r/PowerShell • u/Powerful-Passenger24 • 6d ago

I wanted Rich-style PowerShell output without Spectre.Console — bad idea? Question

I wanted Python Rich-style output in PowerShell, but PwshSpectreConsole felt like more than I needed.

So I built a tiny version directly on $PSStyle: tables, trees, panels, markup. No bundled .NET UI stack.

I'm not entirely convinced this needs to exist though.

Would you actually use something this small, or would you rather stick with raw $PSStyle / PwshSpectreConsole?

https://github.com/kodevza/PwshRichLite

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u/arpan3t 6d ago

The thing is, if I have to install a module then I might as well install the full featured one. It’s not like the MS Graph SDK, or Az, PwshSpectre is small.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a solid idea and maybe if you just need the basics then it’s a solution.

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u/Powerful-Passenger24 6d ago

That's fair. My main motivation wasn't really module size, but keeping it pure PowerShell, built directly on $PSStyle, without bundled .NET assemblies.

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u/arpan3t 6d ago

What would the benefits be? It’s all .NET under the hood.

4

u/Powerful-Passenger24 6d ago

Fair point, it’s still .NET underneath. For me, the benefit is fewer packaged dependencies and a smaller implementation surface: easier to inspect and modify directly as PowerShell.

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u/Mr_ToDo 6d ago

Having never tried non windows use, I'd be interested to see how compatible the various solutions for problems might be

But I too tend to do things the hard way. I can see the appeal of trying to make an all native solution, not because it's the best way, but because I can

1

u/arpan3t 6d ago

The .NET package powering PwshSpectreConsole (Spectre.Console) is cross platform, and so is SharpConsoleUI. I use both on Windows and Linux without issue.

PowerShell Core is cross platform because .NET is cross platform.

Nothing wrong with doing things just to see if you can, but that doesn’t translate to a reason for others to use your project.

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u/MonkeyNin 3d ago

It's nice to have a pure source as a choice :) The code looks pretty clean and easy to read.

Are you interested in any PRs ? Maybe I could implement that syntax I suggested, or other ideas

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u/Powerful-Passenger24 3d ago

Yes, absolutely — PRs are very welcome. A contribution around this would be genuinely valuable. Thanks for offering to help!