Windows Administration

Requires: Windows platform, PowerShell 7.x

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Profile-First Approach

Always load profile before operations:

. $HOME/.admin/scripts/Load-Profile.ps1  # Or from admin skill
Load-AdminProfile -Export

Then check preferences before suggesting commands:

# User wants to install a package
$preferredManager = $AdminProfile.preferences.packages.manager
# Returns: "scoop" or "winget" or "chocolatey"

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Package Installation (Profile-Aware)

Check Preference First

$pkgMgr = $AdminProfile.preferences.packages.manager

switch ($pkgMgr) {
    "scoop"   { scoop install $package }
    "winget"  { winget install $package }
    "choco"   { choco install $package -y }
    default   { winget install $package }
}

Quick Reference by Manager

Manager	Install	Update	List
scoop	scoop install x	scoop update x	scoop list
winget	winget install x	winget upgrade x	winget list
choco	choco install x -y	choco upgrade x	choco list

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Python Commands (Profile-Aware)

Check profile first:

$pyMgr = $AdminProfile.preferences.python.manager
# Returns: "uv", "pip", "conda", "poetry"

Profile Says	Instead of pip install x	Use
uv	❌	uv pip install x
pip	✅	pip install x
conda	❌	conda install x
poetry	❌	poetry add x

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Node Commands (Profile-Aware)

$nodeMgr = $AdminProfile.preferences.node.manager
# Returns: "npm", "pnpm", "yarn", "bun"

Profile Says	Instead of npm install	Use
npm	✅	npm install
pnpm	❌	pnpm install
yarn	❌	yarn
bun	❌	bun install

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Bash to PowerShell Translation

Bash	PowerShell	Notes
cat file	Get-Content file	Or gc
cat file | head -20	Get-Content file -Head 20
cat file | tail -20	Get-Content file -Tail 20
ls -la	Get-ChildItem -Force
grep "x" file	Select-String "x" file	Or sls
echo "x"	Write-Output "x"
echo "x" > file	Set-Content file -Value "x"
echo "x" >> file	Add-Content file -Value "x"
export VAR=x	$env:VAR = "x"	Session only
export VAR=x (perm)	[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("VAR", "x", "User")
test -f file	Test-Path file -PathType Leaf
test -d dir	Test-Path dir -PathType Container
mkdir -p dir	New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path dir -Force
rm -rf dir	Remove-Item dir -Recurse -Force
which cmd	Get-Command cmd
curl URL	Invoke-WebRequest URL
jq	ConvertFrom-Json / ConvertTo-Json

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PATH Operations

Check Tool Path from Profile

# Instead of searching, use profile
$gitPath = $AdminProfile.tools.git.path
# Returns: "C:/Program Files/Git/mingw64/bin/git.exe"

Add to PATH (Permanent)

$newPath = "C:/new/path"
$currentPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', 'User')
if ($currentPath -notlike "*$newPath*") {
    [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', "$newPath;$currentPath", 'User')
}
# Refresh session
$env:PATH = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', 'User') + ";" + [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', 'Machine')

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Environment Variables

From Profile

# Key paths are in profile
$AdminProfile.paths.sshKeys      # C:/Users/Owner/.ssh
$AdminProfile.paths.npmGlobal    # C:/Users/Owner/AppData/Roaming/npm
$AdminProfile.paths.projects     # D:/

Set Permanent Variable

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("MY_VAR", "value", "User")

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Check Tool Status

Before installing, check profile:

$tool = Get-AdminTool "docker"
if ($tool.present -and $tool.installStatus -eq "working") {
    Write-Host "Docker already installed: $($tool.version)"
} else {
    # Install using preferred manager
    $mgr = $AdminProfile.preferences.packages.manager
    # ... install logic
}

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After Installation

Update profile:

$AdminProfile.tools["newtool"] = @{
    present = $true
    version = "1.0.0"
    installedVia = $AdminProfile.preferences.packages.manager
    path = (Get-Command newtool).Source
    installStatus = "working"
    lastChecked = (Get-Date).ToString("o")
}

# Add to history
$AdminProfile.history += @{
    date = (Get-Date).ToString("o")
    action = "install"
    tool = "newtool"
    method = $AdminProfile.preferences.packages.manager
    status = "success"
}

# Save
$AdminProfile | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10 | Set-Content $AdminProfile.paths.deviceProfile

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Execution Policy

# Check
Get-ExecutionPolicy -List

# Set for current user (recommended)
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

# Bypass for single script
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File script.ps1

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PowerShell Profile

Location: $AdminProfile.preferences.shell.profilePath

# Edit
notepad $PROFILE

# Recommended: Source admin profile loader
. "$HOME\.admin\scripts\Load-Profile.ps1"
Load-AdminProfile -Export -Quiet

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Capabilities Check

Before operations, verify capabilities:

if (-not (Test-AdminCapability "canRunPowershell")) {
    Write-Error "PowerShell not available"
    return
}

if (Test-AdminCapability "hasDocker") {
    # Docker operations safe
}

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Related Skills

Task	Route To
WSL operations	admin-wsl
MCP servers	admin-mcp
Server provisioning	admin-devops
Profile management	admin

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References

• references/OPERATIONS.md - Troubleshooting, known issues