📖 [Docs]: .INPUTS and .OUTPUTS format rules added to PowerShell function help standards#65
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Marius Storhaug (MariusStorhaug) merged 8 commits intoJul 25, 2026
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…ards Document pipeline-input-only scope of .INPUTS, fully-qualified .NET type name convention for both sections, the 'None.' template when no pipeline input is accepted, per-type repetition of the keyword, and the PlatyPS single-line constraint. Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
PlatyPS renders the type name as a ### heading - putting type and description on one line causes trailing-period MD026 violations in generated docs. Canonical format: type name alone on first line, description indented on the next line. Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Update the Get-UserData snippet to use the two-line format, add the missing .INPUTS None block, and replace [PSCustomObject] with the fully-qualified System.Management.Automation.PSCustomObject type in both the comment-based help and [OutputType()]. Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Official about_Comment_Based_Help and PowerShell/PowerShell source both use 'TypeName. Description.' on one line - not a two-line type/description split. Also revert [OutputType] to [PSCustomObject] (type literal, no full namespace needed in the attribute). Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
PlatyPS 1.0.3 renders the first line of each .INPUTS/.OUTPUTS entry as a ### heading. Single-line 'TypeName. Description.' creates trailing-period MD026 violations and puts a full sentence in a heading. Two-line with indented description renders the description as a code block (4 spaces). Correct format for PlatyPS-based modules: type name only, no period, no inline description. Description goes in the generated markdown file. Also note the divergence from about_Comment_Based_Help single-line examples which work fine in Get-Help but not PlatyPS. Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
PlatyPS v2 test confirms: type on first line, blank line, description as paragraph produces the cleanest markdown (clean ### heading, body text below). Update both the guidance section and the Get-UserData example. Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
6 tasks
Show the blank-line format in the Rotate-Secret.ps1 code example, aligning Scripts with the Functions guidance. Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Marius Storhaug (MariusStorhaug)
marked this pull request as ready for review
July 25, 2026 13:27
4 tasks
Marius Storhaug (MariusStorhaug)
deleted the
feat-ps-inputs-outputs-help-format
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July 25, 2026 13:30
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PowerShell comment-based help standards now include precise rules for writing
.INPUTSand.OUTPUTS— covering pipeline-only scope, fully-qualified .NET type names, the two-line type + description format, theNonetemplate, per-type keyword repetition, and how PlatyPS renders these sections.New:
.INPUTSand.OUTPUTSformatting rulesThe PowerShell Functions coding-standards page gains a dedicated sub-section under Comment-based help (required) that specifies exactly how to write these two sections:
.INPUTScovers pipeline input only — not all parameters. UseNone(as the type name) withYou can't pipe objects to <CommandName>.as the description when no pipeline input is accepted..OUTPUTSmust match[OutputType()]. Repeated once per return type for multi-type functions.System.String, not[string]).###heading.Technical Details
src/docs/Coding-Standards/PowerShell/Functions.mdSystem.String. Description.format after discovering the PlatyPS MD026 constraint.Related issues