ps12exe VS Code Extension

Compile PowerShell scripts (.ps1) into standalone executables and open ps12exeGUI, directly from Visual Studio Code.

Features

Compile to EXE — right-click a .ps1 file in the Explorer or editor, use the editor title button, or run ps12exe: Compile to EXE from the command palette. The executable is written next to the script.
Open in ps12exeGUI — launch the graphical front-end for advanced options such as icon, version info, architecture and code signing.
Output channel — all ps12exe console output is streamed to the ps12exe output channel.
Progress & cancellation — long compilations show a progress notification and can be cancelled.
Reveal output — on success, jump straight to the generated .exe.
Automatic language selection — the extension follows the VS Code display language.
Automatic ps12exe install/update — the ps12exe module is installed when missing and kept up to date; opt out with ps12exe.autoUpdate.
Agent skill — a bundled ps12exe Agent Skill tells the agent how to use ps12exe and PS2EXE2ps12exe.
Embedded-exe source editor — open a compiled .exe to view and edit the embedded script.

The ps12exe preprocessor directives (#_if / #_else / #_endif, #_include*, #_pragma, #_require, #_!!, …) get first-class editor support:

Syntax highlighting — directives, conditions and pragma names are coloured.
Diagnostics & quick fixes — reports unbalanced blocks and unknown conditions; offers one-click migration of deprecated PS2EXE calls to the ps12exe object API and rewrites module installs to #_require. Silence any warning with # use_ps12exe:ignore.
Auto-close — completing a #_if … line with Enter inserts the matching #_endif. Disable with ps12exe.autoCloseIf.
Folding — every #_if … #_endif block folds, nested blocks included.
#_!! toggle — ps12exe: Toggle #_!! Escape Markers adds or removes the marker on the selection (or the whole file).
Go to definition — open the file referenced by an #_include* path or #_pragma Resources.Icon.
Hover — shows a localized summary and a README link for a directive; a module name in #_require shows its PowerShell Gallery info.
Completion — suggests directives, conditions and #_pragma parameters, each with a localized hint.
Formatting — formats preprocessor blocks through Format Document, format-on-save or the ps12exe: Format Preprocessor Blocks action. Requires the PowerShell extension (see Requirements).

The extension UI is localized into every language ps12exe ships. It activates automatically when VS Code runs in one of these languages:

Command titles and notifications follow the VS Code display language.

Visual Studio Code 1.100.0 or newer.
PowerShell — Windows PowerShell 5.1+ or PowerShell 7+ (pwsh).
ps12exe PowerShell module — installed and updated automatically when missing. You can also install it manually at any time:
```
Install-Module ps12exe -Scope CurrentUser
```
PowerShell extension (ms-vscode.powershell) — needed for the formatter.

Setting	Default	Description
`ps12exe.autoUpdate`	`true`	Automatically install the ps12exe module when missing and update it to the latest PSGallery version on startup.
`ps12exe.autoCloseIf`	`true`	Insert the matching `#_endif` when a `#_if …` line is completed with Enter.

Install the ps12exe module (see above).
Open a .ps1 file.
Compile it with any of:
- Explorer: right-click the file → Compile to EXE
- Editor: right-click → Compile to EXE
- Editor title bar: click the package icon
- Command palette: ps12exe: Compile to EXE
The executable is written next to the script (<name>.exe) unless the script uses a configuration file.
To tweak options such as the icon or version, choose Open in ps12exeGUI instead.

For advanced command-line options, see the ps12exe documentation.

ps12exe could not be installed automatically — open a terminal and run Install-Module ps12exe -Scope CurrentUser.
"No PowerShell host was found" — install PowerShell 7 or make sure powershell.exe is on PATH.
Compilation errors — open the ps12exe output channel for the full log.

npm install   # once
npm test      # run the test suite
npm run build # package the extension and install it locally

See AGENTS.md for the maintainer notes.