Skip to content
Automation
Skill

/write-script-powershell

MUST use when writing PowerShell scripts.

From plugin
windmill
17k40 skills2 agents3 MCP
Install
$ npx -y skills add windmill-labs/windmill --skill write-script-powershell --agent claude-code

How it fires

How this skill gets triggered: by you, by Claude, or both.

  • Fires itselfAuto-invocation. Claude auto-loads it when your prompt matches the work.Auto-invocation is when the right skill fires by itself at the right moment, driven by a FLOW.md router and a hook, instead of you invoking it by name. It is the difference between a skill being installed and a skill actually getting used.Read the full definition →
  • You can call itInvoke it directly when you want it.
  • Slash command/write-script-powershell

Context preview

The summary Claude sees to decide when to auto-load this skill.

MUST use when writing PowerShell scripts.

SKILL.md

write-script-powershell.SKILL.md
name: write-script-powershell
description: MUST use when writing PowerShell scripts.

CLI Commands

Place scripts in a folder.

After writing, tell the user which command fits what they want to do:

  • `wmill script preview <script_path>` — **default when iterating on a local script.** Runs the local file without deploying.
  • `wmill script run <path>` — runs the script **already deployed** in the workspace. Use only when the user explicitly wants to test the deployed version, not local edits.
  • `wmill generate-metadata` — regenerate the local `.script.yaml` (input schema) and `.lock` (resolved dependencies) for scripts you changed, and refresh their content hashes in `wmill-lock.yaml`. Local files only — **not** a deploy. See "Keep metadata in sync" below.
  • Deploy local changes to the workspace — via `git push` or `wmill sync push` depending on how the repo is wired (see the **Deploying** section in `AGENTS.wmill.md`). Only suggest/run a deploy when the user explicitly asks to deploy/publish/push — not when they say "run", "try", or "test".

Preview vs run — choose by intent, not habit

If the user says "run the script", "try it", "test it", "does it work" while there are **local edits to the script file**, use `script preview`. Do NOT push the script to then `script run` it — pushing is a deploy, and deploying just to test overwrites the workspace version with untested changes.

Only use `script run` when:

  • The user explicitly says "run the deployed version" / "run what's on the server".
  • There is no local script being edited (you're just invoking an existing script).

Only use `sync push` when:

  • The user explicitly asks to deploy, publish, push, or ship.
  • The preview has already validated the change and the user wants it in the workspace.

Keep metadata in sync after editing

`wmill-lock.yaml` tracks a content hash for each item. Editing a script's content — most importantly **adding or removing an import** or **changing `main`'s arguments** — invalidates that hash and leaves the `.lock`, the `.script.yaml` input schema, and the hash row out of date. Run `wmill generate-metadata` (scoped to what you touched) after such edits so the resolved lock, the auto-generated args UI (driven by `.script.yaml`), and `wmill-lock.yaml` all match the code. Leaving them stale produces spurious diffs in git-sync and CI.

This only writes local files (it is **not** a deploy), but it re-resolves dependencies, so it can bump unpinned versions (the same as deploying from the UI; expected, not a bug). So by default offer it and run it once the user agrees, rather than running it silently after every edit — unless the project's `AGENTS.md` opts into running metadata automatically (see the "Keeping metadata in sync" preference there). Either way YOU run the command, not the user. After running it, diff the regenerated `.lock` / `.script.lock` files and tell the user which dependency versions changed (e.g. `requests 2.31.0 → 2.32.0`), so they can catch an unwanted bump before deploying — even under `Metadata: auto`, since it's information, not a confirmation gate. Pin versions in code to keep them fixed.

With no path argument, `generate-metadata` regenerates only the items whose content hash drifted — not everything. Imports propagate: editing a script that others import marks every importer stale too, so a one-line change to a shared module can regenerate many locks (by design — their locks must reflect the imported code). If it touches more than you expect, run `wmill generate-metadata --dry-run` — it lists each stale item with a reason (`content changed` or `depends on <path>`) without changing anything — then narrow with a path argument (`wmill generate-metadata f/foo`) or `--strict-folder-boundaries`.

If the on-disk `.lock` and `.script.yaml` are already correct and only `wmill-lock.yaml` needs its hashes refreshed (hash drift, or bootstrapping missing entries), use `wmill generate-metadata rehash` — it re-records hashes from disk with no backend round-trip and no dependency changes.

After writing — offer to test, don't wait passively

If the user hasn't already told you to run/test/preview the script, offer it as a one-sentence next step (e.g. "Want me to run `wmill script preview` with sample args?"). Do not present a multi-option menu.

If the user already asked to test/run/try the script in their original request, skip the offer and just execute `wmill script preview <path> -d '<args>'` directly — pick plausible args from the script's declared parameters. The shape varies by language: `main(...)` for code languages, the SQL dialect's own placeholder syntax (`$1` for PostgreSQL, `?` for MySQL/Snowflake, `@P1` for MSSQL, `@name` for BigQuery, etc.), positional `$1`, `$2`, … for Bash, `param(...)` for PowerShell.

`wmill script preview` does not deploy, but it still executes script code and may cause side effects; run it yourself when the user asked to test/preview (or after confirming that execution is intended). `wmill generate-metadata` does not deploy either — it only writes local files (locks, schemas, hashes) — but offer it before running (or run automatically if the project's `AGENTS.md` opts in), per "Keep metadata in sync" above. Deploying to the workspace (`git push` or `wmill sync push` depending on how the repo is wired — see the **Deploying** section) is the only step that mutates remote state — do it only when the user explicitly asks to deploy/publish/push.

For a **visual** open-the-script-in-the-dev-page preview (rather than `script preview`'s run-and-print-result), use the `preview` skill.

Use `wmill resource-type list --schema` to discover available resource types.

PowerShell

Structure

Arguments are obtained by calling the `param` function on the first line:

param($Name, $Count = 0, [int]$Age)

# Your code here
Write-Output "Processing $Name, count: $Count, age: $Age"

# Return object
@{
    name = $Name
    count = $Count
    age =
Read more
Ships withwindmill

Windmill is fully open-sourced (AGPLv3) and Windmill Labs offers dedicated instances and commercial support and licenses.

Get the whole plugin