psh

a powershell script to recover your powershell history

I recently needed to recover the history of a Powershell window after accidentally closing it. While the Get-History cmdlet exists, it presents the entire history in a raw format, only for the current window. This script aims to improve the user experience by offering a more manageable and informative way to navigate past commands.

This PowerShell script (psh.ps1) provides a convenient way to view and search through your recent PowerShell history. It goes beyond the basic Get-History cmdlet by offering features like:

• Tailored View: Focus on a specific number of recent commands for easier browsing.
• Optional Timestamps: Include timestamps for each command with customizable format.
• Robust Error Handling: Provides informative messages for missing history files or invalid input.
• Built-in Help: Get detailed usage instructions and examples with the -Help parameter.

Usage

Saving the Script:

1. Save the .ps1 script file as psh.ps1 in your desired location.
2. Open a PowerShell window and navigate to the directory containing psh.ps1.

Running the Script:

.\psh.ps1 [Parameters]

Parameters:

• -t <number>, -TailLines <number> (Optional): Number of recent lines to display (default: 10, max: 1000).
• -s, -ShowTimestamps (Optional): Include timestamps for each line (default: off).
• -d <format>, -DateFormat <format> (Optional): Custom date/time format for timestamps (default: HH:mm).
• -h, -Help (Optional): Display help message with usage instructions.

Examples:

• View the last 20 lines:

.\psh.ps1 20

• View the last 50 lines with timestamps:

.\psh.ps1 50 -s

• View the last 10 lines with a custom format (hours:minutes:seconds):

.\psh.ps1 10 -s -d 'HH:mm:ss'