Overview
PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and associated scripting language.
Initially a Windows component only, known as Windows PowerShell, PowerShell was made open-source and cross-platform on August 18th, 2016 with the introduction of PowerShell Core.
To use the PowerShell, users call PowerShell commands. A PowerShell command executes a specific action. Administrators can run PowerShell commands and group commands together in PowerShell scripts to automate administrative tasks for commonly implemented processes.
A PowerShell module is a set of related PowerShell commands that are grouped together. PowerShell modules are hosted by Microsoft and available for installation from the PowerShell Gallery.
The JumpCloud PowerShell Module is a set of PowerShell commands that allow JumpCloud administrators to interact with their JumpCloud directory.
The JumpCloud PowerShell module is at its core a wrapper for the JumpCloud API and communicates with the JumpCloud API using the Invoke-RestMethod PowerShell command over HTTPS.
Common administrative tasks that can be automated or scripted using the JumpCloud PowerShell module include:
- Importing JumpCloud users from a .csv file
- Exporting JumpCloud user and system information to a .csv file
- Creating and removing JumpCloud users
- Resetting JumpCloud users password
- Unlocking or locking a JumpCloud user account
- Disabling and enabling JumpCloud user accounts
- Adding or removing members from JumpCloud Groups
- Triggering JumpCloud Commands
- Reading the output of JumpCloud Commands
- Bulk actions
Common PowerShell Misconceptions
- PowerShell only works on Windows
PowerShell comes preinstalled on Windows, but can easily be installed on both Mac and Linux. Find a full list of supported platforms with download instructions here.
- You have to have programming experience to use PowerShell
This could not be further from the truth! PowerShell uses a verb-noun naming convention for executing PowerShell commands. This verb-noun syntax makes PowerShell both easy to learn and understand.
Commands within in the JumpCloud module can perform actions like creating a new JumpCloud user (New-JCUser
) or getting information on a JumpCloud-managed system (Get-JCSystem
).
Sold?
See Install the JumpCloud PowerShell Module.