Enhanced PowerShell Experience with Terminal-Icons and PSReadLine

The Bearsampp PowerShell module includes powerful enhancements that transform your command-line experience with colorful file icons and advanced editing capabilities.

Terminal-Icons Module

Terminal-Icons adds beautiful, colorful icons to your directory listings, making it easier to identify file types at a glance. The module uses Nerd Font glyphs to display icons for different file types, folders, and special files.

What Terminal-Icons Provides

• File Type Icons - Visual indicators for different file extensions (.ps1, .txt, .jpg, .zip, etc.)
• Folder Icons - Special icons for directories and common folder names (src, docs, config, etc.)
• Color Coding - Different colors for different file types (executables, archives, images, etc.)
• Git Integration - Special icons for .git folders and .gitignore files

Visual Example

When you run ls or Get-ChildItem in PowerShell with Terminal-Icons enabled, you'll see something like this:

PS C:\Projects\MyApp> ls

    Directory: C:\Projects\MyApp

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
d----          12/15/2024  10:30 AM                ? bin
d----          12/15/2024  10:30 AM                ? config
d----          12/15/2024  10:30 AM                ? docs
d----          12/15/2024  10:30 AM                ? src
-a---          12/15/2024  10:25 AM           1234 ? README.md
-a---          12/15/2024  10:25 AM            567 ⚙️ package.json
-a---          12/15/2024  10:25 AM            890 ? app.js
-a---          12/15/2024  10:25 AM           2345 ? styles.css
-a---          12/15/2024  10:25 AM          45678 ? archive.zip
-a---          12/15/2024  10:25 AM         123456 ?️ logo.png

Note: Icons and colors will display correctly when using a Nerd Font like CaskaydiaCove NF in your terminal which is included in our coming prerequisites installer

Supported File Types

Terminal-Icons recognizes hundreds of file types and provides appropriate icons for:

• Programming Languages - .ps1, .js, .py, .java, .cs, .cpp, .go, .rs, .php, etc.
• Web Files - .html, .css, .scss, .json, .xml, .yaml, .md
• Images - .png, .jpg, .gif, .svg, .ico, .bmp
• Archives - .zip, .7z, .tar, .gz, .rar
• Documents - .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx
• Configuration - .conf, .ini, .cfg, .env, .properties
• Database - .sql, .db, .sqlite
• And many more...

Usage

Terminal-Icons works automatically with standard PowerShell commands:

# List files in current directory
ls
Get-ChildItem

# List files in specific directory
ls C:\Projects
Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Projects

# List with details
ls -Force  # Shows hidden files
Get-ChildItem -Recurse  # Shows files recursively

No special commands needed! Terminal-Icons automatically enhances the output of directory listing commands.

PSReadLine Module

PSReadLine provides advanced command-line editing capabilities, making PowerShell feel more like modern code editors with features like syntax highlighting, predictive IntelliSense, and powerful history search.

Key Features

• Syntax Highlighting - Commands, parameters, and strings are color-coded in real-time
• Predictive IntelliSense - Suggests commands based on your history as you type
• Multi-line Editing - Edit complex commands across multiple lines
• History Search - Quickly find and reuse previous commands
• Undo/Redo - Undo mistakes with Ctrl+Z
• Smart Copy/Paste - Enhanced clipboard operations

Default Keybindings

The Bearsampp PowerShell profile configures PSReadLine with the following keybindings:

Navigation & History

Editing

Movement

Special Functions

Syntax Highlighting Colors

The Bearsampp PowerShell profile configures the following color scheme:

• Commands - Green
• Parameters - Gray
• Strings - DarkCyan

Predictive IntelliSense

PSReadLine includes predictive IntelliSense that suggests commands based on your command history. As you type, you'll see ghost text showing a prediction:

PS C:\> Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Projects

Press → (Right Arrow) or End to accept the suggestion.

History Configuration

The Bearsampp PowerShell profile configures PSReadLine with:

• Maximum History - 10,000 commands
• No Duplicates - Duplicate commands are not saved
• Persistent History - History is saved between sessions
• History Search - Cursor moves to end when searching

Font Requirements

To display Terminal-Icons correctly, you need a Nerd Font installed. Bearsampp includes CaskaydiaCove NF (Cascadia Code Nerd Font).

Note: The CaskaydiaCove NF font is automatically installed when you run the Bearsampp prerequisites installer, available at https://github.com/Bearsampp/prerequisites/releases. No manual font installation is required.

Customization

Changing PSReadLine Colors

You can customize the syntax highlighting colors by editing the PowerShell profile:

Set-PSReadLineOption -Colors @{
    Command   = 'Blue'
    Parameter = 'Yellow'
    String    = 'Magenta'
    Operator  = 'White'
    Variable  = 'Green'
    Comment   = 'DarkGray'
}

Changing PSReadLine Edit Mode

The default edit mode is Windows (similar to cmd.exe). You can change it to Emacs or Vi:

# Emacs mode (Linux-style keybindings)
Set-PSReadLineOption -EditMode Emacs

# Vi mode (Vim-style keybindings)
Set-PSReadLineOption -EditMode Vi

Customizing Terminal-Icons

Terminal-Icons can be customized with themes. To see available themes:

# List available themes
Get-TerminalIconsTheme

# Set a different theme
Set-TerminalIconsTheme -Name <ThemeName>

# Show current theme
Show-TerminalIconsTheme

Automatic Updates

Both Terminal-Icons and PSReadLine are automatically updated to their latest versions during the Bearsampp PowerShell module build process. This ensures you always have the newest features and bug fixes.

The modules are downloaded from the PowerShell Gallery and bundled with the PowerShell installation, so no internet connection is required after installation.

Troubleshooting

Icons Not Displaying

If icons appear as boxes or question marks:

1. Verify you're using a Nerd Font (CaskaydiaCove NF)
2. Check your terminal's font settings
3. Restart your terminal after changing fonts

PSReadLine Not Working

If syntax highlighting or keybindings aren't working:

1. Check if PSReadLine is loaded: Get-Module PSReadLine
2. Verify the profile is loading: Test-Path $PROFILE
3. Check for errors: $Error[0]

Resetting to Defaults

To reset PSReadLine to default settings:

# Remove custom options
Remove-PSReadLineKeyHandler -Chord <Key>

# Or reload the module
Remove-Module PSReadLine
Import-Module PSReadLine

Additional Resources

• PowerShell Documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/
• Terminal-Icons GitHub: https://github.com/devblackops/Terminal-Icons
• PSReadLine GitHub: https://github.com/PowerShell/PSReadLine
• PSReadLine Documentation: Microsoft Docs
• Nerd Fonts: https://www.nerdfonts.com/

Summary

The combination of Terminal-Icons and PSReadLine transforms PowerShell into a modern, visually appealing, and highly productive command-line environment. With colorful file icons, syntax highlighting, predictive IntelliSense, and powerful editing capabilities, you'll find working in PowerShell more efficient and enjoyable.

Both modules are automatically included and configured in the Bearsampp PowerShell installation, requiring no additional setup beyond ensuring you're using a Nerd Font in your terminal.