psake for VS Code

Language support, task integration, and snippets for psake — a PowerShell build automation tool.

Requirements: The PowerShell extension must be installed.

Features

Task Provider

The extension automatically detects tasks defined in your psakefile.ps1 and surfaces them in VS Code's built-in task system.

Open the Command Palette → Tasks: Run Task → select any discovered psake task
Tasks are discovered from all workspace folders
The default task is automatically placed in the Build task group (accessible via Ctrl+Shift+B)
Tasks update automatically when you save changes to psakefile.ps1

You can also reference psake tasks in your tasks.json:

{
    "version": "2.0.0",
    "tasks": [
        {
            "type": "psake",
            "task": "Build",
            "file": "psakefile.ps1"
        }
    ]
}

Build Script Support

Most psake projects use a wrapper script (typically build.ps1) as the entry point. The extension auto-detects build.ps1 in the workspace root and runs tasks through it instead of calling Invoke-psake directly:

.\build.ps1 -Task Build

The parameter name defaults to -Task but is configurable via psake.buildScriptTaskParameter. Additional parameters can be appended to every build script call via psake.buildScriptParameters (e.g., -Configuration Release). If your project uses a different wrapper script path, set psake.buildScript. To disable build script detection and always call Invoke-psake directly, set psake.buildScript to "none".

psake Tasks Explorer

A psake Tasks panel appears in the Explorer sidebar when a psakefile.ps1 is found in your workspace. It shows all tasks with their descriptions and dependencies. Clicking a task navigates to its definition in the file; the inline play button runs the task.

CodeLens — Run Task from the Editor

Each Task declaration in your psakefile.ps1 displays a ▶ Run Task action above it. Click it to execute that task immediately without leaving the editor.

tasks.json IntelliSense

When editing .vscode/tasks.json, the extension provides autocomplete suggestions for the "task" property inside "type": "psake" task definitions. The suggestions are dynamically populated from the task names discovered in your psakefile(s).

Sync Tasks to tasks.json

The psake: Sync Tasks to tasks.json command (Command Palette) scans your workspace for psake tasks and adds them to .vscode/tasks.json. Existing entries are preserved so any customizations (such as problemMatcher or group) are not overwritten.

Scaffold Build File

The psake: Install sample build file command (Command Palette) creates a starter psakefile.ps1 in your workspace with four sample tasks (default, Test, Compile, Clean).

Snippets

Type psake + Ctrl+Space in a PowerShell file to access the following snippets:

Prefix	Description
`psakeTask`	Minimal task with inline action block
`psakeTaskFull`	Task with `-Depends` and `-Description`
`psakeTaskDependsOnly`	Task that only declares dependencies
`psakeProperties`	Properties block for shared build variables
`psakeInclude`	Include another PowerShell script
`psakeFramework`	Set the .NET framework version for MSBuild
`psakeFormatTaskName`	Customize task name display output
`psakeTaskSetup`	Block that runs before each task
`psakeTaskTearDown`	Block that runs after each task

Commands

Command	Description
psake: Install sample build file	Scaffold a starter `psakefile.ps1`
psake: Sync Tasks to tasks.json	Add discovered psake tasks to `.vscode/tasks.json`
psake: Refresh Tasks	Re-scan the build file and update the task tree

Configuration

Setting	Default	Description
`psake.buildFile`	`psakefile.ps1`	Default build file name used for scaffolding and task discovery
`psake.taskProvider.enabled`	`true`	Enable or disable automatic task detection
`psake.codeLens.enabled`	`true`	Show ▶ Run Task CodeLens above each task declaration in the build file
`psake.buildScript`	`""` (auto-detect)	Path to a wrapper build script (e.g., `build.ps1`). When empty, auto-detects `build.ps1` in the workspace root. Set to `"none"` to always use `Invoke-psake` directly.
`psake.buildScriptTaskParameter`	`Task`	The parameter name on the build script that accepts the task name
`psake.buildScriptParameters`	`""`	Extra parameters appended to the build script call when a wrapper is used (e.g., `-Configuration Release -Clean`)
`psake.invokeParameters`	`""`	Extra parameters appended to the `Invoke-psake` call when no wrapper is used (e.g., `-nologo -properties @{Configuration='Release'}`)
`psake.powershellExecutable`	`""` (auto-detect)	PowerShell executable to use (e.g., `pwsh`, `powershell`, or a full path). When empty, auto-detects `pwsh` then `powershell`.
`psake.shellArgs`	`["-NoProfile"]`	Arguments passed to the PowerShell executable before `-Command` (e.g., add `"-ExecutionPolicy", "Bypass"` for restricted environments)

Contribution

Issues and pull requests are welcome on GitHub.

Releases

See the releases page for version history.