We’ve been looking at how to set up tasks in VS Code. This is a handy way to execute common activities. You can streamline your workflow with a few keystrokes. For example, I always generate external help for my modules. Creating the markdown documents is a recurring activity. I can simplify the process by adding a task to the tasks.json file.

{
    "label": "Build markdown help files (PS 7)",
    "type": "shell",
    "command": "-command &{$module = Split-Path $pwd -leaf;Write-Host \"Creating help for $module\" -foreground yellow;Import-Module $pwd\\$module.psd1 -force;New-MarkdownHelp -module $module -output $pwd\\docs -force}",
    "options": {
        "shell": {
            "executable": "pwsh.exe",
            "args": [
                "-noprofile"
            ]
        }
    }
}

When creating the markdown documents, I need to make sure the current version of the module is loaded into my session. Then, I can create the new markdown documents. The module I’m working on in this location requires PowerShell 7, so I must use the correct executable. It is easy enough to copy and paste this task and edit it to use PowerShell.exe for my legacy modules.

Remember, the command value is a single string, which is why I am using the semi-colon command separator.