Configure PowerShell autocomplete using PSReadLine

Improving the PowerShell editing experience can greatly improve your productivity. PSReadLine, in a line, is a PowerShell module that does just that – it provides improved syntax coloring, better multi-line editing, autocomplete, etc.

INSTALL

PowerShell ships with PSReadLine, but run the following command to install the latest version:

Install-Module -Name PSReadLine -AllowClobber -Force

CONFIGURE

PSReadLine can be configured using a profile. A PowerShell profile is a PowerShell script file that’s executed when a PowerShell starts.

Create (or open) your profile

I recommend Visual Studio Code for almost all text editing, but any text editor (including notepad) would do:

code $profile

Update your profile

Add the following lines to your profile:

Set-PSReadlineKeyHandler -Key UpArrow -Function HistorySearchBackward
Set-PSReadlineKeyHandler -Key DownArrow -Function HistorySearchForward
Set-PSReadLineOption -PredictionSource HistoryAndPlugin # enable predictions 
Set-PSReadLineOption -HistoryNoDuplicates # prevent duplicates
Set-PSReadlineKeyHandler -Key Tab -Function MenuComplete # provide a menu of completions when tab key is pressed

That’s it. Now, relaunch your profile to enjoy a much better PowerShell experience:

Reference:

• PSReadLine
• PSReadLine Functions
• Set-PSReadLineOption
• Set-PSReadLineKeyHandler