Loading Modules from Gist in PowerShell
Learn how to load a module from a Gist (or URLs) in PowerShell.
In this post, I’ll show you how to load a module from a Gist in PowerShell. This technique is particularly useful when you want to test a module or function quickly or just let someone else test your module without having to publish it to the PowerShell Gallery.
Preparation
PowerShell does not have a built-in cmdlet to download and import modules from external URLs. However, you can achieve this by using the Module importfromURL, which is available in the PowerShell Gallery.
The installation is pretty straightforward, as long as you have the PowerShell Gallery as a valid source of modules1. You can install the module by running the following command:
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Install-Module -Name importfromURL
Loading a Module from a Gist
Once you have the importfromURL module installed, you can load a module from a Gist by running the following command:
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Import-FromURL -URL "https://gist.github.com/path/to/your/gist"
For instance, if you want to load this nice function that I’ve created:
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Import-FromURL -URL "https://gist.github.com/dmbuil/" -Ps1
The switch -Ps1 is used to specify that the module is a PowerShell script file. If you are loading a full module, you would use the -Psm1 switch instead. Or even -DLL, if you are loading a DLL.
But wait, is it safe?
You might be wondering if it’s safe to load modules from external URLs, or even if the Import-FromURL module is safe.
The latter is easy: the module is open-source, so you can check the code yourself2. As for loading modules from external URLs, well, the answer is: it depends.
Obviously, you should only load modules from sources you actually trust. If you are loading a module from a Gist or any other source, not only you must trust the author, but the content itself. There was a nice debate on Reddit on that subject about this convenient way to install software, this case about PiHole’s single-line installer.
Hope this helps!
If you don’t have the PowerShell Gallery as a valid source of modules… Brace yourselve! (tbd) ↩︎
Most of the modules published in the PowerShell Gallery open-source, and you can check them before running them. You would only extend the File List section and click on the file. For instance Import-FromURL Source Code. ↩︎