easyHeader for Visual Studio & SSMS

easyHeader creates and maintains structured file headers in the Visual Studio editor. Insert, Update, and Delete work directly on the active document and preserve source code outside the header.

Supported Visual Studio versions: Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14 and Visual Studio 2026 (18.x).

Supported SSMS version: SQL Server Management Studio 22.

Check out our extension for VS Code here.

See the Visual Studio Marketplace changelog.

Contents

• Features
• Commands
• Command Behavior
• Supported File Types
• Settings
• PowerShell Get-Help
• GitHub Copilot and Privacy
• Requirements
• SSMS 22
• Support
• Support easyHeader
• License Agreement

Features

• Inserts, updates, or deletes easyHeader blocks in supported files without changing code outside the header.
• Automatically inserts headers into supported new files by default; opening or adding an existing file does not trigger auto-insert.
• Configures header fields, defaults, revision-history retention, and compact formatting.
• Updates header timestamps, version, and revision history; a revision note is required when revision history is enabled.
• Uses file-aware comment styles. .json is unsupported because JSON does not allow comments.
• Generates PowerShell comment-based help for .ps1, .psm1, and .psd1 files, including parameter sections.
• Optionally uses GitHub Copilot to suggest header values and refresh PowerShell Get-Help sections; source sharing requires consent.
• Preserves the active document's line-ending style when applying changes.

Commands

Open a supported source file, right-click in the editor, and choose easyHeader. Visual Studio commands are available from the editor context menu; the adapter does not add VS Code's editor title-bar actions.

The easyHeader > Settings submenu contains:

The adapter does not provide VS Code's Apply Current Header To Settings, Clear Workspace/Folder Stored Settings, legacy migration, or prompt navigation commands. Visual Studio options are not stored in VS Code workspace or folder settings.

Command Behavior

Insert

• Creates a new header in the active document. Prompts follow the enabled sections and fields in Tools > Options > easyHeader.
• If Revision History is enabled, the initial entry is created as File created.
• When inserting a PowerShell file (.ps1, .psm1, or .psd1), easyHeader uses comment-based help sections such as .SYNOPSIS, .DESCRIPTION, and .EXAMPLE.
• Press Cancel in an input dialog to leave that value empty or keep the current flow, as applicable.

Update

• Updates an existing easyHeader. Existing Synopsis, Description, Usage/Example, and other supported values are used as prompt defaults.
• If Revision History is enabled, Update requires a non-empty revision note and appends it to the revision history.
• Version bump style and version are prompted when Version is enabled; the version can be automatically bumped from the existing value.
• PowerShell Get-Help sections are read into the corresponding prompts and rendered back as .SYNOPSIS, .DESCRIPTION, .EXAMPLE, .PARAMETER, and .NOTES sections.
• Disabled sections can be removed or retained according to Preserve Disabled Sections On Update.

Delete

• Removes the easyHeader from the active document.
• If no easyHeader is found, easyHeader reports that no header is available to delete.

Settings Profile Commands

• Save Current Settings As Standard captures the current Tools > Options > easyHeader values in a profile stored under the current user's local application data.
• Reset To Saved Standard asks for confirmation before restoring those saved options.
• Clear Stored Settings asks for confirmation and removes only that saved profile. It leaves the current Visual Studio options unchanged.

Supported File Types

easyHeader selects comment syntax by file extension, with language-based handling for supported families. The following comment styles are supported:

.json is intentionally unsupported because JSON does not allow comments. Unsupported file types are reported without modifying the document.

Settings

Open Tools > Options > easyHeader. Options are grouped into Copilot, General, Sections, and Behavior.

File Encoding Compatibility

For .vbs and .vbe saved files (other file types are not checked for now), easyHeader checks the on-disk encoding during Insert/Update, auto-insert, and file saves. UTF-8 with BOM or UTF-8-compatible text without a BOM triggers a compatibility warning once while the Visual Studio document remains open; VS Code shows it once per file per extension session. Without a BOM, encoding detection is not conclusive; ASCII is also valid UTF-8. Unsaved files are checked after saving.

UTF-8 is supported by easyHeader and works for most languages, but Windows Script Host and other runtimes may reject it or Unicode header characters. Only change encoding if your runtime needs it; UTF-16 is not suitable for every tool.

Accept the warning's offer to open Save As, then use the arrow beside Save > Save with Encoding and select Unicode (Codepage 1200), which is UTF-16 LE with BOM. Confirm replacing the same file if appropriate. Saving includes unsaved edits. The current manual header command stops so you can complete the save before retrying. Declining keeps the existing encoding and continues. easyHeader does not automatically convert files.

Plain-text VBScript should use .vbs. Do not convert genuinely encoded .vbe content or insert plain-text headers into it.

How Settings Work

• Sections controls which fields and multiline sections are included in generated headers.
• Default values prefill Insert prompts. Update prompts use the existing header value when available, otherwise the configured default.
• Version asks for a bump style when enabled and updates the header version during Update.
• Revision History inserts the initial File created entry and retains the newest number of entries configured by Max Revision Entries.
• Preserve Disabled Sections On Update controls whether disabled sections already in a header are kept (true) or removed (false).
• Auto-insert headers in new files controls whether easyHeader is automatically added to supported files created through New File or Add New Item. Opening an existing file or adding an existing file to a project does not insert a header.
• Compact Header uses reduced spacing and indentation.
• PowerShell Get-Help Target selects whether .PARAMETER names come from script-level param(...), function-level param(...), or automatic detection.
• Copilot controls optional suggestions and source-code sharing. See GitHub Copilot and Privacy.

The Created field is determined automatically when inserting or updating a header. For files with local Git history, it uses the earliest commit that added the file, following renames. Otherwise, it uses the filesystem creation date; unsaved new files use the current date. Git push dates are not stored in local history. Update revision entries use the current date, independently of Created.

Options Reference

Author lookup: easyHeader prefers Author default value, then the current user's Git user.email for the active file's directory (including global Git configuration). This identifies the current user, not the file's original Git author. Without Git email, manual Insert/Update can ask permission to look up the Windows work-account sign-in name, then asks you to confirm it. A sign-in name is not a verified email address. Declining or an unavailable profile falls back to username@machine. The profile decision lasts only for the current Visual Studio session; configure Author default value to retain your preferred identity. Auto-insert does not show profile prompts. Existing Author values used by Update remain unchanged unless edited.

Standard Profile Workflow

1. Configure options under Tools > Options > easyHeader.
2. Choose easyHeader > Settings > Save Current Settings As Standard to save a local baseline.
3. Use Reset To Saved Standard to restore the baseline after confirmation.
4. Use Clear Stored Settings to remove the baseline and keep current options unchanged.

The adapter uses Visual Studio's user options. It does not have VS Code's User/Workspace/Workspace Folder setting scopes.

PowerShell Get-Help

<#
.SYNOPSIS
    Backs up user profile folders to a network share.

.DESCRIPTION
    Copies Documents, Desktop, and Downloads from the current user profile
    to \\fileserver\backups\<username> using robocopy with logging.

.PARAMETER Destination
    UNC path to the backup target folder.

.PARAMETER LogPath
    Path to write the robocopy log file. Defaults to %TEMP%\backup.log.

.EXAMPLE
    .\Backup-UserProfile.ps1 -Destination \\fileserver\backups\jdoe

.NOTES
    Company  : Pelam Engineering AB
    Author   : Jane Doe
    Version  : 1.0.0
    Created  : 2026-06-26
    File     : Backup-UserProfile.ps1
    Language : PowerShell

    Revision History:
              2026-06-26  1.0.0  Jane Doe
              File created
#>

# Display full help for a script
Get-Help .\Backup-UserProfile.ps1 -Full

# Display only the synopsis
Get-Help .\Backup-UserProfile.ps1

# Display examples only
Get-Help .\Backup-UserProfile.ps1 -Examples

Get-Help : Get-Help could not find <path> in a help file in this session.
FullyQualifiedErrorId : HelpNotFound

# Check current policy
Get-ExecutionPolicy

# Allow local scripts (recommended for development machines)
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Get-Help .\MyScript.ps1 -Full

. .\MyScript.ps1
Get-Help MyFunctionName -Full

Update-Help -Force

# Quick check — should return your .SYNOPSIS text
(Get-Help .\MyScript.ps1).Synopsis

GitHub Copilot and Privacy

Copilot is optional. Insert, Update, and Delete work without it. To enable Copilot suggestions:

1. Install and authenticate the GitHub Copilot CLI.
2. Make Node.js available on PATH.
3. Enable Use GitHub Copilot under Tools > Options > easyHeader > Copilot.
4. Confirm code sharing when prompted, or enable Allow code sharing with GitHub Copilot to remember permission.

Before sending source code to Copilot, easyHeader asks for consent unless Allow code sharing with GitHub Copilot is already enabled. These choices have the same meaning as the VS Code consent choices, though their button labels differ:

• Yes allows and remembers sharing for future requests (Yes, always in VS Code).
• No allows sharing for this request only (Yes, only this file for now in VS Code).
• Cancel declines sharing and continues without Copilot (No, do not share code in VS Code).

Confirm Copilot Dot Section Update separately controls whether Insert and Update ask before using Copilot to suggest header values. Remembered code-sharing consent can be revoked with easyHeader > Settings > Revoke Copilot Code-Sharing Consent.

For reviewable fields, the dialog displays the current value beside Copilot's editable suggestion. Choose whether to keep the current value or use the suggestion. PowerShell-specific suggestions can include help sections and parameter descriptions.

When Copilot is enabled and approved, the active document's source is sent to GitHub Copilot for analysis. Do not approve sharing for source you are not permitted to disclose. To revoke remembered consent, choose easyHeader > Settings > Revoke Copilot Code-Sharing Consent. The extension does not require Copilot for normal header operations.

Requirements

• Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14 or Visual Studio 2026 (18.x), with the Visual Studio core editor component.
• Node.js 20 or newer on PATH and the GitHub Copilot CLI for Copilot-assisted suggestions.

Without the Copilot CLI, or when Copilot is declined, easyHeader continues with the normal header workflow. If the CLI is installed but not authenticated, sign in when prompted and retry.

SSMS 22

The same VSIX can be installed into Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14, Visual Studio 2026, and SSMS 22. SSMS 22 distribution is bundled directly into the Visual Studio Marketplace package via its Microsoft.VisualStudio.Ssms installation target; there is no separate SSMS marketplace listing. In SSMS, the easyHeader submenu is available from the SQL query editor's right-click menu.

Uninstall easyHeader from SSMS 22

Close SSMS before uninstalling. This script requires exactly one registered SSMS 22 instance, checks whether easyHeader is installed in that instance, and waits for VSIX Installer to return an exit code:

$ssmsInstances = @(
    Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
) | Where-Object DisplayName -eq 'SQL Server Management Studio 22' |
    Where-Object InstallLocation

if ($ssmsInstances.Count -ne 1) {
    throw "Expected exactly one registered SSMS 22 instance; found $($ssmsInstances.Count)."
}

$ssms = $ssmsInstances[0]
$runningSsms = Get-Process -Name Ssms -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if ($runningSsms) {
    throw 'Close SSMS normally before uninstalling easyHeader.'
}

$installer = Join-Path $ssms.InstallLocation 'Common7\IDE\VSIXInstaller.exe'
if (-not (Test-Path $installer)) {
    throw "VSIX Installer not found: $installer"
}

$extensionsRoot = Join-Path $env:LOCALAPPDATA "Microsoft\SSMS\22.0_$($ssms.PSChildName)\Extensions"
$manifests = @()
if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $extensionsRoot) {
    $manifests = Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath $extensionsRoot -Filter extension.vsixmanifest -Recurse -File
}

$installed = $false
$installedId = $null
foreach ($manifest in $manifests) {
    [xml]$xml = Get-Content -LiteralPath $manifest.FullName -Raw
    $identity = $xml.SelectSingleNode("//*[local-name()='Identity']")
    if ($identity -and ($identity.GetAttribute('Id') -in @('PelamEngineering.EasyHeader.VisualStudio', 'EasyHeader.VisualStudio'))) {
        $installed = $true
        $installedId = $identity.GetAttribute('Id')
        break
    }
}
if (-not $installed) {
    Write-Output 'easyHeader is not installed in this SSMS 22 instance.'
} else {
    $result = Start-Process -FilePath $installer `
        -ArgumentList @("/instanceIds:$($ssms.PSChildName)", "/uninstall:$installedId") `
        -Wait -PassThru
    if ($result.ExitCode -ne 0) {
        throw "VSIX uninstallation failed with exit code $($result.ExitCode)."
    }
}

Support

For support, file-type questions, or issue reports, visit the easyHeader for Visual Studio Marketplace page.

Support easyHeader

If you find easyHeader usefull, consider supporting ongoing maintenance. Donate via PayPal

License Agreement

Copyright (c) 2026 Pelam Engineering AB