A technical guide and rule-set for AI coding agents to write reliable, cross-platform PowerShell scripts while avoiding common syntax and logic traps.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install powershell
2. Manual Installation
Copy the skill folder to one of these locations
~/.openclaw/skills/ <project>/skills/ Priority: Workspace > Local > Bundled
3. Prompt Installation
Copy this prompt to OpenClaw to install it automatically.
Help me install powershell using Clawhub. If Clawhub is not installed, install it first (npm i -g clawhub).
Prefer to download?
Get the raw skill files in a ZIP archive.
What is PowerShell?
The PowerShell skill for Openclaw Skills serves as a critical reference for AI agents tasked with system administration and automation. Unlike traditional shells, PowerShell's object-oriented pipeline and unique output behaviors can lead to subtle bugs, such as uncaptured expressions leaking into the pipeline or arrays being unexpectedly unrolled into scalars. This skill provides the logical framework to prevent these issues.
By utilizing this skill within the Openclaw Skills ecosystem, developers can ensure their AI-generated scripts are production-ready. It emphasizes the use of pwsh (PowerShell 7+) to maintain compatibility across Linux, macOS, and Windows, while teaching the agent to distinguish between display-only commands like Write-Host and data-centric commands like Write-Output.
PowerShell Use Cases
- Automating cloud infrastructure tasks that require robust error handling with try/catch blocks.
- Writing cross-platform deployment scripts that function identically on Windows and Linux runners.
- Processing complex data structures where forcing array types is necessary to avoid scalar conversion errors.
- Managing system-level configurations using environment variables and portable path joining.
- Creating high-performance loops by substituting standard arrays with System.Collections.ArrayList.
How PowerShell Works
- The AI agent identifies the need for a shell script and selects PowerShell as the execution environment.
- The skill provides the agent with specific comparison operator mappings, ensuring it uses -eq instead of ==.
- The agent applies suppression techniques like assigning to $null to prevent uncaptured output from polluting the data stream.
- String interpolation rules are applied, utilizing subexpressions for complex property access within double quotes.
- The skill enforces the use of full cmdlet names over platform-specific aliases to guarantee cross-platform execution.
PowerShell Setup
To leverage this skill, ensure that PowerShell Core (pwsh) is installed on your target environment. This skill is compatible with Openclaw Skills on Linux, Darwin (macOS), and Win32.
# Check if PowerShell is installed
pwsh --version
# On Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y powershell
# On macOS
brew install --cask powershell
PowerShell Data Schema & Taxonomy
The skill categorizes PowerShell logic into specific domains to ensure the AI agent applies the correct syntax for the given context:
| Category | Technical Focus |
|---|---|
| Output Streams | Management of uncaptured expressions and pipeline suppression. |
| Type Safety | Handling of scalars vs arrays and the use of the @() force operator. |
| Logic Ops | Correct use of comparison operators (-eq, -match, -contains). |
| Error Handling | Terminating error conversion via ErrorAction Stop. |
| Portability | Rules for Join-Path and case-insensitive default behavior. |
PowerShell Advanced Features
- Advanced pipeline manipulation using the -PipelineVariable parameter to store intermediate object states.
- Performance optimization for large datasets using System.Collections.ArrayList instead of standard array addition.
- Precise regex matching and wildcard filtering using the -match and -like operators.
- Handling multi-line strings and literal text using here-strings (@" ... "@).
- Execution state tracking for native commands using $LASTEXITCODE and for cmdlets using $?.
SKILL.md
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