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How to write a PowerShell module manifest

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After you've written your PowerShell module, you can add an optional module manifest that includes information about the module. For example, you can describe the author, specify files in the module (such as nested modules), run scripts to customize the user's environment, load type and formatting files, define system requirements, and limit the members that the module exports.

Creating a module manifest

A module manifest is a PowerShell data file (.psd1) that describes the contents of a module and determines how a module is processed. The manifest file is a text file that contains a hash table of keys and values. You link a manifest file to a module by naming the manifest the same as the module, and storing the manifest in the module's root directory.

For simple modules that contain only a single .psm1 or binary assembly, a module manifest is optional. But, the recommendation is to use a module manifest whenever possible, as they're useful to help you organize your code and maintain versioning information. And, a module manifest is required to export an assembly that is installed in the Global Assembly Cache. A module manifest is also required for modules that support the Updatable Help feature. Updatable Help uses the HelpInfoUri key in the module manifest to find the Help information (HelpInfo XML) file that contains the location of the updated help files for the module. For more information about Updatable Help, see Supporting Updatable Help.

To create and use a module manifest

  1. The best practice to create a module manifest is to use the New-ModuleManifest cmdlet. You can use parameters to specify one or more of the manifest's default keys and values. The only requirement is to name the file. New-ModuleManifest creates a module manifest with your specified values, and includes the remaining keys and their default values. If you need to create multiple modules, use New-ModuleManifest to create a module manifest template that can be modified for your different modules. For an example of a default module manifest, see the Sample module manifest.

    New-ModuleManifest -Path C:\myModuleName.psd1 -ModuleVersion "2.0" -Author "YourNameHere"

    An alternative is to manually create the module manifest's hash table using the minimal information required, the ModuleVersion. You save the file with the same name as your module and use the .psd1 file extension. You can then edit the file and add the appropriate keys and values.

  2. Add any additional elements that you want in the manifest file.

    To edit the manifest file, use any text editor you prefer. But, the manifest file is a script file that contains code, so you may wish to edit it in a scripting or development environment, such as Visual Studio Code. All elements of a manifest file are optional, except for the ModuleVersion number.

    For descriptions of the keys and values you can include in a module manifest, see the Module manifest elements table. For more information, see the parameter descriptions in the New-ModuleManifest cmdlet.

  3. To address any scenarios that might not be covered by the base module manifest elements, you have the option to add additional code to your module manifest.

    For security concerns, PowerShell only runs a small subset of the available operations in a module manifest file. Generally, you can use the if statement, arithmetic and comparison operators, and the basic PowerShell data types.

  4. After you've created your module manifest, you can test it to confirm that any paths described in the manifest are correct. To test your module manifest, use Test-ModuleManifest.

    Test-ModuleManifest myModuleName.psd1

  5. Be sure that your module manifest is located in the top level of the directory that contains your module.

    When you copy your module onto a system and import it, PowerShell uses the module manifest to import your module.

  6. Optionally, you can directly test your module manifest with a call to Import-Module by dot-sourcing the manifest itself.

    Import-Module .\myModuleName.psd1

Module manifest elements

The following table describes the elements you can include in a module manifest.

Element Default Description
RootModule
Type: String		 <empty string> Script module or binary module file associated with this manifest. Previous versions of PowerShell called this element the ModuleToProcess.
Possible types for the root module can be empty, which creates a Manifest module, the name of a script module (.psm1), or the name of a binary module (.exe or .dll). Placing the name of a module manifest (.psd1) or a script file (.ps1) in this element causes an error.
Example: RootModule = 'ScriptModule.psm1'
ModuleVersion
Type: Version		 '0.0.1' Version number of this module. If a value isn't specified, New-ModuleManifest uses the default. The string must be able to convert to the type Version for example #.#.#.#. Import-Module loads the first module it finds on the $PSModulePath that matches the name, and has at least as high a ModuleVersion, as the MinimumVersion parameter. To import a specific version, use the Import-Module cmdlet's RequiredVersion parameter.
Example: ModuleVersion = '1.0'
GUID
Type: GUID		 '<GUID>' ID used to uniquely identify this module. If a value isn't specified, New-ModuleManifest autogenerates the value. You can't currently import a module by GUID.
Example: GUID = 'cfc45206-1e49-459d-a8ad-5b571ef94857'
Author
Type: String		 '<Current user>' Author of this module. If a value isn't specified, New-ModuleManifest uses the current user.
Example: Author = 'AuthorNameHere'
CompanyName
Type: String		 'Unknown' Company or vendor of this module. If a value isn't specified, New-ModuleManifest uses the default.
Example: CompanyName = 'Fabrikam'
Copyright
Type: String		 '(c) <Author>. All rights reserved.' Copyright statement for this module. If a value isn't specified, New-ModuleManifest uses the default with the current user as the <Author>. To specify an author, use the Author parameter.
Example: Copyright = '2019 AuthorName. All rights reserved.'
Description
Type: String		 <empty string> Description of the functionality provided by this module.
Example: Description = 'This is the module's description.'
PowerShellVersion
Type: Version		 <empty string> Minimum version of the PowerShell engine required by this module. Valid values are 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 7.0 and 7.1.
Example: PowerShellVersion = '5.0'
PowerShellHostName
Type: String		 <empty string> Name of the PowerShell host required by this module. This name is provided by PowerShell. To find the name of a host program, in the program, type: $host.name.
Example: PowerShellHostName = 'ConsoleHost'
PowerShellHostVersion
Type: Version		 <empty string> Minimum version of the PowerShell host required by this module.
Example: PowerShellHostVersion = '2.0'
DotNetFrameworkVersion
Type: Version		 <empty string> Minimum version of Microsoft .NET Framework required by this module. This prerequisite is valid for the PowerShell Desktop edition only, such as Windows PowerShell 5.1, and only applies to .NET Framework versions lower than 4.5.
Example: DotNetFrameworkVersion = '3.5'
CLRVersion
Type: Version		 <empty string> Minimum version of the common language runtime (CLR) required by this module. This prerequisite is valid for the PowerShell Desktop edition only, such as Windows PowerShell 5.1, and only applies to .NET Framework versions lower than 4.5.
Example: CLRVersion = '3.5'
ProcessorArchitecture
Type: ProcessorArchitecture		 <empty string> Processor architecture (None, X86, Amd64) required by this module. Valid values are x86, AMD64, Arm, IA64, MSIL, and None (unknown or unspecified).
Example: ProcessorArchitecture = 'x86'
RequiredModules
Type: Object[]		 @() Modules that must be imported into the global environment prior to importing this module. This loads any modules listed unless they've already been loaded. For example, some modules may already be loaded by a different module. It's possible to specify a specific version to load using RequiredVersion rather than ModuleVersion. When ModuleVersion is used it will load the newest version available with a minimum of the version specified. You can combine strings and hash tables in the parameter value.
Example: RequiredModules = @("MyModule", @{ModuleName="MyDependentModule"; ModuleVersion="2.0"; GUID="cfc45206-1e49-459d-a8ad-5b571ef94857"})
Example: RequiredModules = @("MyModule", @{ModuleName="MyDependentModule"; RequiredVersion="1.5"; GUID="cfc45206-1e49-459d-a8ad-5b571ef94857"})
RequiredAssemblies
Type: String[]		 @() Assemblies that must be loaded prior to importing this module. Specifies the assembly (.dll) file names that the module requires.
PowerShell loads the specified assemblies before updating types or formats, importing nested modules, or importing the module file that is specified in the value of the RootModule key. Use this parameter to list all the assemblies that the module requires.
Example: RequiredAssemblies = @("assembly1.dll", "assembly2.dll", "assembly3.dll")
ScriptsToProcess
Type: String[]		 @() Script (.ps1) files that are run in the caller's session state when the module is imported. This could be the global session state or, for nested modules, the session state of another module. You can use these scripts to prepare an environment just as you might use a log in script.
These scripts are run before any of the modules listed in the manifest are loaded.
Example: ScriptsToProcess = @("script1.ps1", "script2.ps1", "script3.ps1")
TypesToProcess
Type: String[]		 @() Type files (.ps1xml) to be loaded when importing this module.
Example: TypesToProcess = @("type1.ps1xml", "type2.ps1xml", "type3.ps1xml")
FormatsToProcess
Type: String[]		 @() Format files (.ps1xml) to be loaded when importing this module.
Example: FormatsToProcess = @("format1.ps1xml", "format2.ps1xml", "format3.ps1xml")
NestedModules
Type: Object[]		 @() Modules to import as nested modules of the module specified in RootModule (alias:ModuleToProcess).
Adding a module name to this element is similar to calling Import-Module from within your script or assembly code. The main difference by using a manifest file is that it's easier to see what you're loading. And, if a module fails to load, you will not yet have loaded your actual module.
In addition to other modules, you may also load script (.ps1) files here. These files will execute in the context of the root module. This is equivalent to dot sourcing the script in your root module.
Example: NestedModules = @("script.ps1", @{ModuleName="MyModule"; ModuleVersion="1.0.0.0"; GUID="50cdb55f-5ab7-489f-9e94-4ec21ff51e59"})
FunctionsToExport
Type: String[]		 @() Specifies the functions to export from this module, for best performance, do not use wildcards and do not delete the entry, use an empty array if there are no functions to export. By default, no functions are exported. You can use this key to list the functions that are exported by the module.
The module exports the functions to the caller's session state. The caller's session state can be the global session state or, for nested modules, the session state of another module. When chaining nested modules, all functions that are exported by a nested module will be exported to the global session state unless a module in the chain restricts the function by using the FunctionsToExport key.
If the manifest exports aliases for the functions, this key can remove functions whose aliases are listed in the AliasesToExport key, but this key cannot add function aliases to the list.
Example: FunctionsToExport = @("function1", "function2", "function3")
CmdletsToExport
Type: String[]		 @() Specifies the cmdlets to export from this module, for best performance, do not use wildcards and do not delete the entry, use an empty array if there are no cmdlets to export. By default, no cmdlets are exported. You can use this key to list the cmdlets that are exported by the module.
The caller's session state can be the global session state or, for nested modules, the session state of another module. When you're chaining nested modules, all cmdlets that are exported by a nested module will be exported to the global session state unless a module in the chain restricts the cmdlet by using the CmdletsToExport key.
If the manifest exports aliases for the cmdlets, this key can remove cmdlets whose aliases are listed in the AliasesToExport key, but this key cannot add cmdlet aliases to the list.
Example: CmdletsToExport = @("Get-MyCmdlet", "Set-MyCmdlet", "Test-MyCmdlet")
VariablesToExport
Type: String[]		 '*' Specifies the variables that the module exports to the caller's session state. Wildcard characters are permitted. By default, all variables ('*') are exported. You can use this key to restrict the variables that are exported by the module.
The caller's session state can be the global session state or, for nested modules, the session state of another module. When you are chaining nested modules, all variables that are exported by a nested module will be exported to the global session state unless a module in the chain restricts the variable by using the VariablesToExport key.
If the manifest also exports aliases for the variables, this key can remove variables whose aliases are listed in the AliasesToExport key, but this key cannot add variable aliases to the list.
Example: VariablesToExport = @('$MyVariable1', '$MyVariable2', '$MyVariable3')
AliasesToExport
Type: String[]		 @() Specifies the aliases to export from this module, for best performance, do not use wildcards and do not delete the entry, use an empty array if there are no aliases to export. By default, no aliases are exported. You can use this key to list the aliases that are exported by the module.
The module exports the aliases to caller's session state. The caller's session state can be the global session state or, for nested modules, the session state of another module. When you are chaining nested modules, all aliases that are exported by a nested module will be ultimately exported to the global session state unless a module in the chain restricts the alias by using the AliasesToExport key.
Example: AliasesToExport = @("MyAlias1", "MyAlias2", "MyAlias3")
DscResourcesToExport
Type: String[]		 @() Specifies DSC resources to export from this module. Wildcards are permitted.
Example: DscResourcesToExport = @("DscResource1", "DscResource2", "DscResource3")
ModuleList
Type: Object[]		 @() Specifies all the modules that are packaged with this module. These modules can be entered by name, using a comma-separated string, or as a hash table with ModuleName and GUID keys. The hash table can also have an optional ModuleVersion key. The ModuleList key is designed to act as a module inventory. These modules are not automatically processed.
Example: ModuleList = @("SampleModule", "MyModule", @{ModuleName="MyModule"; ModuleVersion="1.0.0.0"; GUID="50cdb55f-5ab7-489f-9e94-4ec21ff51e59"})
FileList
Type: String[]		 @() List of all files packaged with this module. As with ModuleList, FileList is an inventory list, and isn't otherwise processed.
Example: FileList = @("File1", "File2", "File3")
PrivateData
Type: Object		 @{...} Specifies any private data that needs to be passed to the root module specified by the RootModule (alias: ModuleToProcess) key. PrivateData is a hash table that comprises several elements: Tags, LicenseUri, ProjectURI, IconUri, ReleaseNotes, Prerelease, RequireLicenseAcceptance, and ExternalModuleDependencies.
Tags
Type: String[]		 @() Tags help with module discovery in online galleries.
Example: Tags = "PackageManagement", "PowerShell", "Manifest"
LicenseUri
Type: Uri		 <empty string> A URL to the license for this module.
Example: LicenseUri = 'https://www.contoso.com/license'
ProjectUri
Type: Uri		 <empty string> A URL to the main website for this project.
Example: ProjectUri = 'https://www.contoso.com/project'
IconUri
Type: Uri		 <empty string> A URL to an icon representing this module.
Example: IconUri = 'https://www.contoso.com/icons/icon.png'
ReleaseNotes
Type: String		 <empty string> Specifies the module's release notes.
Example: ReleaseNotes = 'The release notes provide information about the module.
PreRelease
Type: String		 <empty string> This parameter was added in PowerShellGet 1.6.6. A PreRelease string that identifies the module as a prerelease version in online galleries.
Example: PreRelease = 'alpha'
RequireLicenseAcceptance
Type: Boolean		 $false This parameter was added in PowerShellGet 1.5. Flag to indicate whether the module requires explicit user acceptance for install, update, or save.
Example: RequireLicenseAcceptance = $false
ExternalModuleDependencies
Type: String[]		 @() This parameter was added in PowerShellGet v2. A list of external modules that this module is dependent upon.
Example: ExternalModuleDependencies = @("ExtModule1", "ExtModule2", "ExtModule3")
HelpInfoURI
Type: String		 <empty string> HelpInfo URI of this module.
Example: HelpInfoURI = 'https://www.contoso.com/help'
DefaultCommandPrefix
Type: String		 <empty string> Default prefix for commands exported from this module. Override the default prefix using Import-Module -Prefix.
Example: DefaultCommandPrefix = 'My'

Sample module manifest

The following sample module manifest was created with New-ModuleManifest in PowerShell 7 and contains the default keys and values.

#
# Module manifest for module 'SampleModuleManifest'
#
# Generated by: User01
#
# Generated on: 10/15/2019
#

@{

# Script module or binary module file associated with this manifest.
# RootModule = ''

# Version number of this module.
ModuleVersion = '0.0.1'

# Supported PSEditions
# CompatiblePSEditions = @()

# ID used to uniquely identify this module
GUID = 'b632e90c-df3d-4340-9f6c-3b832646bf87'

# Author of this module
Author = 'User01'

# Company or vendor of this module
CompanyName = 'Unknown'

# Copyright statement for this module
Copyright = '(c) User01. All rights reserved.'

# Description of the functionality provided by this module
# Description = ''

# Minimum version of the PowerShell engine required by this module
# PowerShellVersion = ''

# Name of the PowerShell host required by this module
# PowerShellHostName = ''

# Minimum version of the PowerShell host required by this module
# PowerShellHostVersion = ''

# Minimum version of Microsoft .NET Framework required by this module. This prerequisite is valid for the PowerShell Desktop edition only.
# DotNetFrameworkVersion = ''

# Minimum version of the common language runtime (CLR) required by this module. This prerequisite is valid for the PowerShell Desktop edition only.
# CLRVersion = ''

# Processor architecture (None, X86, Amd64) required by this module
# ProcessorArchitecture = ''

# Modules that must be imported into the global environment prior to importing this module
# RequiredModules = @()

# Assemblies that must be loaded prior to importing this module
# RequiredAssemblies = @()

# Script files (.ps1) that are run in the caller's environment prior to importing this module.
# ScriptsToProcess = @()

# Type files (.ps1xml) to be loaded when importing this module
# TypesToProcess = @()

# Format files (.ps1xml) to be loaded when importing this module
# FormatsToProcess = @()

# Modules to import as nested modules of the module specified in RootModule/ModuleToProcess
# NestedModules = @()

# Functions to export from this module, for best performance, do not use wildcards and do not delete the entry, use an empty array if there are no functions to export.
FunctionsToExport = @()

# Cmdlets to export from this module, for best performance, do not use wildcards and do not delete the entry, use an empty array if there are no cmdlets to export.
CmdletsToExport = @()

# Variables to export from this module
VariablesToExport = '*'

# Aliases to export from this module, for best performance, do not use wildcards and do not delete the entry, use an empty array if there are no aliases to export.
AliasesToExport = @()

# DSC resources to export from this module
# DscResourcesToExport = @()

# List of all modules packaged with this module
# ModuleList = @()

# List of all files packaged with this module
# FileList = @()

# Private data to pass to the module specified in RootModule/ModuleToProcess. This may also contain a PSData hashtable with additional module metadata used by PowerShell.
PrivateData = @{

    PSData = @{

        # Tags applied to this module. These help with module discovery in online galleries.
        # Tags = @()

        # A URL to the license for this module.
        # LicenseUri = ''

        # A URL to the main website for this project.
        # ProjectUri = ''

        # A URL to an icon representing this module.
        # IconUri = ''

        # ReleaseNotes of this module
        # ReleaseNotes = ''

        # Prerelease string of this module
        # Prerelease = ''

        # Flag to indicate whether the module requires explicit user acceptance for install/update/save
        # RequireLicenseAcceptance = $false

        # External dependent modules of this module
        # ExternalModuleDependencies = @()

    } # End of PSData hashtable

} # End of PrivateData hashtable

# HelpInfo URI of this module
# HelpInfoURI = ''

# Default prefix for commands exported from this module. Override the default prefix using Import-Module -Prefix.
# DefaultCommandPrefix = ''

}

See also