Develop Reference

How do I get access to CimCmdlets in .NET Core when using System.Management.Automation?

Goal
I would like to have access to the cmdlets in the CimCmdlets module in .NET Core within C# code. Specifically, I want to be able to use the New-CimSessionOption and New-CimSession cmdlets.
NuGet Packages
Microsoft.NETCore.App v2.2.0
Microsoft.Powershell.SDK v6.2.2
Simple Demo
using System;
using System.Management.Automation;
namespace ConsoleApp1 {
class Program {
static void Main(string[] args) {
string str;
using (var ps = PowerShell.Create()) {
str = "";
var results = ps.AddScript("Get-Command").Invoke();
foreach (var result in results) {
str += result.ToString() + ", ";
}
}
Console.WriteLine(str);
}
}
}
Output
A:, B:, C:, cd.., cd\, Clear-Host, D:, E:, F:, G:, H:, help, I:, J:, K:, L:, M:, mkdir, N:, O:, oss, P:, Pause, prompt, Q:, R:, S:, T:, TabExpansion2, U:, V:, W:, X:, Y:, Z:, Add-Content, Add-History, Add-Member, Add-Type, Clear-Content, Clear-History, Clear-Item, Clear-ItemProperty, Clear-Variable, Compare-Object, Connect-PSSession, Connect-WSMan, Convert-Path, ConvertFrom-Csv, ConvertFrom-Json, ConvertFrom-Markdown, ConvertFrom-SddlString, ConvertFrom-SecureString, ConvertFrom-StringData, ConvertTo-Csv, ConvertTo-Html, ConvertTo-Json, ConvertTo-SecureString, ConvertTo-Xml, Copy-Item, Copy-ItemProperty, Debug-Job, Debug-Process, Debug-Runspace, Disable-ExperimentalFeature, Disable-PSBreakpoint, Disable-PSRemoting, Disable-PSSessionConfiguration, Disable-RunspaceDebug, Disable-WSManCredSSP, Disconnect-PSSession, Disconnect-WSMan, Enable-ExperimentalFeature, Enable-PSBreakpoint, Enable-PSRemoting, Enable-PSSessionConfiguration, Enable-RunspaceDebug, Enable-WSManCredSSP, Enter-PSHostProcess, Enter-PSSession, Exit-PSHostProcess, Exit-PSSession, Export-Alias, Export-Clixml, Export-Csv, Export-FormatData, Export-ModuleMember, Export-PSSession, ForEach-Object, Format-Custom, Format-Hex, Format-List, Format-Table, Format-Wide, Get-Acl, Get-Alias, Get-AuthenticodeSignature, Get-ChildItem, Get-CmsMessage, Get-Command, Get-ComputerInfo, Get-Content, Get-Credential, Get-Culture, Get-Date, Get-Event, Get-EventSubscriber, Get-ExecutionPolicy, Get-ExperimentalFeature, Get-FileHash, Get-FormatData, Get-Help, Get-History, Get-Host, Get-Item, Get-ItemProperty, Get-ItemPropertyValue, Get-Job, Get-Location, Get-MarkdownOption, Get-Member, Get-Module, Get-PfxCertificate, Get-Process, Get-PSBreakpoint, Get-PSCallStack, Get-PSDrive, Get-PSHostProcessInfo, Get-PSProvider, Get-PSSession, Get-PSSessionCapability, Get-PSSessionConfiguration, Get-Random, Get-Runspace, Get-RunspaceDebug, Get-Service, Get-TimeZone, Get-TraceSource, Get-TypeData, Get-UICulture, Get-Unique, Get-Uptime, Get-Variable, Get-Verb, Get-WinEvent, Get-WSManCredSSP, Get-WSManInstance, Group-Object, Import-Alias, Import-Clixml, Import-Csv, Import-LocalizedData, Import-Module, Import-PowerShellDataFile, Import-PSSession, Invoke-Command, Invoke-Expression, Invoke-History, Invoke-Item, Invoke-RestMethod, Invoke-WebRequest, Invoke-WSManAction, Join-Path, Join-String, Measure-Command, Measure-Object, Move-Item, Move-ItemProperty, New-Alias, New-Event, New-FileCatalog, New-Guid, New-Item, New-ItemProperty, New-Module, New-ModuleManifest, New-Object, New-PSDrive, New-PSRoleCapabilityFile, New-PSSession, New-PSSessionConfigurationFile, New-PSSessionOption, New-PSTransportOption, New-Service, New-TemporaryFile, New-TimeSpan, New-Variable, New-WinEvent, New-WSManInstance, New-WSManSessionOption, Out-Default, Out-File, Out-Host, Out-Null, Out-String, Pop-Location, Protect-CmsMessage, Push-Location, Read-Host, Receive-Job, Receive-PSSession, Register-ArgumentCompleter, Register-EngineEvent, Register-ObjectEvent, Register-PSSessionConfiguration, Remove-Alias, Remove-Event, Remove-Item, Remove-ItemProperty, Remove-Job, Remove-Module, Remove-PSBreakpoint, Remove-PSDrive, Remove-PSSession, Remove-Service, Remove-TypeData, Remove-Variable, Remove-WSManInstance, Rename-Computer, Rename-Item, Rename-ItemProperty, Resolve-Path, Restart-Computer, Restart-Service, Resume-Service, Save-Help, Select-Object, Select-String, Select-Xml, Send-MailMessage, Set-Acl, Set-Alias, Set-AuthenticodeSignature, Set-Content, Set-Date, Set-ExecutionPolicy, Set-Item, Set-ItemProperty, Set-Location, Set-MarkdownOption, Set-PSBreakpoint, Set-PSDebug, Set-PSSessionConfiguration, Set-Service, Set-StrictMode, Set-TimeZone, Set-TraceSource, Set-Variable, Set-WSManInstance, Set-WSManQuickConfig, Show-Markdown, Sort-Object, Split-Path, Start-Job, Start-Process, Start-Service, Start-Sleep, Start-Transcript, Stop-Computer, Stop-Job, Stop-Process, Stop-Service, Stop-Transcript, Suspend-Service, Tee-Object, Test-Connection, Test-FileCatalog, Test-Json, Test-ModuleManifest, Test-Path, Test-PSSessionConfigurationFile, Test-WSMan, Trace-Command, Unblock-File, Unprotect-CmsMessage, Unregister-Event, Unregister-PSSessionConfiguration, Update-FormatData, Update-Help, Update-TypeData, Wait-Debugger, Wait-Event, Wait-Job, Wait-Process, Where-Object, Write-Debug, Write-Error, Write-Host, Write-Information, Write-Output, Write-Progress, Write-Verbose, Write-Warning,
C:\Program Files\dotnet\dotnet.exe (process 24268) exited with code 0.
To automatically close the console when debugging stops, enable Tools->Options->Debugging->Automatically close the console when debugging stops.
Press any key to close this window . . .
Question
As you can see above in the output portion, there are no Cim cmdlets at all in the list.
Why are the cmdlets in the CimCmdlets module missing? If I download PowerShell Core and look at the available cmdlets, the CimCmdlets are indeed present. How can I get access to these CimCmdlets in .NET Core? Is there a specific NuGet package I need? Thank you for the help.

I found a solution, albeit not a great one. I installed PowerShell Core 6.1.3 and copied the Microsoft.Management.Infrastructure.CimCmdlets.dll from the installation directory (C:\Program Files\PowerShell\6) into my project.
If I manually import this .dll before doing anything else, then these Cim cmdlets are available. For example, in my code example in the question, replace
var results = ps.AddScript("Get-Command").Invoke();
with
var results = ps.AddScript("Import-Module C:\\Microsoft.Management.Infrastructure.CimCmdlets.dll; Get-Command").Invoke()
And now the Cim cmdlets are available. I'd rather use a NuGet package, but this works.

this free nuget package from microsoft worked for me: https://github.com/PowerShell/MMI
while it doesn't provide access to the Cim / WMIv2 powershell cmdlets, it does expose a direct api into same Cim / WMIv2 interfaces
here's a sample
try
{
using (var session = CimSession.Create(null))
{
var results = session.QueryInstances(#"root\cimv2",
"WQL",
#"select name from win32_process where handle = 0 or handle = 4");
foreach (var result in results)
{
Console.WriteLine("Process name: {0}",
result.CimInstanceProperties["Name"].Value);
}
}
}
catch (CimException ex)
{
Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}
full api documentation is available #https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/microsoft.management.infrastructure.cimsession?view=pscore-6.2.0)
additional context & samples are available # https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/wmisdk/enumerating-wmi#enumerating-wmi-using-c-microsoftmanagementinfrastructure

c# Core System.Management.Automation remote connection error

I am attempting to write a C# core program to run powershell scripts on remote linux systems. Running on .net core is a requirement for this project. I am trying to loosely follow a guide I found on CodeProject.
This is my code:
using System;
using System.Management.Automation;
using System.Management.Automation.Runspaces;
namespace ConsoleApp1
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
SSHConnectionInfo connectionInfo = new SSHConnectionInfo(userName: "user", computerName: "server", keyFilePath: "id_rsa");
using (Runspace runspace = RunspaceFactory.CreateRunspace(connectionInfo))
{
runspace.Open(); // The program errors out here
runspace.Close();
}
}
}
}
I have the "id_rsa" file located int the same folder as the program. I have verified that openssh for windows, powershell core 6.0.2, and .net core 2 SDK are installed and working. I am using the following nuget packages from the Microsoft Powershell Core repository: Microsoft.PowerShell.SDK (6.0.2) and Sytem.Managment.Automation (6.0.2)
This is the error I am receiving:
Unhandled Exception: System.Management.Automation.Remoting.PSRemotingDataStructureException: An error has occurred which PowerShell cannot handle. A remote session might have ended. ---> System.ArgumentException: The path is not of a legal form.
Parameter name: path
at System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(String path)
at System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.SSHConnectionInfo.StartSSHProcess(StreamWriter& stdInWriterVar, StreamReader& stdOutReaderVar, StreamReader& stdErrReaderVar)
at System.Management.Automation.Remoting.Client.SSHClientSessionTransportManager.CreateAsync()
at System.Management.Automation.Remoting.ClientRemoteSessionDSHandlerImpl.SendNegotiationAsync(RemoteSessionState sessionState)
at System.Management.Automation.Remoting.ClientRemoteSessionDSHandlerImpl.HandleStateChanged(Object sender, RemoteSessionStateEventArgs arg)
at System.Management.Automation.ExtensionMethods.SafeInvoke[T](EventHandler`1 eventHandler, Object sender, T eventArgs)
at System.Management.Automation.Remoting.ClientRemoteSessionDSHandlerStateMachine.RaiseStateMachineEvents()
at System.Management.Automation.Remoting.ClientRemoteSessionDSHandlerStateMachine.ProcessEvents()
--- End of inner exception stack trace ---
at System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.AsyncResult.EndInvoke()
at System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.Internal.RunspacePoolInternal.EndOpen(IAsyncResult asyncResult)
at System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.Internal.RemoteRunspacePoolInternal.Open()
at System.Management.Automation.RemoteRunspace.Open()
at ConsoleApp1.Program.Main(String[] args) in C:\ConsoleApp1\ConsoleApp1\Program.cs:line 18
Press any key to continue . . .
At this point I am not sure what I am missing.

I ended up opening an issue on github for this error. To work around this issue currently you will need to add the following code to your program until this issue gets resolved in a future version of powershell core (>6.0.4 or >6.1.0-rc.1). Here is the specific post regarding the issue.
if (System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.Runspace.DefaultRunspace == null)
{
var defaultRunspace = RunspaceFactory.CreateRunspace();
defaultRunspace.Open();
System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.Runspace.DefaultRunspace = defaultRunspace;
}

The following answer is derived from the Bruc3 work-around answer above and the RemoteRunspace Sample 01 from the Powershell SDK.
namespace Sample.PowerShell.Runspace
{
using System;
using System.Management.Automation;
using System.Management.Automation.Runspaces;
/// <summary>
/// This class contains the Main enrty point for the application.
/// </summary>
internal class SshRemoteRunspace
{
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
SSHConnectionInfo sshConnectionInfo = new
SSHConnectionInfo("Administrator", "remote-hyper-v-server.mydomain.com", #"C:\Users\myself\.ssh\id_ed25519.pub");
// Bruc3 Workaround
if (System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.Runspace.DefaultRunspace is null)
{
var defaultRunspace = RunspaceFactory.CreateRunspace();
defaultRunspace.Open();
System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.Runspace.DefaultRunspace = defaultRunspace;
}
// Create a remote runspace using the connection information.
using (Runspace remoteRunspace = RunspaceFactory.CreateRunspace(sshConnectionInfo))
{
remoteRunspace.Open();
// Powershell command
using (PowerShell powershell = PowerShell.Create().AddCommand("Get-VMReplication"))
{
// makes the Powershell command run in the remote runspace instead of locally
powershell.Runspace = remoteRunspace;
// display the results in the local console
foreach (PSObject result in powershell.Invoke())
{
Console.WriteLine(result.ToString());
}
}
Console.WriteLine("Press 'Enter' to exit > ");
Console.ReadKey();
remoteRunspace.Close();
}
}
}
}

C# calling PowerShell asynchronously but only importing modules once

I am trying to work out an efficient way of calling a Powershell cmdlet for 20-30 files asynchronously.
Although the below code is working, the Import-Module step is run for every file which is processed. Unfortunately this Module takes between 3 or 4 seconds to import.
Searching on the web I can find references to RunspacePools & InitialSessionState, but have had issues trying to create a PSHost object which is required in the CreateRunspacePool overload.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Gavin
.
.
Code sample from my application:
I am using a Parallel ForEach to distribute the files between threads.
Parallel.ForEach(files, (currentFile) =>
{
ProcessFile(currentfile);
});
private void ProcessFile(string filepath)
{
//
// Some non powershell related code removed for simplicity
//
// Start PS Session, Import-Module and Process file
using (PowerShell PowerShellInstance = PowerShell.Create())
{
PowerShellInstance.AddScript("param($path) Import-Module MyModule; Process-File -Path $path");
PowerShellInstance.AddParameter("path", filepath);
PowerShellInstance.Invoke();
}
}

As it has already been explained in the comments, this won't work with PSJobs because objects are serialized and the jobs themselves run in a separate process.
What you can do is create a RunspacePool with an InitialSessionState that has the module imported:
private RunspacePool rsPool;
public void ProcessFiles(string[] files)
{
// Set up InitialSessionState
InitialSessionState initState = InitialSessionState.Create();
initState.ImportPSModule(new string[] { "MyModule" });
initState.LanguageMode = PSLanguageMode.FullLanguage;
// Set up the RunspacePool
rsPool = RunspaceFactory.CreateRunspacePool(initialSessionState: initState);
rsPool.SetMinRunspaces(1);
rsPool.SetMaxRunspaces(8);
rsPool.Open();
// Run ForEach()
Parallel.ForEach(files, ProcessFile);
}
private void ProcessFile(string filepath)
{
// Start PS Session and Process file
using (PowerShell PowerShellInstance = PowerShell.Create())
{
// Assign the instance to the RunspacePool
PowerShellInstance.RunspacePool = rsPool;
// Run your script, MyModule has already been imported
PowerShellInstance.AddScript("param($path) Process-File #PSBoundParameters").AddParameter("path", filepath);
PowerShellInstance.Invoke();
}
}

PowerShell: Cannot spawn a new thread

I am attempting to spawn a new thread in PowerShell's command line using:
$t = New-Object System.Threading.Thread ([System.Threading.ThreadStart]{
Write-Host "Hello World"
});
$t.Start();
What happens is that a dialog appears saying "Powershell has stopped working".
I want to use my own Job class, written in C#, with start, pause, continue and stop methods. It uses a couple of WaitHandles to achieve this together with a new Thead instance.
I am aware of Start-Job etc, but would like to use real threads.
Any way?
EDIT: There seems to be a way https://davewyatt.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/thread-synchronization-in-powershell/

UPDATE I have packaged the below into a module called PSRunspacedDelegate, which you can install using Install-Package PSRunspacedDelegate. You can find documentation on GitHub.
Adam Driscoll's PowerShell Parallel Foreach explains that a thread running PowerShell code must have a Runspace.
In other words [Runspace]::DefaultRunspace cannot be null.
I ended up writing a RunspacedDelegateModule.psm1 module, with a function New-RunspacedDelegate that does the work.
Add-Type -Path "$PSScriptRoot\RunspacedDelegateFactory.cs"
Function New-RunspacedDelegate(
[Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][System.Delegate]$Delegate,
[Runspace]$Runspace=[Runspace]::DefaultRunspace) {
[PowerShell.RunspacedDelegateFactory]::NewRunspacedDelegate($Delegate, $Runspace)
}
RunspacedDelegateFactory.cs:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
using System.Management.Automation.Runspaces;
namespace PowerShell
{
public class RunspacedDelegateFactory
{
public static Delegate NewRunspacedDelegate(Delegate _delegate, Runspace runspace)
{
Action setRunspace = () => Runspace.DefaultRunspace = runspace;
return ConcatActionToDelegate(setRunspace, _delegate);
}
private static Expression ExpressionInvoke(Delegate _delegate, params Expression[] arguments)
{
var invokeMethod = _delegate.GetType().GetMethod("Invoke");
return Expression.Call(Expression.Constant(_delegate), invokeMethod, arguments);
}
public static Delegate ConcatActionToDelegate(Action a, Delegate d)
{
var parameters =
d.GetType().GetMethod("Invoke").GetParameters()
.Select(p => Expression.Parameter(p.ParameterType, p.Name))
.ToArray();
Expression body = Expression.Block(ExpressionInvoke(a), ExpressionInvoke(d, parameters));
var lambda = Expression.Lambda(d.GetType(), body, parameters);
var compiled = lambda.Compile();
return compiled;
}
}
}
What I noticed is that it would still crash if I used Write-Host, but Out-File seems to be ok.
Here is how to use it:
Import-Module RunspacedDelegateModule;
$writeHello = New-RunspacedDelegate ([System.Threading.ThreadStart]{
"$([DateTime]::Now) hello world" | Out-File "C:\Temp\log.txt" -Append -Encoding utf8
});
$t = New-Object System.Threading.Thread $writeHello;
$t.Start();

How to capture a Powershell CmdLet's verbose output when the CmdLet is programmatically Invoked from C#

BACKGROUND
I am using Powershell 2.0 on Windows 7.
I am writing a cmdlet in a Powershell module ("module" is new to Powershell 2.0).
To test the cmdlet I am writing Unit tests in Visual Studio 2008 that programmatically invoke the cmdlet.
REFERENCE
This Article on MSDN called "How to Invoke a Cmdlet from Within a Cmdlet" shows how to call a cmdlet from C#.
THE SOURCE CODE
This is a distilled version of my actual code — I've made it as small as possible so that you can see the problem I am having clearly:
using System;
using System.Management.Automation;
namespace DemoCmdLet1
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var cmd = new GetColorsCommand();
foreach ( var i in cmd.Invoke<string>())
{
Console.WriteLine("- " + i );
}
}
}
[Cmdlet("Get", "Colors")]
public class GetColorsCommand : Cmdlet
{
protected override void ProcessRecord()
{
this.WriteObject("Hello");
this.WriteVerbose("World");
}
}
}
COMMENTS
I understand how to enable and capture verbose output from the Powershell command line; that's not the problem.
In this case I am programmatically invoking the cmdlet from C#.
Nothing I've found addresses my specific scenario. Some articles suggest I should implement my own PSHost, but seems expensive and also it seems like a have to call the cmdlet as text, which I would like to avoid because that is not as strongly typed.
UPDATE ON 2009-07-20
Here is is the source code based on the answer below.
Some things are still not clear to me:
* How to call the "Get-Colors" cmdlet (ideally without having to pass it as a string to the ps objet)
* How to get the verbose output as it is generated instead of getting an collection of them at the end.
using System;
using System.Management.Automation;
namespace DemoCmdLet1
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var ps = System.Management.Automation.PowerShell.Create();
ps.Commands.AddScript("$verbosepreference='continue'; write-verbose 42");
foreach ( var i in ps.Invoke<string>())
{
Console.WriteLine("normal output: {0}" , i );
}
foreach (var i in ps.Streams.Verbose)
{
Console.WriteLine("verbose output: {0}" , i);
}
}
}
[Cmdlet("Get", "Colors")]
public class GetColorsCommand : Cmdlet
{
protected override void ProcessRecord()
{
this.WriteObject("Red");
this.WriteVerbose("r");
this.WriteObject("Green");
this.WriteVerbose("g");
this.WriteObject("Blue");
this.WriteVerbose("b");
}
}
}
The code above generates this output:
d:\DemoCmdLet1\DemoCmdLet1>bin\Debug\DemoCmdLet1.exe
verbose output: 42
UPDATE ON 2010-01-16
by using the Powershell class (found in System.Management.Automation but only in the version of the assembly that comes with the powershell 2.0 SDK, not what comes out-of-the-box on Windows 7) I can programmatically call the cmdlet and get the verbose output. The remaining part is to actually add a custom cmdlet to that powershell instance - because that was my original goal - to unit test my cmdlets not those that come with powershell.
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var ps = System.Management.Automation.PowerShell.Create();
ps.AddCommand("Get-Process");
ps.AddParameter("Verbose");
ps.Streams.Verbose.DataAdded += Verbose_DataAdded;
foreach (PSObject result in ps.Invoke())
{
Console.WriteLine(
"output: {0,-24}{1}",
result.Members["ProcessName"].Value,
result.Members["Id"].Value);
}
Console.ReadKey();
}
static void Verbose_DataAdded(object sender, DataAddedEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine( "verbose output: {0}", e.Index);
}
}
[Cmdlet("Get", "Colors")]
public class GetColorsCommand : Cmdlet
{
protected override void ProcessRecord()
{
this.WriteObject("Hello");
this.WriteVerbose("World");
}
}

Verbose output is not actually output unless $VerbosePreference is set at least to "Continue."
Use the PowerShell type to run your cmdlet, and read VerboseRecord instances from the Streams.Verbose propery
Example in powershell script:
ps> $ps = [powershell]::create()
ps> $ps.Commands.AddScript("`$verbosepreference='continue'; write-verbose 42")
ps> $ps.invoke()
ps> $ps.streams.verbose
Message InvocationInfo PipelineIterationInfo
------- -------------- ---------------------
42 System.Management.Automation.Invocat... {0, 0}
This should be easy to translate into C#.

1. string scriptFile = "Test.ps1";
2. using (PowerShell ps = PowerShell.Create())
3. {
4. const string getverbose = "$verbosepreference='continue'";
5. ps.AddScript(string.Format(getverbose));
6. ps.Invoke();
7. ps.Commands.Clear();
8. ps.AddScript(#".\" + scriptFile);
9. ps.Invoke();
10. foreach (var v in ps.Streams.Verbose)
11. {
12. Console.WriteLine(v.Message);
13. }
14. }
Important lines are line 5 and 6. This basically set the $verbosepreference for the session and for upcoming new commands and scripts.

First off, if you are unit testing cmdlets, likely Pester is a better (and easier) option.
As per your many updates, all you are likely missing at this point is a strongly typed approach to reference the C# cmdlet
ps.AddCommand(new CmdletInfo("Get-MyCS", typeof(GetMyCS)));
DISCLAIMER: I know this works for PowerShell 5.0, but don't have experience with the older PowerShell 2.0.