Event Hubs

Event Hubs allow client machines to receive events from the PowerShell Universal server and execute PowerShell locally. Event Hubs support authentication and transmitting data within the events.

Dashboards are Now Apps

Apps are a clearer description of what the previously named dashboard functionality represents. All the functionality of dashboards is still present in apps.

App Designer

A new drag and drop designer is now available for apps. A subset of controls can be used within the designer to visually layout and edit the properties of components.

Live App Documentation

PowerShell Universal now ships with live documentation for app components and features. You'll be able to quickly view examples and copy code directly into your apps.

App Components

We've added and updated components for apps. These include:

• Split Button

• Speed Dial

• Improved Data Grid

• Updated Date and Time pickers

Improved Diagnostics

Health Checks

PowerShell Universal will now periodically run health checks on the environment. These include checks on resource usage (CPU, memory, etc) and service account configuration.

Logging

The logging framework is now highly customizable, consistent and searchable. You can output to the file system, TCP, HTTP and even extend the framework by logging in your own custom PowerShell script.

Logging can also be customized per feature (e.g. apps) and resource (e.g. a single app).

Updated Runtimes

The PowerShell Universal server has been updated to PowerShell 7.3 and .NET 7.

PowerShell Universal Modules

Modules can now include PowerShell Universal resources like scripts, schedules, apps and roles. This allows for distribution of functionality via standard package repositories.

A single pane of glass for managing and delegating access to your automation environment.

Universal provides an Administrator console, management REST API, PowerShell cmdlets and an idempotent configuration system using PowerShell scripts.

APIs

Expose scripts as RESTful HTTP APIs for integration from any platform.

• HTTP Endpoints

• Custom Responses

• Token-Based Authentication

• Rate Limiting

• Large File Support

• Open API Documentation

• File Hosting

• Event Hubs

Automation

Execute, schedule, secure and audit scripts in an easy-to-use, web-interface.

• Scheduling

• Run As Support

• Multiple Environments

• Automatic Form Generation

• Feedback Integration

• Pipeline Output

• Event Triggers

• Concurrency Controls

• Ad-Hoc Terminals

User Interfaces

Build web-based tools for internal users with highly interactive user interfaces that run your scripts.

• Interactive Apps

• Input Forms

• Customizable Tables

• Charts

• Dynamic Regions

• Steppers (Wizards)

• Transitions

• Integration with Scripts and APIs

• Extensible Platform

• Custom Styling and Branding

Hosting

PowerShell Universal is cross-platform and can be hosted on-premises, in the cloud or even on a Raspberry Pi.

• Windows, Linux and Mac

• Docker Containers

• Azure and IIS

• Windows Service

• HTTPS

Security

Grant role-based access to different aspects of your automation environment with your choice of authentication and authorization integrations.

• OpenID Connect

• WS-Federation

• Basic Authentication

• Client Certificate

• SAML2

• Windows Authentication

• Script-Based Authorization

• Claims-Based Authorization

• Script Access Controls

• Custom and Built-In Roles

Desktop

Create desktop automation and user interfaces that integrate with features of Windows.

• File Associations

• Hotkeys

• Protocol Handlers

• System Events

• User Interfaces

Development

Take advantage of rich development tools such as IntelliSense, code formatting, error checking and debugger integration without leaving your browser.

• Rich Editing Experience

• Code-First Configuration

• Debugging Tools

• PowerShell Module

• Management API

• Visual Studio Code Extension

• Performance Profiler

• Desktop Mode

• Hotkeys

Platform

Configure the platform to meet the needs of your environment.

• PowerShell 7 Support

• Windows PowerShell Support

• PowerShell Modules

• Variables

• Password and Secret Management

• Git Integration

• Application Insights Integration

Community

Join the growing community of users managing their automation environments with PowerShell Universal.

• Forums

• Issue Tracker

Licensing

Universal is licensed per server. Visit our website for more information on pricing.

Many features of PowerShell Universal are free.

Install PowerShell Universal

You'll need to install the PowerShell Universal server. but you can use the command line below to get started quickly.

Open PowerShell Universal

By default, PowerShell Universal is running on port 5000 of localhost. You can access the admin console with the username admin and admin.

Create an API

APIs allow you to call PowerShell scripts over HTTP. To create an API, click API \ Endpoints and click Create New Endpoint. Specify a URL.

Next, click details on the API that was created an enter the following command into the editor.

Save the script and then click the Execute button to test it out.

You can also execute the API via Invoke-RestMethod.

Create a Script

To create a script, click Automation \ Scripts and then click Create New Script.

Enter the following script into the editor and save.

Once the script is saved, click Run.

Create an App

To create a new PowerShell-based user interface (app), you can click User Interfaces \ Apps and then Create New App.

After clicking Ok, click the Details button to edit the PowerShell script. Add the following script to the editor.

Save the app, click the Restart button and then click the View button. Click the Click Me button.

Learn more about the various features of PowerShell Universal

Docker

Confirming Docker is installed correctly

NOTE: Note: Apple M1 devices: At the time of writing there are some issues on Apple M1 devices and, some ARM64/ARMv8 devices. Please review before proceeding.

Docker

Run the following command to confirm Docker is installed:

Example Output:

Docker Compose

Docker Compose v1 uses the command docker-compose. As of June 2023, support ends for Docker Compose v1.

Docker Compose v2 uses the command docker compose.

Run one of the following commands to confirm that Docker Compose is installed:

Docker Compose v1:

Docker Compose v2:

Example Output:

A Docker Hello-World

To ensure that Docker has the ability to pull and run container images run the following command:

Example Output:

Installation

Using the pre-built Container

The prebuilt version supports both free & paid features of PowerShell Universal.

You can start the container by pulling the image and then running a container with the default port bound.

Running a basic image

Present an image to a different port

If port 5000 is unavailable on your host, this can be switched to another port.

e.g. Present on port 80

Mount a volume

The docker run command will allow you to mount a volume for persistent storage. This needs to be mounted to the /root folder.

Mount a volume on container in Windows

The following command mounts the folder C:\docker\volumes\PSU to /root on your container

Mount a volume on Container on Mac and Linux

The following command mounts the folder /docker/volumes/PSU to /root on your container

Stopping a Container

The following command removes a stopped container named PSU

Removing a Container

The following command stops a container named PSU

The --force flag can be used to remove a running container

Docker Compose

Docker Compose allows you to use a yaml text file to standardize your build and script the deployment (or build) or multiple containers.

The default name for any compose file is docker-compose.yml it is recommended you use this as your compose filename.

Creating a Compose Script for Windows

The following compose file will run a Powershell Universal container in Windows

Creating a Compose Script for Mac / Linux

The following compose file will run a Powershell Universal container on Mac's and Linux

Starting Containers using Compose Scripts

Using a Terminal shell, or PowerShell for Windows. cd to the directory with your docker-compose.yml script.

Run the following command

Example Output:

Stopping Containers using Compose Scripts

Using a Terminal shell, or PowerShell for Windows. cd to the directory with your docker-compose.yml script.

Run the following command

Example Output:

Using Environment Variables and SQL Persistance

You can add Environment variables into your Compose Scripts. Below is an example of:

• Setting a node name

• Adding SQL persistance

• Adding a SQL Connection String

Building a Custom Container

In some cases, you may wish to build more features, modify, or hardcode Environment Variables into your container.

For that, you will need to Create a Dockerfile

NOTE: Dockerfiles' are case-sensitive and must start with a capital 'D'.

To create a Docker image that can persist the Universal data, you can create a dockerfile like the one below.

This Dockerfile exposes port 5000, creates a /data volume, sets configuration environment variables to store the Universal repository and database in the volume and then sets the Universal.Server as the entry point to the container.

Writing a Dockerfile script for Linux

Building a container

From the path your Dockerfile is hosted in run the following command:

Windows

You can run a build with the build command.

You can start the docker container with the run command and make sure to specify the volume to mount.

SQL

To use SQL persistence, you can define the plugin and connection string as follows.

Time Zones

To properly support time zones on Linux when scheduling jobs, you will need to include the tzdata package in your dockerfile along with an environment variable that specifies the server time zone.

Tags

We publish the following tags to Docker Hub.

• latest - Current version using Ubuntu LTS

• 4.x-preview-modules - Nightly build of version 4 using Ubuntu LTS and select AZ modules

• 4.x-preview-<OS>-<PS> - Nightly build of version 4 with the specified OS and PS version

• 3.x-preview-<OS>-<PS> - Nightly build of version 3 with the specified OS and PS version

• 4.x-<OS>-<PS> - Production version 4 with the specified OS and PS version

• 4.x-modules - Current production version on Ubuntu LTS with select AZ modules installed

• 3.x-<OS>-<PS> - Current production version 3 with the specified OS and PS versions

Included Modules

The module container images include the following modules.

• Az.Accounts

• Az.Compute

• Az.KeyVault

• Az.Resources

• Invoke-SqlCmd2

Summary

This has been a very basic "How to Get Started" which will enable you to get started running or building PSU Containers. All sources for commands have been linked in the references section below.

References

Running Containers

https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/run/

https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/stop/

https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/rm/

https://docs.docker.com/compose/

Building Containers

https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/build/

Download the latest version of PowerShell Universal.

Examples and full solutions for PowerShell Universal.

The Ironman Software blog has articles about PowerShell Universal.

Connect with the PowerShell Universal community.

Purchase a license for the features of PowerShell Universal.

File a bug report or feature request for PowerShell Universal.

Universal uses a variety of modern web frameworks and can have issues with older browsers such as Internet Explorer.

The current version of the following web browsers is supported: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge

Overview

This document will cover the upgrade process for production PowerShell Universal instances. We will cover the following topics.

1. Data Backup

2. Upgrade Process

3. Upgrade Validation

The Universal application binaries can generally be upgraded without having to change the configuration or database manually, but we do recommend backups of production data.

1. Data Backup

PowerShell Universal uses a script-based configuration system alongside a database used for retention of entities such as app tokens, job history and identities. If possible, you will want to backup these items before running an upgrade for easy rollback in case an issue is encountered during validation.

Database

Backing up the database ensures that all apptokens, job history, identities and database secrets are retained in the case of an upgrade failure. SQL databases also may adjust the schema of the database and may require a rollback of not only the data, but also the schema of the tables in the database.

LiteDB

By default, PowerShell Universal uses a single file database called LiteDB. Unless configured otherwise, the database is stored in %ProgramData%\UniversalAutomation. You should have a database.db and possibility a database-log.db. Both of these files should be backed up. The service must be stopped in order to backup the files.

SQL

When using SQL for persistence, backup the entire database (including schema). There isn't necessarily a need to stop the PowerShell Universal service when backing up the database but it may continue to write to the database (for example when running scheduled jobs) after the backup has been completed.

Configuration Scripts

Scripts make up the main configuration data to backup when upgrading a production PowerShell Universal instance. For production, we recommend using a version control system. You can also take advantage of the built-in git integration. If you are using a two-way sync for PowerShell Universal git integration, consider tagging your git branch prior to the upgrade to allow for easy rollback to unexpected changes within the git repository.

2. Upgrade Progress

Below are sections for each type of system upgrade and the steps that you should take based on how you originally installed PSU.

MSI

When installing via the MSI, you will want to follow the same backup procedures above.

appsettings.json

You will want to back up the appsettings.json file stored in %ProgramData%\PowerShellUniversal. This file contains information such as port, data storage location and other server settings. Typically, the MSI will not make changes to this file once created. It will use the settings found for the upgraded version. That said, if necessary, the MSI will make changes to the appsettings file. These changes are considered breaking and will be listed in the changelog for the release.

Service Account

When running an MSI upgrade, the PSU service is not uninstalled, and thus, the service account will still be set once the service starts up.

Upgrade Process

Once all the configuration files and the database are backed up, you can run the new MSI installer. The installer may prompt for a restart of the machine if files are locked. The PSU MSI will uninstall all the files in the installation directory and install entirely new files.

Once the MSI has completed, you can navigate to your PowerShell Universal admin console to perform installation validation.

IIS

Below you will find information about upgrading an IIS install.

web.config

In addition to the files listed to backup above, you will also want to consider backing up your web.config file. If you have made no changes to this file, you do not need to back it up.

The web.config file that is included in the application installation directory will be overwritten during upgrades. If you have moved your web.config file to an alternate location, it will not be overwritten. When creating an IIS website, you can simply include the web.config file in the web app's directory and have the binaries stored in a different location.

Upgrade Process

When upgrading with IIS, you will need to first stop your application pool to ensure that the binaries used by IIS are no longer in use and then replace the binaries with the new ones. To ensure that the upgrade works as expected, it's recommended to delete all the application files and then unzip the new ones into the same directory to avoid assembly conflicts.

Once you have copied the new files and unblocked them, start the app pool, navigate to the PowerShell Universal Admin Console and perform installation validation.

Universal Module

The Universal module can be used to upgrade installations of PowerShell Universal previously installed by the module.

Follow the backup procedures above and then perform the upgrade.

First, upgrade the local PowerShell Universal module and verify the expected version is installed.

Update-Module Universal
Import-Module Universal -PassThru

Next, run Update-PSUServer to download and unzip the new PSU instance.

Update-PSUServer

After the upgrade is complete, navigate to the PowerShell Universal Admin Console and begin upgrade validation.

ZIP

Perform the necessary backup procedures and download the latest ZIP of PowerShell Universal.

Stop the PowerShell Universal service. Delete the existing PowerShell Universal application files. Extract the ZIP files to the same directory. Finally, run Unblock-File against the directory to ensure that PSU can execute properly. Always run this command as administrator.

Get-ChildItem -Recurse | Unblock-File

After the upgrade is complete, navigate to the PowerShell Universal Admin Console and begin upgrade validation.

3. Upgrade Validation

After running an upgrade, you should perform basic validation against your PSU server to ensure that it is fully functional.

Notifications

Verify that there are no errors within the notification drop down. They may be a sign of issues during the upgrade.

Environments

Verify that all environments are listed in the Settings \ Environments page. Although upgrades may not necessarily cause a change in environments, restarting the PowerShell Universal service (without an environments.ps1 file) will cause PSU to rediscover environments. Updates to PowerShell outside of PSU may cause issues with PSU after it restarts.

Modules

Upgrades to PowerShell Universal may change assembly versions of DLLs shipped with the platform. This can cause other modules to fail to load. While this may not be obvious at first, you may consider taking an inventory of modules used in your platform to ensure that the versions are consistent before and after the upgrade to limit changes.

If you have installed a version of the Universal module outside of PowerShell Universal (for example, with Install-Module), you must make sure to update the module or it can conflict with the new one installed with PowerShell Universal.

Dashboards

The most common upgrade issues come due to changes in the dashboard framework. Dashboards can be complex and bug fixes or features can sometimes cause for certain user's dashboards while fixing issues pertaining to another user's dashboard. Please read the changelog before upgrading to understand the impact of changes made to the dashboard framework and consider testing the dashboard with development data before upgrading in production.

Common Upgrade Issues

IIS App Pool Does Not Start After Upgrade

The most common upgrade issue is that Unblock-File is not called properly on the extracted files when performing an upgrade of a IIS ZIP install. Also make sure to run the Unblock-File command recursively and from within an administrative session.

Another command issue is extracting the files over the top of the existing files. This can cause assembly conflicts and puts the application in an unknown state. Follow the IIS upgrade documentation and delete the files before extracting them.

Command Not Found Errors

When new functionality is added to PowerShell Universal it is typically done using new cmdlets. If older versions of the PowerShell Universal module are installed on the system, it can cause conflicts with the one shipped within the installation media. Ensure that you have removed older versions of the Universal module if you encounter these errors.

Table\Column Not Found Error when using SQL Persistence

This can happen if SQL schema upgrades are not being run during upgrades. If you set the RunMigrations setting to false in appsettings.json, you must run the migrations manually or the PowerShell Universal service will not function properly.

Breaking Dashboard Component Change

These changes can be visual or functional. Please ensure that you review the changelog for items that may be related to the change you are seeing. Consider posting the forums or opening a GitHub issue to see if the issue is as designed and if there is a viable workaround.

License Issues after Upgrade

The licensing model of PowerShell Universal provides licensed users the ability to upgrade to whatever is the newest version as long as they have an active perpetual or subscription license. If you attempt to upgrade a server that is no longer within the license window, the server will not function as expected. You will need to downgrade back to the previous version to restore functionality.

Additionally, you may encounter issues due to the PSU service restart. When the service starts, it verifies license subscription status. If it fails to do so, it may not be licensed properly and cause other issues. The root cause is typically networking issues while attempting to access the IronmanSoftware.com website for activation. Offline license keys do not contact the IMS website for activation and will not encounter this issue.

4.0 Breaking Changes

Templates Removed

Template functionality has been removed in PowerShell Universal v4. We encourage users to take advantage of modules instead.

IIS Hosting Package

If you are hosting in IIS, ensure that you install the .NET 7.0 hosting bundle.

Integrated Environment PowerShell Version

The integrated environment now uses PowerShell 7.3.

Migrating from LiteDB to SQL

In the PowerShell Universal installation directory, there you will find the DataMigrator.exe tool for moving data from a local LiteDB database to a SQL server database. It takes care of creating the dashboard, creating the schema and transferring data.

Once migrated, you will need to update the plugin setting within appsettings.json. Replace the UniversalAutomation.LiteDBv5 value with the string SQL. You can also set an environment variable to use the SQL plugin.

$ENV:Plugins__0 = "SQL"

You'll also need to replace the connection string value with your SQL Data \ ConnectionString.

Similar to the plugin, you can use an environment variable instead of updating appsetings.json.

$Env:Data__ConnectionString = "Data Source=ServerName; Initial Catalog=DatabaseName; User Id=UserName; Password=UserPassword;"

The step by step process is as follows:

1. Stop the PowerShell Universal service

2. Backup the database and repository

3. Run the data migration tool

4. Update the appsettings.json or environment variable to enable the SQL plugin and set the connection string.

5. Start the PowerShell Universal service

Once the service starts, it will be connected to SQL. Job data, identities, computers, and terminal instances will be stored in SQL.

Windows

• Optional*: Windows PowerShell v5.1 or greater

• Optional*: PowerShell v7.2 or greater

• .NET Framework v4.7.2 (only for Windows PowerShell)

Linux

• Optional*: PowerShell v6.0 or greater

• Validated Distributions: Ubuntu 18.04

Mac OS

• Optional*: PowerShell v6.0 or greater

Application Files

Depending on how you installed PowerShell Universal, you will need to uninstall the application files.

ZIP Installation

If you installed using a provided ZIP file, you can simply stop the PowerShell Universal process or service and delete the folder you extracted to.

MSI Installation

If you installed with the Windows MSI, uninstall the application from Add\Remove Programs.

Module Installation

The Universal module installs the application files to the following locations by default.

Windows

• %ProgramData%\PowerShellUniversal

Linux and Mac OS

• %HOME%/.PowerShellUniversal

Configuration Files

Configuration files are stored in the repository folder. Once you have removed the application files, you can delete the configuration files. They are stored in the following locations by default:

Windows

• %ProgramData%\PowerShellUniversal

• %ProgramData%\UniversalAutomation

Linux

• %HOME%/.PowerShellUniversal/

Mac OS

• %HOME%/.PowerShellUniversal/

Desktop

• %AppData%\PowerShellUniversal

Database

Removing the database depends on the database type used.

LiteDB

LiteDB databases are stored in a single file on the file system.

Windows

• %ProgramData%\PowerShellUniversal\database.db

Linux and Mac OS

• %HOME%/.PowerShellUniversal/database.db

SQL

SQL databases are stored on your SQL server and will require you to manually remove the database.

IIS

You may need to uninstall the IIS App Pool and Website when removing PowerShell Universal.

MSI Install (Windows)

The MSI install will create a PowerShell Universal service. By default, PowerShell Universal will be listening on port 5000. You will be able to navigate to http://localhost:5000 and login with username admin and password admin.

MSI downloads are available on our download page.

MSI Parameters

The following table contains the parameters you can specify if running msiexec against our MSI install for automation purposes.

Example

Below is an example of how to run msiexec.exe to install PowerShell Universal and provide parameters to the installer.

 Start-Process msiexec.exe -ArgumentList "/I C:\Users\adamr\Downloads\PowerShellUniversal.4.2.7.msi /q /norestart /L*V `"C:\users\adamr\desktop\msi.log.txt`" STARTSERVICE=0 SERVICEACCOUNT=contoso\service_account SERVICEACCOUNTPASSWORD=ThisPasswordWillBeReplacedWithAsterisksInTheMSILogs" -Wait -NoNewWindow

ZIP Install

You can also download the ZIP from our Downloads page if you would like to xcopy deploy the files on Windows or Linux.

Windows

You can start Universal by unzipping the contents, unblocking the files and then executing Universal.Server.exe.

Expand-Archive -Path .\Universal.zip -DestinationPath .\Universal
Get-ChildItem .\Universal -Recurse | Unblock-File
Start-Process .\Universal\Universal.Server.exe

Linux

You can use the following command line on Linux to install and start PowerShell Universal.

 wget https://imsreleases.blob.core.windows.net/universal/production/4.2.7/Universal.linux-x64.4.2.7.zip
 sudo apt install unzip 
 unzip Universal.linux-x64.4.2.7.zip -d PSU
 chmod +x ./PSU/Universal.Server
 ./PSU/Universal.Server

PowerShell Module

You can use the PowerShell Universal PowerShell module to install the Universal server. To install the module, use Install-Module.

Install-Module Universal

To install the Universal server, you can use Install-PSUServer.

Install-PSUServer -LatestVersion

If you run this command on Windows, a Windows service will be created and started on your machine. If you run this command on Linux, a systemd service will be created and started. If you run this command on Mac OS, the PowerShell Universal server will be downloaded and extracted.

Chocolatey Package (Windows)

You can install PowerShell Universal using the Chocolatey package. The package runs the MSI install. It will install Universal as a service and open a web browser after the install.

You can login with the "admin" user and any password.

choco install powershelluniversal

Docker

See the Docker page.

IIS Install

Please visit the IIS hosting documentation for information on how to configure PowerShell Universal as an IIS website.

Antivirus Configuration

PowerShell Universal takes full advantage of PowerShell and the PowerShell SDK. It includes PowerShell scripts directly in the product. You will want to consider configuring antivirus to allow for execution of PowerShell scripts in PowerShell Universal.

Directories

The following directories will contain scripts and executable files that may need to be excluded from antivirus checks.

The following are examples from a standard Windows system. Changing paths within appsettings.json or within the installer will require changing which directories are execluded.

Executables

It may be necessary to exclude certain executables that will run PowerShell scripts. The below is a list of executables that will run PowerShell from PowerShell Universal.

Next Steps

At this point, Universal is up and running. You can navigate to the admin console by visiting http://localhost:5000 by default. The default username is admin with a password of admin.

PowerShell Universal is licensed per server. We provide licenses for individuals and organizations.

You can purchase a license on our website.

What's a server?

A server is a single running instance of PowerShell Universal.

What if I have multiple containers?

The license applies to each container instance and not the container host. For example, if you have 10 container instances running, you will need 10 licenses.

What if I have multiple sites on a single IIS server?

Each website running PowerShell Universal will need a license and not a single license for the entire IIS server.

Install a License

To install a license, click Settings \ License. Click the Add License button to upload your license file. You can also install licenses using the Set-PSULicense cmdlet. Offline licenses do not require an internet connection but will need to be reinstalled when the subscription expires, in you wish to update the version of PowerShell Universal. Online licenses require an internet connection and access to https://ironmansoftware.com in order to verify subscription status.

You can use the PSULICENSE environment variable to set a license. The value of this environment variable needs to be the contents of the license file.

Proxy configuration can be done by clicking Settings \ General and configuring the proxy URI and, optionally, credentials. You can also configure proxy settings with the Set-PSUSetting cmdlet.

Developer Licenses

When a server license is purchased, you will be able to generate developer licenses for users building solutions for your team. Their intent is to be used by individual developers in their local environments. Do not use developer licenses when hosting a server for remote access for testing or production. Instances of PowerShell Universal running with a Developer License will display a water mark in the admin console and any apps stating they are intended only for development purposes.

You can generate a developer license on the Settings \ License page by clicking the Generate Developer License button.

Licensed Features

The following features of PowerShell Universal require a license.

• Debugging Tools

• Enterprise Authentication

  • OpenID Connect

  • SAML2

  • WS-Federation

  • Windows Authentication

  • Custom Authentication Scripts

• Enterprise Authorization

  • Access Controls

  • Custom Authorization Scripts

• Git Support

• Module Management

• Non-Database Credential Vaults

• SQL Support

• Triggers

• Terminals

• Custom Login Page

• Event Hubs

Universal provides the ability to define REST API endpoints using PowerShell. When the endpoints are executed by a compatible HTTP client, the PowerShell script will execute and return the result to the end user.

Execution Environment

The REST API execution environment runs in your default PowerShell version. Unlike Automation jobs, which can also be run via the Universal management API, APIs that you define are run in a single PowerShell process. Because the PowerShell process is not started and stopped for each call to the endpoint, the API is much faster.

You can define the environment that runs the PowerShell Universal API process by specifying the -ApiEnvironment on Set-PSUSetting. Changing this setting will cause the API process to restart.

Set-PSUSetting -ApiEnvironment '7.1'

Per Endpoint Environment

You can also define the environment used by specifying the Environment on the endpoint itself.

New-PSUEndpoint -Url /environment -Environment Integrated -Endpoint {
    $PSUEnvironment
}

Performance

Performance is relative to the hardware and network conditions that you are running Universal on. That said, in ideal conditions you can expect the Universal APIs to service about 500 requests per second. This is with an entirely empty endpoint so any script that you add to that endpoint will reduce the throughput. The reduction of throughput will depend on the cmdlets and script executed within the API endpoint. There is no hard limit.

See https://blog.ironmansoftware.com/webapp-benchmark-siege/ for detailed information about benchmark tests on Universal APIs.

Variables

Variables are listed on the variables page.

API

• New-PSUEndpoint

• Get-PSUEndpoint

• Remove-PSUEndpoint

• Set-UASetting

Run Scripts

You can run in PowerShell Universal. PowerShell Universal integrates deeply with the PowerShell host to provide a UI for param blocks, output rich objects, display progress and even allow the user to provide feedback.

Schedule Jobs

Ad-Hoc Commands

Endpoints are defined by their URI and HTTP method. Calls made to the Universal server that match the API endpoint and method that you define will execute the API endpoint script.

To invoke the above method, you could use Invoke-RestMethod.

When defining endpoints in the management API, you can skip the New-PSUEndpoint call as it will be defined by the admin console.

The only contents that you need to provide in the editor will be the script you wish to call.

HTTP Methods

Endpoints can have one or more HTTP methods defined. To determine which method is used by an endpoint, use the built-in $Method variable.

Variable URL

URLs can contain variable segments. You can denote a variable segment using a colon (:). For example, the following URL would provide a variable for the ID of the user. The $Id variable will be defined within the endpoint when it is executed. Variables must be unique in the same endpoint URL.

To call this API and specify the ID, you would do the following.

Query String Parameters

Query string parameters are automatically passed into endpoints as variables that you can then access. For example, if you had an endpoint that expected an $Id variable, it could be provided via the query string.

The resulting Invoke-RestMethod call must then include the query string parameter.

Security Considerations

Below is an example of CWE-914. A $IsChallengePassed query string parameter could be included to bypass the challenge.

In order to avoid this particular issue, you can use a param block.

Headers

Request headers are available in APIs using the $Headers variable. The variable is a hashtable. To access a header, use the following syntax.

Cookies

Request cookies are availablein APIs using the $Cookies variable. The variable is a hashtable. To access a cookie, use the following syntax.

Request cookies can be sent back using the New-PSUApiResponse cmdlet. Use the -Cookies parameter with a supplied hashtable.

Body

To access a request body, you will simply access the $Body variable. Universal $Body variable will be a string. If you expect JSON, you should use ConvertFrom-Json.

To call the above endpoint, you would have to specify the body of Invoke-RestMethod.

Live Log

You can view the live log information for any endpoint by clicking the log tab. Live logs include URL, HTTP method, source IP address, PowerShell streams, status code, return Content Type and HTTP content length.

Form Data

You can pass data to an endpoint as form data. Form data will be passed into your endpoint as parameters.

You can then use a hashtable with Invoke-RestMethod to pass form data.

JSON Data

You can pass JSON data to an endpoint and it will automatically bind to a param block.

You can then send JSON data to the endpoint.

Param Block

You can use a param block within your script to enforce mandatory parameters and provide default values for optional parameters such as query string parameters. Variables such as $Body, $Headers and $User are provided automatically.

In the below example, the $Name parameter is mandatory and the $Role parameter has a default value of Default.

Returning Data

Data returned from endpoints will be assumed to be JSON data. If you return an object from the endpoint script block, it will be automatically serialized to JSON. If you want to return another type of data, you can return a string formatted however you chose.

Processing Files

Uploading Files

You can process uploaded files by using the $Data parameter to access the byte array of data uploaded to the endpoint.

You could also save the file into a directory.

Downloading Files

You can send files down using the New-PSUApiResponse cmdlet.

Returning Custom Responses

You can return custom responses from endpoints by using the New-PSUApiResponse cmdlet in your endpoint. This cmdlet allows you to set the status code, content type and even specify the byte[] data for the content to be returned.

You can also return custom body data by using the -Body parameter of New-PSUApiResponse.

Invoking the REST method will return the custom error code.

You can control the content type of the data that is returned by using the -ContentType parameter.

Documenting APIs

API documentation can be produced for your endpoints by creating a new OpenAPI definition and assigning endpoints to it. To create an OpenAPI definition, click APIs \ Documentation and then Create new Endpoint Documentation. You can set the name, URL, description and authentication details for the documentation.

Once created, you can assign endpoints to the documentation by editing the endpoint.

The documentation for your endpoint will appear within the Swagger dashboard. Select the definition with the Select a definition dropdown.

All your custom endpoints will be listed.

Help Text

You can specify help text for your APIs using comment-based help. Including a synopsis, description and parameter descriptions will result in each of those pieces being documented in the OpenAPI documentation and Swagger age.

For example, with a simple /get/:id endpoint, we could have comment-based help such as this.

The resulting Swagger page will show each of these descriptions.

Input and Output Types

Types can be defined within an endpoint documentation scriptblock. Click the Edit Details button on the API documentation record.

APIs can also be documented using input and output types by creating a PowerShell class and referencing it within your comment-based help. PowerShell Universal takes advantage of the .INPUTS and .OUTPUTS sections to specify accepted formats and define status code return values.

Within the .INPUTS and .OUTPUTS , you will define a YAML block to provide this information. You can create types in the read-only section of the PowerShell Universal configuration file.

Persistent Runspaces

Persistent runspaces allow you to maintain runspace state between API calls. This is important for users that perform some sort of initialization within their endpoints that they do not want to execute on subsequent API calls.

By default, runspaces will be reset after each execution. This will cause variables, modules and functions defined during the execution of the API to be removed.

You can then assign the API environment in the settings.ps1 script.

Timeout

By default, endpoints will not time out. To set a timeout for your endpoints, you can use the New-PSUEndpoint -Timeout parameter. The timeout is set in the number of seconds.

External Endpoint Content

You can define the path to an external endpoint content file by using the -Path parameter of New-PSUEndpoint. The path is relative to the .universal directory in Repository.

The content of the endpoints.ps1 file is then this.

Experimental Feature: C# APIs

There is no UI for creating a C# API and you will need to do so using configuration files. First, you will need to create a .cs file that will run your API.

You will have access to a request parameter that includes all the data about the API request.

You will also have access to a ServiceProvider property that will allow you to access services within PowerShell Universal. These are currently not well documented but below is an example of restarting a dashboard.

Some other useful services may include:

• IDatabase

• IApiService

• IConfigurationService

• IJobService

You can choose to return an ApiResponse from your endpoint.

Once you have defined your C# endpoint file, you can add it by editing endpoints.ps1.

C# endpoints are compiled and run directly in the PowerShell Universal service.

API

By default, endpoints will return a 200 OK message even if there are errors. If an error occurs, you will get a blank response from the endpoint. This document demonstrates different ways to handle errors within APIs.

Automatically Returning Errors

To automatically return errors from APIs, you can change the default behavior by setting the -ErrorAction parameter of New-PSUEndpoint to Stop. Any errors will cause an 500 Internal Server Error to be returned with a list of the errors and stack trace.

Terminating errors will always return a 500 Internal Server Error.

You will notice different behavior in Windows PowerShell and PowerShell 7 when calling REST APIs that return errors. In Windows PowerShell, you will receive a generic error that doesn't return the error message.

In PowerShell 7, when an error is returned, you will see the error message returned.

You can retrieve the error message in Windows PowerShell, by using the following syntax.

Manually Returning Errors

To manually return errors, you need to use the New-PSUApiResponse cmdlet. This cmdlet allows you to define the status code and body for the response.

In this example, we are returning a 404 error code from the endpoint.

Similar to the automatic error codes, error codes returned manually will as display better in PowerShell 7. Here's an example of calling the endpoint.

If called from Windows PowerShell, you will receive an error similar to the one returned automatically.

You can choose to return error codes if certain conditions are met by using your PowerShell script within the endpoint.

API

Event Hubs provide the ability to connect client to the PowerShell Universal server. Once connected, the PowerShell Universal server can send messages to the connected clients and they will run a local PowerShell script block.

Creating an Event Hub

To create an event hub, click APIs \ Event Hub and click Create New Event Hub. Event Hubs are named and can choose to enforce authentication and authorization.

Connecting an Event Hub

Once created, clients can connect to an event hub using the Connect-PSUEventHub cmdlet found in the Universal module. The cmdlet connects to the hub using a web socket and provides credentials, if necessary. When connecting, specify the -ScriptBlock parameter to define what will happen on the client when an event is received.

Objects sent from the hub will be available as $_ or $PSItem.

Send Events

From within the PowerShell Universal server, you can send events from a hub to connected clients using the Send-PSUEvent cmdlet.

The -Data parameter accepts an object and will be serialized using CLIXML and send to the client. The data will be deserialized before passing to the script block.

Receive Data from Clients

As of 4.1, you can now receive data back from clients. This feature is only available when sending data to an individual client, rather than all clients connected to a hub.

From the client side, you would return the data from the script block.

Event Hub Client Installer

While you can use the Universal module to connect to event hubs, it may not be the most resilient configuration for your environment. The Event Hub Client Installer provides a MSI that installs a Windows services that will connect to event hubs and run scripts.

eventHubClient.json

After installing the MSI, you will need to configure the client by using an eventHubClient.json file. This file should be created in %ProgramData%\PowerShellUniversal. Changes to this file require a restart of the Event Hub Client service.

This JSON file configures the Event Hub Client to connect to the hub and run scripts when invoked.

Options

The below options can be included in the eventHubClient.json file.

Connections

These are the connections to Event Hubs. Each connection can contain it's own URL, hub, authentication and script to execute.

Url

The URL of the PowerShell Universal service.

Hub

The name of the Event Hub.

AppToken

The app token used to authentication against the hub.

UseDefaultCredentials

Windows Authentication will be used to authenticate against the hub.

ScriptPath

The script to execute when an event is received. This script is read into memory and not from disk. Variables such as $PSScriptRoot are currently not supported.

Example: Running Scripts on Remote Machines

This example provides a way to run scripts on remote machines without having to install another instance of PowerShell Universal.

This example allows for sending scripts to remote machines and executing them with a generic event hub script.

First, create an event hub in PowerShell Universal. This example does not use authentication.

eventHubClient.json

Next, install the Event Hub Client on the remote machine. Create a configuration file in %ProgramData%\PowerShellUniversal\eventHubClient.json.

scripts.ps1

Next, create a helper script.ps1 to receive the event hub data and process requests from PSU to invoke scripts. It creates a new scriptblock and uses the $EventData passed down from the event hub message with the .Contents and .Parameters for the script.

testEventHub.ps1

In PowerShell Universal, add an automation script testEventHub.ps1.

This script will send the event down to the client. This could be from an API or an App as well. It uses Get-PSUEventHubConnection to get the target computer’s connection ID and then sends an event with the contents of a script and any parameters for that script. The script on event hub side is generic and it will just run whatever is passed to it. Note: -Data maps to $EventData on the client.

Another way to populate the .Contents is by using a script file to get code from.

From here you could event use the script to schedule jobs to run on the remote machines using the event hub client.

Once enabled, you will be able to enforce authentication and authorization on your endpoints.

Defining Secure Endpoints

You can define secure endpoints in the UI by enabling authentication.

You can also define secure endpoints using the .universal/endpoints.ps1 file or the Management API using New-PSUEndpoint.

When authentication is enabled, it will enforce the use of one of the configured authentication methods. APIs support the following methods.

• JWT App Tokens

• Windows Authentication

• Cookie Authentication

Accessing Secure Endpoints

Once you have defined a secure endpoint, you will need to provide authentication and authorization to access the endpoint.

Authenticating with tokens

To authenticate with tokens, first, you need generate a new app token for use. You can use the Grant-PSUAppToken cmdlet to do so remotely or you can create an app token in the UI using the Settings Security AppTokens tab.

Click Grant App Token to create a new one.

Once you have created your app token, you can now use it to authenticate against the secure endpoint. To do so, pass the Authorization header along with the request.

Authenticating with Windows Authentication

Authenticating with Cookies

To authenticate with cookies, you will first need to call the login API to receive a valid cookie from the system. You can use Invoke-WebRequest to do so. Pass the user name and password as the body. Specify the -SessionVariable parameter to establish a session.

Once you have successfully authenticated, you can use your $mySession variable to call secure endpoints.

Enforcing Roles

In addition to creating endpoints that require authentication, you can also enforce roles by define a role in the New-PSUEndpoint cmdlet or by selecting one in the UI. If a role is selected, it's possess the role.

Windows and Cookie authentication will assign roles based on the Identity of the user and the role policies as they are applied.

JWT app tokens will use the role that was defined when they were generated.

API

You can assign computers to queues by using application settings. By default, every computer is assigned to the default queue and a queue specific to the computer itself. When you assign a computer to a custom queue, that queue will be available in the admin console and you can use the queue for ad-hoc script execution and schedules.

Configure a Queue

To a configure a computer to a specific queue, use the UniversalAutomation \ Queues setting.

appsettings.json

Assign a machine to a queue using an appsettings.json file.

"UniversalAutomation": {
    "Queues": ["windows7"],
}

Environment Variable

Assign a machine to a queue using an environment variable.

$ENV:UniversalAutomation__Queues = "windows7"

Using a Custom Queue

Custom queues will be available within the Computer drop down in the script Run dialog, and trigger, script and schedule properties.

System events subscribe to WMI events within Windows and run scripts. You can then take action by running scripts.

Defining a System Event

To define a system event, you can use the New-PSUSystemEvent cmdlet within the systemEvents.ps1 file. The following example triggers the systemEvent.ps1 script when a pwsh.exe process is started.

New-PSUSystemEvent -Script "systemEvent.ps1" -Environment "Default" -Credential "Default" -Type "Create" -Condition "TargetInstance isa `"Win32_Process`" and TargetInstance.Name = `"pwsh.exe`"" -Name "PowerShell Started"

Accessing Event Data

When a script is executed, you will receive a $TargetInstance parameter. This contains the WMI object that caused the event to trigger.

param($TargetInstance)

New-BurntToastNotification -Text "PowerShell Started! $TargetInstance"

PowerShell scripts can be created within PowerShell Universal to execute manually, on a scheudle or when events happen within the platform. They are stored on disk and also persisted to a local or remote Git repository.

Add a New Script

To add a new script, you can click the New Script button within the Automation / Scripts page. There are various settings you can provide for the script.

Script Options

Name

Name of the script as shown in Universal Automation. This will also be the name used to persist the script to disk. This setting needs to be unique within the current folder.

Module and Command

See Modules and Commands below.

Description

A description of the script. This is shown in various places within the UA UI and also returned by the Universal cmdlets.

Disable Manual Invocation

Prevents a script from being run manually. This is enforced in the UI as well as the web server and cmdlets.

Manual Time

This setting is used to track the amount of time saved.

Max Job History

Defaults to 100. It defines the amount of jobs that are stored when running this script. Jobs are also cleaned up based on the server-wide job retention duration setting from within the Settings / General page.

Error Action

Changes how the script reacts when there is an error within the script. By default, terminating and non-terminating errors are ignored and the script will always be successful. You can change this setting to stop to cause scripts to fail immediately when an error is encountered.

If you wish to write errors directly to the error pane without causing changes in how the script is handled (for example in an exception handler), you can use Write-PSUError to output the error record and it will appear in the error tab of the job.

Environment

Allows you to define the required PowerShell environment for the script. By default, it uses the server-wide default PowerShell environment. PowerShell environments are automatically located the first the Universal Server starts up or read from the environments.ps1 file. You can also add Environment on the Settings / Environments page.

Timeout

The number of minutes before the script will timeout. The default value of 0 means the script will run forever. Once a script reaches it's time out, it will be cancelled.

Anonymous

The anonymous setting allows the script to be run when the user is not authenticated. This is useful when using scripts in Pages.

Discard Pipeline

When checked, this will disable the storage of pipeline output. This will greatly reduce the CPU and storage overhead of jobs. The script will still write to the information, warning, and error streams.

Concurrent Jobs

Defines the maximum concurrent jobs the script can be run. Defaults to 100.

New-PSUScript -Name Script.ps1 -Path Script.Ps1 -ConcurrentJobs 1

Running a Script

You can run a script in the UI by click the Run button the Automation / Scripts page or by clicking View and then Run. In each case, you will be presented with the Run Dialog that allows you to select various settings for the job.

Running a Script With Parameters

PowerShell Universal automatically determines the parameters as defined within your scripts. It takes advantage of static code analysis to determine the type, default values and some validation that is then presented within the UI.

For example, you may have a script with the following parameters.

param(
    $Test,
    [DateTime]$Time, 
    [int]$Number,
    [PSCredential]$Credential,
    [System.ConsoleColor]$Color
)

The result is a set of input options that are based on the types of parameters.

Running a Script as Another User

You can run scripts as another user by configuring secret variables. PowerShell Universal uses the Microsoft Secret Management module to integrate with secret providers. See variables for more information on secrets.

To run as another user, simply add or import a PSCredential variable. From there, you can select the credential from within the run dialog.

Running a Script on Another Computer

You can use the Computer drop down to select other machines to run a script on. The default value is to run on any computer that is available.

Running a Script on All Computers

You can run a script on all computers by selecting the All Computers option from the Computer drop down.

Remoting

Note that you can use PowerShell remoting by taking advantage of Invoke-Command . We do not support the use of Enter-PSSession or Import-PSSession.

Comment-Based Help

You can use comment-based to define the description, a synopsis, parameter based help, and links for your scripts. These will be displayed within the PowerShell Universal UI.

<#
.SYNOPSIS 

This is a script for pinging other computers. 

.DESCRIPTION

This script can ping other computers. 

.PARAMETER HostName

The host name or address to ping. 

.LINK
https://www.ironmansoftware.com
#>
param($HostName)

Test-NetConnection $HostName

This above will yield the following user interface. The synopsis will be shown as the short description and a longer description can be shown in the description section. Links will appear under the description.

Modules and Commands

Commands and cmdlets found in modules can be used at the target for scripts rather than authoring the script directly. The -Module and -Command parameters are not displayed in the admin console but can be included in scripts.ps1.

Let's assume that we have a module called PSUModule that contains the following function.

function Show-HelloWorld {
    param($Name)
    "Hello, $Name!"
}

It's possible to expose this function as a script by using the following syntax in scripts.ps1.

New-PSUScript -Module 'PSUModule' -Command 'Show-HelloWorld'

The function will be surfaced just as other scripts within the admin console. Parameters, help text and other PSU features will work the same as with scripts.

API

• New-PSUScript

• Remove-PSUScript

• Set-PSUScript

• Get-PSUScript

Parameters

Jobs support automatically generating forms with parameters based on your script's param block. The type of control will change based on the type you define in the block. Parameters that are mandatory will also be required by the UI.

Basic Parameters

Parameters can be simply defined without any type of parameter attribute and they will show up as text boxes in the UI.

param($Test)

$Test

Parameters Types

Universal supports various types of parameters. You can use String, String[], Int, DateTime, Boolean, Switch and Enum types.

String

You can define string parameters by specifying the [String] type of by not specifying a type at all. Strings will generate a textbox.

param(
    [String]$Textbox,
    $Textbox2
)

String Arrays

You can specify string arrays by using the [String[]] type specifier. String arrays will generate a multi-tag select box.

param([String[]]$Array)

Date and Time

You can use the [DateTime] type specifier to create a date and time selector.

param([DateTime]$DateTime)

Boolean

You can use a [Bool] type selector to create a switch.

param([Bool]$Switch)

Integer

You can define a number selector by using the [Int] type specifier.

param([Int]$Number)

Switch Parameter

You can define a switch parameter using the [Switch] type specifier to create a switch.

param([Switch]$Switch)

Enumerations

You can use System.Enum values to create select boxes. For example, you could use the System.DayOrWeek to create a day of the week selection box.

param([System.DayOfWeek]$DayOfWeek)

PSCredential

When you specify a PSCredential , the user will be presented with a drop down of credentials available as variables.

param(
    [PSCredential]$Credential
)

File

You can allow users to upload files by using the [File] type.

param(
    [File]$File
)

Files will be available as a PSUFile object in your scripts. This object has a byte[] array that you can use to process the file.

For example, you can get the string content for the file by converting it using the Encoding classes.

[Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetString($File.Content)

Display Name

You can use the DisplayNameAtrribute to set a display name for the script parameter.

param(
    [ComponentModel.DisplayName("My Script")]
    $MyScript
)

Help Messages

You can define help messages for your parameters by using the HelpMessage property of the Parameter attribute.

param(
    [Parameter(HelpMessage = "Class you want to enroll in")]
    [string]$Class
)

Required Parameters

You can use the Parameter attribute to define required parameters.

param(
    [Parameter(Mandatory)]
    $RequiredParameter
)

$RequiredParameter

Default Value

You can use both static and default values for parameters. The default value is calculated when the job is about to be run.

param(
    $Parameter = "Hello, World",
    [DateTime]$ExecutionTime = Get-Date
)

$Parameter
$ExecutionTime

Passing Parameters from PowerShell

You can pass parameters from PowerShell using the Invoke-PSUScript cmdlet. This cmdlet supports dynamic parameters. If you have a param block on your script, these parameters will automatically be added to Invoke-PSUScript.

For example, I had a script named Script1.ps1 and the contents were are follows.

param($MyParameter)

$MyParameter

I could then invoke that script using this syntax.

Invoke-PSUScript -Name 'Script.ps1' -MyParameter "Hello"

The result would be that Hello was output in the job log and pipeline.

Parameter Sets

PowerShell Universal supports parameter sets. When a parameter set is defined, a drop down is provided that allows for switching between the sets.

param(
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Set1')]
    $Parameter1,
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Set2')]
    $Parameter2
)