powershell-7.5-features

What this skill does

# PowerShell 7.5/7.6 Features

## Version Overview

| Version | Status | .NET | Release |
|---------|--------|------|---------|
| **7.5.4** | Stable (LTS) | .NET 9.0.306 | October 2025 |
| **7.6.0-preview.6** | Preview | .NET 10.0.0 GA | December 2025 |

PowerShell 7.5 is the current stable LTS (Long-Term Support) release. PowerShell 7.6 is in preview with new features targeting GA in early 2026.

---

# PowerShell 7.5 Features

PowerShell 7.5 GA (General Availability: January 2025) - Latest stable version 7.5.4 (October 2025) built on .NET 9.0.306 with significant performance and memory enhancements.

## New Cmdlets

### ConvertTo-CliXml and ConvertFrom-CliXml

Convert objects to/from CLI XML format without file I/O:

```powershell
# ConvertTo-CliXml - Convert object to XML string
$process = Get-Process -Name pwsh
$xmlString = $process | ConvertTo-CliXml

# ConvertFrom-CliXml - Convert XML string back to object
$restored = $xmlString | ConvertFrom-CliXml
$restored.ProcessName  # Outputs: pwsh

# Use cases:
# - Serialize objects for API transmission
# - Store object state in databases/caches
# - Share objects across PowerShell sessions
# - Clipboard operations with rich objects
```

**Difference from Export/Import-Clixml:**
- `Export-Clixml`: Writes to file
- `ConvertTo-CliXml`: Returns string (no file I/O)

## Enhanced Test-Path Cmdlet

### -OlderThan and -NewerThan Parameters

Filter paths by modification time:

```powershell
# Find files older than 30 days
Test-Path "C:\Logs\*.log" -OlderThan (Get-Date).AddDays(-30)

# Find files newer than 1 hour
Test-Path "C:\Temp\*" -NewerThan (Get-Date).AddHours(-1)

# Cleanup old log files
Get-ChildItem "C:\Logs" -Filter "*.log" |
  Where-Object { Test-Path $_.FullName -OlderThan (Get-Date).AddDays(-90) } |
  Remove-Item -WhatIf

# Find recent downloads
Get-ChildItem "C:\Users\*\Downloads" -Recurse |
  Where-Object { Test-Path $_.FullName -NewerThan (Get-Date).AddDays(-7) }
```

**Use Cases:**
- Log rotation automation
- Backup file cleanup
- Recent file monitoring
- Cache invalidation

## Enhanced Web Cmdlets

### -PassThru with -OutFile

Save response to file AND return content:

```powershell
# Before PowerShell 7.5 (choose one):
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -OutFile "download.zip"  # Save only
$response = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url              # Return only

# PowerShell 7.5 (both):
$response = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -OutFile "download.zip" -PassThru
$response.StatusCode  # 200
# File also saved to download.zip

# Download and verify
$result = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://api.example.com/data.json" `
  -OutFile "data.json" `
  -PassThru

Write-Host "Downloaded $($result.Length) bytes"
# File saved to data.json
```

**Benefits:**
- Download progress tracking
- HTTP header inspection
- Status code verification
- Combined file save + content processing

## Enhanced Test-Json Cmdlet

### IgnoreComments and AllowTrailingCommas

Parse relaxed JSON formats:

```powershell
# JSON with comments (previously invalid)
$jsonWithComments = @"
{
  // This is a comment
  "name": "example",  // inline comment
  /* Multi-line
     comment */
  "version": "1.0"
}
"@

# PowerShell 7.5 - Parse with comments
$obj = $jsonWithComments | ConvertFrom-Json -IgnoreComments
$obj.name  # Outputs: example

# JSON with trailing commas (previously invalid)
$jsonTrailing = @"
{
  "items": [
    "first",
    "second",  // trailing comma
  ],
}
"@

# PowerShell 7.5 - Parse with trailing commas
$obj = $jsonTrailing | ConvertFrom-Json -AllowTrailingCommas

# Validate JSON with relaxed syntax
Test-Json -Json $jsonWithComments -IgnoreComments
Test-Json -Json $jsonTrailing -AllowTrailingCommas
```

**Use Cases:**
- Parse configuration files with comments
- Handle JSON from JavaScript tools
- Accept relaxed JSON from APIs
- Config file validation

## Enhanced Resolve-Path and Convert-Path

### -Force Parameter for Wildcard Hidden Files

Access hidden/system files with wildcards:

```powershell
# PowerShell 7.4 and earlier - Hidden files not matched
Resolve-Path "C:\Users\*\.*" | Select-Object -First 5
# Skips .vscode, .gitignore, etc.

# PowerShell 7.5 - Include hidden files
Resolve-Path "C:\Users\*\.*" -Force | Select-Object -First 5
# Includes .vscode, .gitignore, .bashrc, etc.

# Find all hidden config files
Resolve-Path "C:\Projects\*\.*" -Force |
  Where-Object { (Get-Item $_).Attributes -match "Hidden" }

# Convert-Path also supports -Force
Convert-Path "~/.config/*" -Force
```

**Use Cases:**
- Backup scripts including hidden files
- Configuration discovery
- Security audits
- Development environment setup

## New-FileCatalog Version 2 Default

FileCatalog version 2 is now default:

```powershell
# PowerShell 7.5 - Version 2 by default
New-FileCatalog -Path "C:\Project" -CatalogFilePath "catalog.cat"
# Creates version 2 catalog (SHA256)

# Explicitly specify version
New-FileCatalog -Path "C:\Project" `
  -CatalogFilePath "catalog.cat" `
  -CatalogVersion 2

# Test file integrity
Test-FileCatalog -Path "C:\Project" -CatalogFilePath "catalog.cat"
```

**Version Differences:**
- Version 1: SHA1 hashing (legacy)
- Version 2: SHA256 hashing (default, more secure)

## .NET 9 Performance Enhancements

### Significant Performance Improvements

```powershell
# PowerShell 7.5 benefits from .NET 9.0.306:
# - Faster startup time
# - Reduced memory consumption
# - Improved JIT compilation
# - Better garbage collection

# Example: Large dataset processing
Measure-Command {
  1..1000000 | ForEach-Object { $_ * 2 }
}
# PowerShell 7.4: ~2.5 seconds
# PowerShell 7.5: ~1.8 seconds (28% faster)
```

### Memory Efficiency

```powershell
# Lower memory footprint for:
# - Large collections
# - Long-running scripts
# - Concurrent operations
# - Pipeline processing

# Monitor memory usage
[System.GC]::GetTotalMemory($false) / 1MB
# PowerShell 7.5 uses 15-20% less memory on average
```

## PSResourceGet 1.1.1 (March 2025)

### Modern Package Management

PSResourceGet is the official successor to PowerShellGet, offering significant performance improvements and enhanced security.

**Key Features:**
- **2x faster** module installation
- **Improved security** - SecretManagement integration for secure credential storage
- **Azure Artifacts support** - Enterprise private feed integration
- **Better error handling** - Clearer error messages and retry logic

```powershell
# Install PSResourceGet (included in PowerShell 7.4+)
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.PowerShell.PSResourceGet -Force

# New commands
Install-PSResource -Name Az -Scope CurrentUser  # 2x faster than Install-Module
Find-PSResource -Name "*Azure*"                 # Replaces Find-Module
Update-PSResource -Name Az                      # Replaces Update-Module
Get-InstalledPSResource                         # Replaces Get-InstalledModule

# Security best practice - use SecretManagement for credentials
Register-PSResourceRepository -Name "PrivateFeed" `
    -Uri "https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/org/project/_packaging/feed/nuget/v3/index.json" `
    -Trusted

# Retrieve credential from SecretManagement vault
$credential = Get-Secret -Name "AzureArtifactsToken" -AsPlainText
Install-PSResource -Name "MyPrivateModule" -Repository "PrivateFeed" -Credential $credential
```

**Performance Comparison:**
| Operation | PowerShellGet | PSResourceGet 1.1.1 | Improvement |
|-----------|--------------|---------------------|-------------|
| Install module | 10-15s | 5-7s | 2x faster |
| Search modules | 3-5s | 1-2s | 2-3x faster |
| Update module | 12-18s | 6-9s | 2x faster |

**Security Enhancements:**
- Never use plaintext credentials in scripts
- Use SecretManagement module for storing repository credentials
- Support for Azure DevOps Personal Access Tokens (PAT)
- Integrated authentication with Azure Artifacts

```powershell
# WRONG - plaintext credential
$cred = New-Object PSCredential("user", (ConvertTo-SecureString "password" -AsPlainText -Force))

# CORRECT - SecretManagement
Install-Module Microsoft.PowerShell.