PlatyPS overview

PlatyPS is the primary tool for creating the PowerShell help displayed using Get-Help. PowerShell help files are written in Microsoft Assistance Markup Language (MAML) format. MAML defines an XML schema for the structure of help files.

There are two major versions of PlatyPS.

• Microsoft.PowerShell.PlatyPS v1.0.1 is the supported version of PlatyPS. This version is a complete rewrite in C# leveraging markdig for parsing Markdown. This release includes several improvements:
  • Provides a more accurate description of a PowerShell cmdlet and its parameters
  • Increased performance - processes 1000s of Markdown files in seconds
  • Creates an object model of the help file that you can manipulate in memory
  • Provides cmdlets that you can chain together to perform complex operations
  • Defines a new Markdown schema that includes all elements needed for Get-Help, plus information that was previously unavailable.
  • Provide automatic conversion of existing Markdown (using the old schema) to new objects, enabling you to export to new Markdown, YAML, or MAML.
• platyPS v0.14.2 is the original implementation of PlatyPS. This version is no longer supported.

Benefits of using PlatyPS

Prior to PlatyPS, the help files were hand written with limited help from existing tools and editors. PlatyPS simplifies the process by allowing you to write the help files in Markdown and then convert it to MAML.

Markdown is easy to learn, widely used in the open source community, and supported by many editors including Visual Studio Code. Markdown is also easy to convert to other formats such as HTML and PDF. You can use these Markdown files to create MAML help files and to create HTML pages for a website.

Get started with PlatyPS

Before getting started with PlatyPS, you should understand the types of help supported by PowerShell. For more information, see Types of help in PowerShell.

Creating help files with PlatyPS is a four-step process:

1. Create new or update existing Markdown help files.
2. Edit the Markdown help files to add descriptions and examples.
3. Test the Markdown help files to ensure they render correctly.
4. Convert and publish the help files.