Power Platform, PowerShell, SharePoint
Good things are worth waiting for. It took around two years but finally, PnP PowerShell (@PnpPowershell) for PowerShell Core, aka PnP.PowerShell is out in a preview, and GA is expected to be realized this year. Big kudos to Erwin (@erwinvanhunen) and his team. More about the journey and roadmap ‘Cross Platform PnP PowerShell Released‘
I am a huge fan of PowerShell and especially the PnP PowerShell library. I still use it almost daily for something, and I think scripting is something that every IT Pro should master at least on some level. As we know, things are evolving quickly, and there is always something new in the IT world. One important thing around PowerShell was PowerShell Core 6 that was announced back in 2014. The PowerShell Core is a cross-platform, free, and open source. For an old-school SharePoint geek (like me), the lack of API and modules against SharePoint Online has been the thing to keep using the Windows PowerShell. Sure, you have been able to use REST before, but the PnP PowerShell module has just been more comfortable.
But now the future is finally here for the oldies everyone. You can find the source code of this post from my GitHub repository.
Installing the new PnP PowerShell is easy, as usual. Just open the PnP Management Shell and give Install-Module PnP.PowerShell -AllowPrerelease command. Things still are in preview mode, but new cmdlets are added regularly to GitHub. Using the module is almost similar to using the classic version. Here’s an excellent place to start if needed: PnP PowerShell Overview | Microsoft Docs
On a high -level, things to remember for us who have been using the earlier version are:
Regarding the login, if you are not familiar with connecting to SharePoint Online using Application Permission, I think this is an excellent time to check out that option. Giving the necessary permission through an Azure AD application will give you more robust tools to control the access for many scripting and integration use cases. Application permission is also crucial to master for a reliable and secure connection for automated tasks and service scenarios. Here’s a basic walkthrough on how to get started.
I still have not covered the “Here’s Why” section of the title, so here it goes. I think (for me) the major thing of the new release is that moving the PnP library on top of .NET Core means that PnP PowerShell now works natively with Azure Functions type of services. You were, and I have, able to use it before, but the development experience was not good, and there was not an easy way to manage the ALM process for your PowerShell functions. With the new version, all the complexity is gone, and PowerShell is starting to be a real option for service development in many cloud business cases.
As an old developer, I know this will raise the hairs upright among many of my friends, but you should not underestimate PowerShell when creating integrations or services. Yes, by coding, you can do things effectively, and there are multiple cases when PowerShell is not enough.
In many organizations, the situation is that there aren’t too many people who know modern code techniques but there are many who know PowerShell. Now with PnP PowerShell and another available cmdlet and modules, people are able to do even more complex useful programs for their organization.
At the same time, we, the consultants, are responsible for developing services that our clients can use AND maintain. In many cases, there are multiple IT Pro’s that do know PowerShell, but they do not have coding experience. I always try to build my solutions to take whole control of the solution when I am gone. One of my mentors in consulting had one rule; as a consultant, do your job every day so that you may be unnecessary the next day. Therefore, I see PowerShell as a viable option in many cases. By using it, I know multiple people can maintain the solution. This is the same reason why I find Power Platform as an essential platform in the Microsoft ecosystem.
As a consultant, do your job every day so that you may be unnecessary the next day.
To get back to the point, you can now use the PnP PowerShell module easily when building Azure functions. I recommend using a Visual Studio code from the beginning so that you will adopt better ALM practices. If necessary, start your journey by creating a basic Azure function with PowerShell. Here’s a guide for that (select PowerShell as the programming language): Create your first function in Azure using Visual Studio Code | Microsoft Docs
I assume that you have a working local Azure Function development environment based on the “Create your first function in Azure using Visual Studio Code” article above. Here are the steps you need to take to have PnP PowerShell working in your function.
$connClientId = $env:ConnClientId
$connSecret = $env:ConnSecret
$siteURL = $env:O365DemoURL
$response = ""
try {
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $siteURL -ClientId $connClientId -ClientSecret $connSecret
$ctx = Get-PnPContext
$response = $ctx.Url
Disconnect-PnPOnline
}
catch {
$ErrorMessage = $_.Exception.Message
Write-Host "**ERROR: *Basic-PnPPowerShellCore"
Write-Error $ErrorMessage
}
if ($response) {
Write-Host ("Response: " + $response)
# Site details found!
Push-OutputBinding -Name Response -Value ([HttpResponseContext]@{
StatusCode = [HttpStatusCode]::OK
Body = $response
})
}
else {
# No site details found
Push-OutputBinding -Name Response -Value ([HttpResponseContext]@{
StatusCode = [HttpStatusCode]::NoContent
})
}
Now, imagine what type of scenarios and possibilities the integration to Azure Function is giving to a user who knows PowerShell. In my next post, I will show something interesting regarding Power Platform and PowerShell, but hopefully, this post gives you ideas to continue developing useful services quickly.
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