Get Started

Get up and running with PoshUI in minutes.

System Requirements

• Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2016+ (x64)
• .NET Framework 4.8 (pre-installed on Windows 10+)
• Windows PowerShell 5.1 (included with Windows)

Install PoshUI

Download the latest release or build from source.

Download Release

# Download from GitHub Releases
# https://github.com/Kanders-II/PoshUI/releases

# Extract and unblock
Get-ChildItem -Recurse | Unblock-File

Build from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Kanders-II/PoshUI.git
cd PoshUI

# Build the solution
dotnet build Launcherauncher.csproj -c release   # -> poshuiinposhui.exe

Create Your First Canvas App (new in v1.4.0)

Canvas is the free-form module: no fixed shell, and the script is the application. Start here if you want to lay things out yourself rather than fit an opinionated frame.

# Import the Canvas module
Import-Module .\PoshUI\PoshUI.Canvas\PoshUI.Canvas.psd1 -Force

New-PoshUICanvas -Title 'My First Canvas App' -Theme Dark -Width 640 -Height 420
Add-UICanvasPage -Title 'Home' -Layout VStack

Add-UICanvasLabel 'What is your name?' -FontSize 18 -FontWeight Bold
Add-UICanvasTextBox -Name who -Value 'World'
Add-UICanvasButton 'Greet' -Style Accent -Action {
    Show-UICanvasToast -Message ("Hello, " + (Get-UICanvasValue -Name who)) -Severity success
}

Show-PoshUICanvas

Save as UTF-8 with BOM

If your script contains any non-ASCII character (—, ●, emoji, accents), save it as UTF-8 with a BOM. Windows PowerShell 5.1 misreads UTF-8 without one and the app breaks.

More: About Canvas · Capability Reference · runnable demos in PoshUI\Examples\Canvas-*.ps1

Create Your First Wizard

# Import the Wizard module
$modulePath = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot 'PoshUI\PoshUI.Wizard\PoshUI.Wizard.psd1'
Import-Module $modulePath -Force

# Initialize wizard
New-PoshUIWizard -Title 'My First Wizard' -Theme 'Auto'

# Add a step
Add-UIStep -Name 'Welcome' -Title 'Welcome' -Order 1

# Add a control
Add-UITextBox -Step 'Welcome' -Name 'UserName' -Label 'Your Name' -Mandatory

# Show the wizard
$result = Show-PoshUIWizard

# Process results
if ($result) {
    Write-Host "Hello, $($result.UserName)!"
}

Create Your First Dashboard

# Import the Dashboard module
$modulePath = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot 'PoshUI\PoshUI.Dashboard\PoshUI.Dashboard.psd1'
Import-Module $modulePath -Force

# Initialize dashboard
New-PoshUIDashboard -Title 'System Dashboard' -Theme 'Auto'

# Add dashboard step
Add-UIStep -Name 'Dashboard' -Title 'Monitor' -Order 1

# Add a metric card (using new type-specific cmdlet)
Add-UIMetricCard -Step 'Dashboard' -Name 'CPU' -Title 'CPU Usage' `
    -Value { (Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor | Measure-Object LoadPercentage -Average).Average } `
    -Unit '%' -Icon ''

# Show the dashboard
Show-PoshUIDashboard

Create Your First Workflow

# Import the Workflow module
$modulePath = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot 'PoshUI\PoshUI.Workflow\PoshUI.Workflow.psd1'
Import-Module $modulePath -Force

# Initialize workflow
New-PoshUIWorkflow -Title 'System Configuration'

# Add configuration step (wizard)
Add-UIStep -Name 'Config' -Title 'Configuration' -Order 1
Add-UITextBox -Step 'Config' -Name 'ServerName' -Label 'Server Name' -Mandatory

# Add execution step (workflow tasks)
Add-UIStep -Name 'Execution' -Title 'Execution' -Order 2 -Type Workflow

# Add a task
Add-UIWorkflowTask -Step 'Execution' -Name 'Configure' -Title 'Configuring Server' `
    -ScriptBlock {
        $PoshUIWorkflow.WriteOutput("Configuring $ServerName...", "INFO")
        Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
        $PoshUIWorkflow.WriteOutput("Configuration complete", "INFO")
    }

# Show the workflow
Show-PoshUIWorkflow

Next Steps

Learn more about the various features of PoshUI:

Wizards & Workflows

• Wizards - Step-by-step guided interfaces
• Workflows - Multi-task automation with progress tracking
  • Creating Workflows - Basic structure
  • Progress Reporting Guide - WriteOutput() vs UpdateProgress()
  • Data Passing Patterns - Wizard inputs, task arguments, context
  • Reboot & Resume - Multi-phase workflows with reboots

Dashboards & Monitoring

• Dashboards - Card-based monitoring
• Visualization Cards - Charts, metrics, and data grids

General

• Controls - Input and display components
• Examples - Working demonstrations