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About this project

The Chocolatey.PowerShell project within the Chocolatey CLI solution is the compiled PowerShell cmdlets.

Debugging the Chocolatey.PowerShell cmdlets

Because the Chocolatey.PowerShell module is a compiled module, debugging it is a little more involved than a script based module. If you need to debug cmdlets within a Chocolatey CLI execution, you can merely create a package that calls the Chocolatey.PowerShell function you are debugging, and it will work. However, if you need to test the functions outside of a Chocolatey CLI invocation, that is a little bit more involved. Fortunately, Marc-Andr� Moreau provides and excellent guide on debugging a binary PowerShell module from Visual Studio. The below steps are greatly simplified and targetted specifically at the Chocolatey.PowerShell project.

1. Edit or create a Chocolatey.PowerShell.csproj.user file beside the Chocolatey.PowerShell.csproj file (located at $ChocoSourceRepository/src/Chocolatey.PowerShell).
2. Set it's contents to the XML following this list.
3. (Re)Launch Visual Studio to have it pick up the addition of the Chocolatey.PowerShell.csproj.user file.
4. Set the Chocolatey.PowerShell project as the startup project.
5. Start the debugger.
6. In the Windows PowerShell that launched, import the module with Import-Module ./Chocolatey.PowerShell.dll.
7. Now when you call any of the compiled PowerShell files, you will be able to stop at set breakpoints and debug as normal.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project ToolsVersion="Current" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
  <PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)|$(Platform)' == 'Debug|AnyCPU'">
    <StartAction>Program</StartAction>
    <StartProgram>c:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe</StartProgram>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>