Top 5 PowerShell Scripting Sources

In a recent class, I pointed out to students some of my favorite scripting sources, and found that some students had found one or two, but not all my favorites. So, since PowerShell is all about finding the right script, here are my top five websites for PowerShell scripts. And, by the way, the right script might be the one that does exactly what you need, or it could be the one that does something very close to what you need, and you can modify.
These scripts are not in ranked order, in that the first is the _very_ best, instead, I’ll put them down as they come to me.

1. PowerShell.com This web site not only has scripts, blogs, snippets, but also one of my favorite ways of continuing to learn PowerShell – the PowerShell script of the day. Tobias Weltner has been working with PowerShell for a long time, and this site is rich in resources, including some free pdf books on PowerShell administration and remoting.
2. Poshcode.org This web site is great in that there are thousands of scripts and people keep on adding scripts and improving them. Joel Bennett and Lee Holmes have both contributed lots of content on this site, to only name two well-known PowerShell gurus.
3. Codeplex.com This web site has a great SharePoint install script written in PowerShell (AutoSPInstaller.codeplex.com) , that will install everything your farm needs, (except PowerPivot) by using the information you configure in an xml file. Since correctly installing all the components of a SharePoint farm is a serious challenge, this contribution alone makes codeplex stand out. But, wait, it also has sub sites for SQL PowerShell community extensions, and much, much more. HOWEVER, I have found that going to codeplex (www.codeplex.com) and using their ‘Search’ box doesn’t result in as many, or as relevant entries, as using my favorite search engine with the keywords: PowerShell codeplex.
4. The Microsoft scripting center. Long a resource for administrators, this site not only has PowerShell scripts, but also VB scripts.
5. Your favorite search engine. Since so far I’ve been catching and preparing your fish for you, now I want to teach you to fish: When using your favorite search engine, type in PowerShell, then the Microsoft product you are interested in, if any, and then the rest of the query you have. For example: PowerShell monitor and send to csv file.

I hope you find what you’re looking for. You’ll usually save time if you spend a little more time searching for existing scripts, than if you try to build it from scratch. Even if you just break your task into pieces and look for scripts that you can use and patch together, you will often save time.

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