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Windows Development Machine Setup

This directory contains scripts and configuration files to automate the setup of a Windows development environment using PowerShell and various package managers.

Overview

The setup script (setup.ps1) automates the installation and configuration of:

  • Chocolatey packages (applications and tools)
  • PowerShell modules (via PSResourceGet)
  • Windows PowerShell modules (via PowerShellGet)
  • pipx packages (Python tools)
  • uv tools (Python CLI tools)
  • npm global packages (Node.js tools)
  • .NET Global Tools (when .NET SDK is available)
  • Visual Studio Code extensions
  • Git configuration
  • System preferences and Windows features

Prerequisites

  • Windows 11
  • Administrative privileges
  • PowerShell 5.1 or higher (comes with Windows 11)
  • Internet connection

Quick Start

  1. Clone this repository or download the repository contents
  2. Open Windows PowerShell as Administrator
  3. Navigate to the windows directory
  4. Run the setup script:
# Clone the repository if you haven't already
git clone https://github.com/ryanspletzer/dev-machine-setup.git
cd dev-machine-setup/windows

# Or copy the contents of the windows directory to somewhere like ~/Downloads if you don't have git installed yet
# cd ~/Downloads

# Change the PowerShell Execution Policy
# Note this is _not_ a security boundary, so don't worry...
# See this for more info:
# https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_execution_policies
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Force

# Run the script
.\setup.ps1 -e your.email@example.com

Email is for the git user.email config.

The script also sets git user.name and it can be provided as shown below -- - if no name is provided, the script will try to use the output of (Get-LocalUser -Name $env:USERNAME).FullName to pull the user's full name from the local Windows user information (as long as it is not empty -- if it is the script will stop).

# Provide your name for git user.name config if you know your proper full name isn't set for your local windows user
.\setup.ps1 -e your.email@example.com -n 'Your Name'

Notable Default Packages

The default setup includes a curated selection of popular development tools and applications:

Developer Tools

  • Docker
  • Git and Git LFS
  • Visual Studio Code
  • .NET SDK and .NET Framework
  • Python, Node.js, Go, Rust
  • AWS CLI, Azure CLI, Terraform, Packer, Vault
  • PowerShell 7+
  • Global npm packages (AWS CDK, npmrc)
  • .NET global tools (Amazon Lambda Tools)

Applications

  • 1Password
  • Microsoft Office 365 Business
  • Slack
  • Zoom
  • SQL Server Management Studio
  • Microsoft Azure Storage Explorer

See vars.yaml for the complete list of installed packages.

Configuration

The setup is driven by the vars.yaml file, which contains configurable options for the following items below.

Make It Your Own

It is encourage to take the vars.yaml file and customize it to your needs!

There are many common items in there that are desirable for dev machine setup, but each person is different and will want to cater their own vars.yaml file to their needs.

Chocolatey Packages

Applications and tools installed via Chocolatey. Each entry has:

  • name: Package name (required)
  • parameters: Optional installation parameters (e.g., /WindowsTerminal)
  • prerelease: Optional boolean to allow prerelease versions
choco_packages:
  - name: git
    parameters: /WindowsTerminal /NoShellIntegration
  - name: vscode
  # etc.

PowerShell Modules

PowerShell modules installed via PSResourceGet in PowerShell 7+ (pwsh):

powershell_modules:
  - AWS.Tools.Common
  - Terminal-Icons
  # etc.

Note: Some modules like Pester are pre-installed with Windows PowerShell. If you need to install a newer version, you might need to use -SkipPublisherCheck when installing manually.

Windows PowerShell Modules

Legacy modules to install in Windows PowerShell 5.1 (if needed):

windows_powershell_modules:
  # - AWS.Tools.Common
  # etc.

pipx Packages

Python tools installed in isolated environments (empty on Windows; uv is available via Chocolatey):

pipx_packages:

uv Tools

Python CLI tools installed via uv tool install. Skipped if uv is not installed:

uv_tools:
  - cfn-lint
  - poetry
  # etc.

npm Global Packages

Node.js packages installed globally:

npm_global_packages:
  - aws-cdk
  - npmrc
  # etc.

.NET Global Tools

.NET global tools to install (requires .NET SDK):

dotnet_tools:
  - Amazon.Lambda.Tools
  # etc.

Note: .NET global tools are only installed if the .NET SDK is available on the system. The setup script will automatically detect if dotnet command is available and skip this section if not found.

Visual Studio Code Extensions

Extensions to install in VS Code:

vscode_extensions:
  - ms-vscode.powershell
  - github.copilot
  # etc.

Git Configuration

Git user settings:

git_user_email: 'your.email@example.com'
git_user_name: 'Your Name'

Custom Commands

PowerShell commands to execute after setup:

custom_commands:
  - Write-Output "Enabling dark mode..."
  - Set-ItemProperty -Path HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\Personalize -Name SystemUsesLightTheme -Value 0
  # etc.

Custom Script

An optional script to run at the end of setup:

custom_script: "./examples/custom_script.ps1"

📚 Additional Resources

For comprehensive documentation and examples:

Advanced Usage

Running with Specific Options

.\setup.ps1

Passing Git Configuration Values

If you don't want to store your Git user email/name in the vars.yaml file, you can set them via command line arguments:

.\setup.ps1 -e your.email@example.com -n 'Your Name'

Customization

Adding Packages

To add more packages, edit the vars.yaml file and add entries to the appropriate sections.

Custom Scripts

For more complex customizations, create a script in the examples directory and reference it in the custom_script section of vars.yaml.

Path Environment Variable Warning

When installing PowerShell modules, you might see a warning like:

WARNING: The installation path for the script does not currently appear in the CurrentUser path environment variable.
To make the script discoverable, add the script installation path, C:\Users\username\Documents\PowerShell\Modules, to
the environment PATH variable.

This warning is informational and doesn't prevent the modules from being used within PowerShell. It only means that executable scripts within the modules won't be directly callable from the command line without specifying their full path. Add the suggested path to your environment variables if you need this functionality.

Troubleshooting

Windows Features

Some Windows features require a system restart to take effect:

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux -Online -NoRestart

After running the script, consider restarting your system to ensure all changes take effect.