this addition to the WindowTitle via my prompt function, I can move between versions of PowerShell, if needed, and always know the version in which I’m working.

I’ve included the fully updated prompt function below. Copy it into your $PROFILE script, restart PowerShell, and enjoy. I can’t be the only one to appreciate this prompt, especially as PowerShell 6.0 just went GA. As the beta versions before it were, it’s cross platform; therefore, my lookalike Linux prompt makes even more sense now.

Update: I recently cleaned out my new 6.0 $PROFILE script and did what I’ve always done instead. That is to dot source a different profile script (the one loaded by Windows PowerShell 5.1). So, in place of my prompt function, I now have this entry: . C:\Users\tommymaynard\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1. Yeah, you’re reading that right, “WindowsPowerShell.” All my stuff is in there! It should be fun to see what works and what doesn’t!

Update: I got really tired of looking up at the WindowTitle to see my version, so I added it to the prompt, as well. It’s just after the closing square bracket and before the # or $ symbol. By the way, the difference of those two is that # indicates an administrative user, and $ indicates a non-administrative user. Oh yes, and for today, my host is blue. It’s not the exact blue, but close. The font color is also gray (by default), another slight difference between the host configuration for 5.1 vs. 6.0. Anyway, I’ve updated the below code to indicate the version as a part of the prompt itself, just like in the below image.

Function Prompt {
	(Get-PSProvider -PSProvider FileSystem).Home = $env:USERPROFILE

	# Determine if Admin and set Symbol variable.
	If ([bool](([System.Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).Groups -match 'S-1-5-32-544')) {
		$Symbol = '#'
	} Else {
		$Symbol = '$'
	}
	 
	# Write Path to Location Variable as /.../...
	If ($PWD.Path -eq $env:USERPROFILE) {
		$Location = '/~'
	} ElseIf ($PWD.Path -like "*$env:USERPROFILE*") {
		$Location = "/$($PWD.Path -replace ($env:USERPROFILE -replace '\\','\\'),'~' -replace '\\','/')"
	} Else {
		$Location = "$(($PWD.Path -replace '\\','/' -split ':')[-1])"
	}

	# Determine Host for WindowTitle.
	Switch ($Host.Name) {
		'ConsoleHost' {$HostName = 'consolehost'; break}
		'Windows PowerShell ISE Host' {$HostName = 'ise'; break}
        'Visual Studio Code Host' {$HostName = 'vscode'; break}
		default {}
	}

    # Determine PowerShell version.
    $PSVer = "$($PSVersionTable.PSVersion.Major).$($PSVersionTable.PSVersion.Minor)"

	# Create and write Prompt; Write WindowTitle.
    $UserComputer = "$($env:USERNAME.ToLower())@$($env:COMPUTERNAME.ToLower())" 
    $Location = "$((Get-Location).Drive.Name.ToLower())$Location"

    # Check if in the debugger.
    If (Test-Path -Path Variable:/PSDebugContext) {
        $DebugStart = '[DBG]: '
        $DebugEnd = ']'
    }

    # Actual prompt and title.
    $Host.UI.RawUI.WindowTitle = "$HostName $PSver`: $DebugStart[$UserComputer $Location]$DebugEnd$Symbol"
    "$DebugStart[$UserComputer $Location]$DebugEnd$PSVer$Symbol "
}

Linux Prompt on Windows – Part V

http://tommymaynard.com/an-addition-to-the-linux-powershell-prompt-iv-2016/

http://tommymaynard.com/an-addition-to-the-linux-powershell-prompt-ii-2016/

http://tommymaynard.com/an-addition-to-the-linux-powershell-promp-2016/

http://tommymaynard.com/duplicate-the-linux-prompt-2016/

Sometime ago I wrote a Linux lookalike prompt. Since then, I’ve continued to modify it as I decided it needed changes. Today, I have a newer version, so I figured I should drop it here, as I have previously.

The difference in this version is that it adds a / between the c (C:\ drive) and ~ when I’m in my “C:\users\tommymaynard” directory, or somewhere further nested in this directory. So yeah, as of today, Monday, September 19, 2016, this is the newest version.

So you can see it before you buy it — it’s actually free — here’s a few examples of what the prompt will look like based on your location within the file system. It updates the ConsoleHost and ISE’s Window Title, too. Bonus.

# C drive: C:\
[tommymaynard@testsrv01 c/]$ 


# WSMan drive: WSMan:\
[tommymaynard@testsrv01 wsman/]$


# WSMan localhost: WSMan:\localhost
[tommymaynard@testsrv01 wsman/localhost]$


# Users folder: C:\Users
[tommymaynard@testsrv01 c/users]$ 


# Profile folder: C:\Users\tommymaynard
[tommymaynard@testsrv01 c/~]$ 


# Desktop folder: C:\Users\tommymaynard\Desktop
[tommymaynard@testsrv01 c/~/Desktop]$ 


# ProgramData folder: C:\ProgramData
[tommymaynard@testsrv01 c/ProgramData]$ 

And, here’s the prompt function.

Function Prompt {
	(Get-PSProvider -PSProvider FileSystem).Home = $env:USERPROFILE

	# Determine if Admin and set Symbol variable.
	If ([bool](([System.Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).Groups -match 'S-1-5-32-544')) {
		$Symbol = '#'
	} Else {
		$Symbol = '$'
	}
	 
	# Write Path to Location Variable as /.../...
	If ($PWD.Path -eq $env:USERPROFILE) {
		$Location = '/~'
	} ElseIf ($PWD.Path -like "*$env:USERPROFILE*") {
		$Location = "/$($PWD.Path -replace ($env:USERPROFILE -replace '\\','\\'),'~' -replace '\\','/')"
	} Else {
		$Location = "$(($PWD.Path -replace '\\','/' -split ':')[-1])"
	}

	# Determine Host for WindowTitle.
	Switch ($Host.Name) {
		'ConsoleHost' {$HostName = 'ConsoleHost'; break}
		'Windows PowerShell ISE Host' {$HostName = 'ISE'; break}
		default {}
	}

	# Create and write Prompt; Write WindowTitle.
	$Prompt = "[$($env:USERNAME.ToLower())@$($env:COMPUTERNAME.ToLower()) $((Get-Location).Drive.Name.ToLower())$Location]$Symbol"
	$Host.UI.RawUI.WindowTitle = "$HostName`: $Prompt"
	
	"$Prompt "
}

Here are the previous posts on this topic:

http://tommymaynard.com/quick-learn-duplicate-the-linux-prompt-2016/
http://tommymaynard.com/quick-learn-an-addition-to-the-linux-powershell-promp-2016/
http://tommymaynard.com/quick-learn-an-addition-to-the-linux-powershell-prompt-ii-2016/

Update: There’s a part V (five) now. This includes an update to indicate when you’re in debug mode.

Maybe, just maybe, there’s someone else using my “Linux” prompt. Just in case there is, I thought to share the most recent additions. Here’s the first two posts in order, if you’re interested in reading those: Quick Learn – Duplicate the Linux Prompt and Quick Learn – An Addition to the Linux PowerShell Prompt.

The changes are extremely minor. It now includes the drive in the WindowTitle. There was never an indication of what drive you were on (C:\, AD:\, WSMan:\, Env:\, etc.). I’ve also wrapped the prompt inside square brackets. I didn’t do this initially because I didn’t want it to interfere with the way the prompt changes when inside an interactive PS Remoting session. I’m over that; it works just fine. Anyway, the code is below for your testing pleasures. Dump it in your profile to keep it around for good.

If you have questions why I’ve done certain things, then you might want to visit the first two posts linked above. Below the prompt code, I’ve included an image, so you can see it for yourself. If you try the prompt, be sure to change your location within the file system into a nested directory or two, so you can see the prompt update accordingly. It’s a thing of beauty; it really is.

Function Prompt {
	(Get-PSProvider -PSProvider FileSystem).Home = $env:USERPROFILE

	# Determine if Admin and set Symbol variable.
	If ([bool](([System.Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).Groups -match 'S-1-5-32-544')) {
		$Symbol = '#'
	} Else {
		$Symbol = '$'
	}
	 
	# Write Path to Location Variable as /.../...
	If ($PWD.Path -eq $env:USERPROFILE) {
		$Location = '~'
	} ElseIf ($PWD.Path -like "*$env:USERPROFILE*") {
		$Location = $PWD.Path -replace ($env:USERPROFILE -replace '\\','\\'),'~' -replace '\\','/'
	} Else {
		$Location = "$(($PWD.Path -replace '\\','/' -split ':')[-1])"
	}

	# Determine Host for WindowTitle.
	Switch ($Host.Name) {
		'ConsoleHost' {$HostName = 'ConsoleHost'; break}
		'Windows PowerShell ISE Host' {$HostName = 'ISE'; break}
		default {}
	}

	# Create and write Prompt; Write WindowTitle.
	$Prompt = "[$($env:USERNAME.ToLower())@$($env:COMPUTERNAME.ToLower()) $Location $Symbol]"
	$Host.UI.RawUI.WindowTitle = "$HostName $Prompt $((Get-Location).Drive):\"
	"$Prompt "
}

A while ago, I wrote myself a new prompt function and shared it here. Well, I’m here to report that I’m still using it in both the ConsoleHost and the ISE. Here’s an image from the first post that shows what it looks like.

The thing about this prompt function, is that it also modified the WindowTitle to reflect the exact same information — the user, the computer, the location on the current drive, and whether or not you’re admin (# = admin vs. ~ = not admin). I love that too, but there’s turned out to be one little inconvenience. Besides the minutely different icons, I can’t quickly tell if I’m about to open the ISE or ConsoleHost from its taskbar icon. Therefore, I modified the prompt function every so slightly to indicate which host is which. Take a look.

Now I can better determine which host I want — CH for ConsoleHost and ISE for, well, the ISE — before I bring it back to the front. As expected, it only took a minor change. I added a switch statement that evaluated the value in $Host.Name. Based on its value, it populated a variable called $HostName that’s used as a part of the assigned valued in the WindowTitle.

Function Prompt {
	(Get-PSProvider -PSProvider FileSystem).Home = $env:USERPROFILE

	# Determine if Admin and set Symbol variable.
	If ([bool](([System.Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).Groups -match 'S-1-5-32-544')) {
		$Symbol = '#'
	} Else {
		$Symbol = '$'
	}
	 
	# Write Path to Location Variable as /.../...
	If ($PWD.Path -eq $env:USERPROFILE) {
		$Location = '~'
	} ElseIf ($PWD.Path -like "*$env:USERPROFILE*") {
		$Location = $PWD.Path -replace ($env:USERPROFILE -replace '\\','\\'),'~' -replace '\\','/'
	} Else {
		$Location = "$(($PWD.Path -replace '\\','/' -split ':')[-1])"
	}

	# Determine Host for WindowTitle.
	Switch ($Host.Name) {
		'ConsoleHost' {$HostName = 'CH '; break}
		'Windows PowerShell ISE Host' {$HostName = 'ISE'; break}
		default {}
	}

	# Create and write Prompt; Write WindowTitle.
	$Prompt = "$($env:USERNAME.ToLower())@$($env:COMPUTERNAME.ToLower()) $Location $Symbol "
	$Host.UI.RawUI.WindowTitle = "$HostName`: $Prompt"
	$Prompt
}

Update: After a week or so, I updated the function again. I couldn’t stand the capital CH and ISE. So, that’s fixed: It’s ch and ise, now. There may come another change, too. When I’m not on the C:\ drive, I’d like to include an indication in the WindowTitle. Here’s the update.