📢 Microsoft PowerShell 7.3.0 Preview 1 released with many improvements

What's new and improved in Microsoft PowerShell 7.3.0 Preview 1 (Official Changelog)

Breaking Changes

• Add clean block to script block as a peer to begin, process, and end to allow easy resource cleanup
• Change default for $PSStyle.OutputRendering to Ansi

Engine Updates and Fixes

• Remove duplicate remote server mediator code
• Fix PSVersion parameter version checks and error messages for PowerShell 7 remoting
• Use the same temporary home directory when HOME env variable is not set
• Fix parser to generate error when array has more than 32 dimensions

Performance

• Avoid validation for built-in file extension and color VT sequences

General Cmdlet Updates and Fixes

• Update README.md and metadata.json for next preview release
• Use PlainText when writing to a host that doesn’t support VT
• Remove support for AppExeCLinks to retrieve target
• Move GetOuputString() and GetFormatStyleString() to PSHostUserInterface as public API
• Fix ConvertTo-SecureString with key regression due to .NET breaking change
• Fix regression in Move-Item to only fallback to copy and delete in specific cases
• Set $? correctly for command expression with redirections
• Use CurrentCulture when handling conversions to DateTime in Add-History
• Fix link header parsing to handle unquoted rel types
• Fix a casting error when using $PSNativeCommandUsesErrorActionPreference
• Format-Wide: Fix NullReferenceException
• Make the native command error handling optionally honor ErrorActionPreference
• Remove declaration of experimental features in Utility module manifest as they are stable
• Fix race condition between DisconnectAsync and Dispose
• Fix the Max_PATH condition check to handle long path correctly
• Update HelpInfoUri for 7.2 release
• Fix tab completion within the script block specified for the ValidateScriptAttribute.
• Update README.md to specify gathered telemetry
• Fix typo for “privacy” in MSI installer
• Remove unneeded call to File.ResolveLinkTarget from IsWindowsApplication
• Add -HttpVersion parameter to web cmdlets
• Add support to web cmdlets for open-ended input tags
• Add more tests to Tee-Object -Encoding
• Don’t throw exception when trying to resolve a possible link path
• Fix ConvertTo-Json -Depth to allow 100 at maximum
• Fix for SSH remoting when banner is enabled on SSHD endpoint
• Disallow all COM for AppLocker system lock down
• Configure ApplicationInsights to not send cloud role name
• Disallow Add-Type in NoLanguage mode on a locked down machine
• Specify the executable path as TargetObect for non-zero exit code ErrorRecord
• Don’t allow Move-Item with FileSystemProvider to move a directory into itself
• Make property names for the color VT sequences consistent with documentations
• Fix PipelineVariable to set variable in the right scope
• Invoke-Command: improve handling of variables with $using: expression
• Change Target from a CodeProperty to be an AliasProperty that points to FileSystemInfo.LinkTarget

Tools

• Fix typo in build.psm1
• Add .stylecop to filetypexml and format it
• Enable sending Teams notification when workflow fails
• Use Convert-Path for unknown drive in Build.psm1

Tests

• Add benchmark to test compiler performance
• Enable two previously disabled Get-Process tests
• Set clean state before testing UseMU in the MSI
• Fix global tool and SDK tests in release pipeline
• Remove the outdated test
• Removed old not-used-anymore docker-based tests for PS release packages

Documentation and Help Content

• Update Windows PowerShell issues link
• Remove Joey from Committee and WG membership
• Update more docs for net6.0 TFM
• Change snippet tag to code tag in XML comments
• Update build documentation to reflect .NET 6
• Update README.md about the change logs
• Update change log for 7.2.0
• Update metadata.json and README.md for 7.2.0 release
• Update README.md and metadata.json files for v7.2.0-rc.1 release
• Update the change logs for v7.0.8 and v7.1.5 releases