Register-PSResourceRepository should support -Force

[Jaykul]

Summary of the new feature / enhancement

As a devops engineer, I want to be able to configure PSRepositories in a somewhat declarative Register-or-Set way, particularly during automation runs.

$Repositories = <# import a list from a psd1 file #> @{
    Name = "OurGallery"
    Url = "https://proget.OurDomain.com/nuget/PowerShell"
    Trusted = $true
    Priority = 90
}
Register-PSResourceRepository -Repositories $Repositories

The problem

Currently, if the repository exists, Register fails, and I must use Set but although I can use the same syntax with Set-PSResourceRepository, in this case, if the repository does not already exist, it fails.

So I have to:

1. Clear out existing registrations
2. Separately re-register the PSGallery correctly
3. Then register the other repositories we use

@('PSGallery') + $Repositories.Name | Unregister-PSResourceRepository
Register-PSResourceRepository -PSGallery -Priority 10 
Register-PSResourceRepository -Repositories $Repositories

Or I have to:

1. Put the PSGallery into my config file without the URL
2. Separately re-register the PSGallery
3. Register and Set all the repositories, ignoring the errors

Register-PSResourceRepository -PSGallery
Register-PSResourceRepository -Repositories $Repositories -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue -ErrorVariable Failed
if ($Failed) {
Set-PSResourceRepository -Repositories $Repositories
}

Proposed technical implementation details

I'd like a -Force switch on either Register or Set that would overwrite existing repositories (in the case of Register) or register them (in the case of Set) so that I can have declarative Register-or-Set syntax for the set of repositories I need, without needing the extra separate call to fix PSGallery, and the extra call to unregister the repositories before re-registering them (or set them after failing to register them)...

[StevenBucher98]

Thanks @Jaykul! Thats a good idea, we will look at adding it into Register-PSRespository.

Adding a note here for us to remember how this will work with the credential persistence.

[StevenBucher98]

@Jaykul what do you think about having this proposed parameter as -AllowClobber instead of -Force?

[Jaykul]

I can live with that @StevenBucher98 -- well, for Register anyway. For Set I think it would need to be -Force or -AllowNew 😉.

[tristanbarcelon]

I can live with that @StevenBucher98 -- well, for Register anyway. For Set I think it would need to be -Force or -AllowNew 😉.

@Jaykul, did you mean Register-PSRepository instead of Register-PSResourceRepository? Seems like we're both trying to solve the same thing, which is to initialize PSRepository with private feeds on top of the default PSGallery. I encountered #611 with PowershellGet and PowerShell/PowerShellGetv2#661 with PowershellGetV2 which I'm hoping to address/sidestep by storing the PSRepositories.xml file in a keyvault and using it to overwrite the local repository at the beginning of each azure devops pipeline job. The exact location of PSRepositories.xml is defined here https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShellGetv2/blob/master/src/PowerShellGet/private/modulefile/PartOne.ps1 so my workaround will be coupled to Microsoft's implementation details. I'm resorting to this method since I don't have any ETA when these issues will be fixed and we need to decouple our pipeline jobs from PSGallery outages. Do you think this is a good idea?

We do have a separate job running daily which synchronizes PSGallery modules we depend on to a private Azure Devops feed.

[Jaykul]

@tristanbarcelon there hasn't been any point filing issues about PSGetv2 for years --they won't even accept PRs to fix things-- because v3 will be out "soon." But yes, we had this problem with PSGetv2 and I went looking to see if it was still a problem in v3 😉 and ... here we are.

[ThomasNieto]

The parameter for Register-PSResourceRepository should be called Force as the meaning is clear and concise and is consistent with other core cmdlets. The only time Force is a problem is when the meaning is not instantly clear to the end user. In this case there is no question what force does. If you really need it to be AllowClobber then Force should be added as an alias.

As for Set-PSResourceRepository it should set existing repository values or create a new repository if it doesn't exist without any additional switch parameters.

The reason for this behavior is that it matches existing core cmdlets and documentation. For example, the PowerShell Verbs has this to say about New vs Set. In this case Register is equivalent to New.

Use the New verb to create a new resource. Use the Set verb to modify an existing resource, optionally creating it if it does not exist, such as the Set-Variable cmdlet.