Configuring PowerShell (shell prompt)

In Windows PowerShell, customizing your shell prompt can enhance your development environment by providing valuable information at a glance. This guide walks you through configuring Windows PowerShell to display a customized prompt with the username, date, and current folder name.

Checking for Existing Profile

STEP 1: Before proceeding, check if you have an existing profile set up in PowerShell:

test-path $profile

STEP 2: If the result is false, create a new profile:

new-item -path $profile -itemtype file -force

STEP 3: Now, open the profile in Notepad:

notepad $profile

STEP 4: Paste the following function to display the current folder name as the prompt:

function prompt {
  $p = Split-Path -leaf -path (Get-Location)
  "$p> "
}

STEP 5: Save the file. The location is predetermined, so you shouldn't need to choose one.

Reload Visual Studio Code; you may encounter a message about running scripts. Alternatively, execute the following command before reloading:

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Reload Visual Studio Code once more.

Examples for Terminal Short Paths

Follow STEP 3 again, paste the source code, save the file, and reload Visual Studio Code.

Sample Example 1

function prompt {
  $time = Get-Date -Format "HH:mm:ss"
  $location = "$($time | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor DarkYellow }) $(" | " | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Gray }) $($((Get-Location).Drive.Name + ": " + $(Get-Item $pwd).Name) | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_  -ForegroundColor Cyan }) $(">" | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Magenta })"
  return " "
}

Sample Example 2

function prompt {
  $time = Get-Date -Format "HH:mm:ss"
  $location = "$($time | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor DarkYellow }) $(" | " | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Gray }) $($((Get-Location).Drive.Name + ": " + $(Get-Item $pwd).Name) | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_  -ForegroundColor Cyan }) $("$" | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Magenta })"
  return " "
}

Sample Example 3

function prompt {
  $username = $env:USERNAME.ToLower()
  $deviceName = $env:COMPUTERNAME
  $location = "$($username | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor DarkYellow }) $("@" | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Gray }) $($deviceName | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor DarkYellow }) $(" | " | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Gray }) $($((Get-Location).Drive.Name + ": " + $(Get-Item $pwd).Name) | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_  -ForegroundColor Cyan }) $(">" | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Magenta })"
  return " "
}

Sample Example 4

function prompt {
  $username = $env:USERNAME.ToLower()
  $deviceName = $env:COMPUTERNAME
  $time = Get-Date -Format "HH:mm:ss"
  $location = "$($username | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor DarkYellow }) $("@" | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Gray }) $($deviceName | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ $time -NoNewline -ForegroundColor DarkYellow }) $(" | " | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Gray }) $($((Get-Location).Drive.Name + ": " + $(Get-Item $pwd).Name) | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -ForegroundColor Cyan }) $(">" | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Magenta })"
  return " "
}

Sample Example 5

function prompt {
  $username = "herogautam"
  $time = Get-Date -Format "dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm:ss"
  $location = "$($username | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Magenta }) $(" |" | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ $time -NoNewline -ForegroundColor DarkYellow }) $(" | " | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Gray }) $($((Get-Location).Drive.Name + ": " + $(Get-Item $pwd).Name) | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -ForegroundColor Cyan }) $(">" | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Magenta })"
  return " "
}

Sample Example 6

function Prompt {
  write-host "PS " -ForegroundColor Magenta -NoNewline
  write-host (get-date -Format "dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm:ss") -ForegroundColor Yellow -NoNewline
  write-host " | " -ForegroundColor DarkGray -NoNewline
  write-host "\\$env:COMPUTERNAME " -ForegroundColor Gray -NoNewline
  write-host " | " -ForegroundColor DarkGray -NoNewline
  if ((Get-Location).Drive -ne $null) {
    write-host (Get-Location) -ForegroundColor Cyan
    $networkdrive = $false
  } else {
    $networkdrive = $true
    $first, $second, $third, $folder = (Get-Location).path.Split("\")
    write-host "\" -NoNewline
    $folder | foreach-object {
      write-host "\$_" -NoNewline
    }
    write-host -ForegroundColor Cyan
  }
  write-host ">" -ForegroundColor Magenta -NoNewline
  return " "
}

List of Powershell colors

Color	HTML Color Code
DarkCyan	#00cdcd
DarkRed	#cd0000
Magenta	#ff00ff
Blue	#5c5cff
DarkGray	#7f7f7f
DarkYellow	#cdcd00
Red	#ff0000
Cyan	#00ffff
DarkGreen	#00cd00
Gray	#e5e5e5
White	#ffffff
DarkBlue	#6495ed
DarkMagenta	#cd00cd
Green	#00ff00
Yellow	#ffff00