PowerShell / PowerShell/PSScriptAnalyzer

`Invoke-ScriptAnalyzer` parameterset ambiguity

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Description

Summary

Both the -Path and -ScriptDefinition parameters of Invoke-ScriptAnalyzer are [string] parameters. Both accept ValueFromPipeline and both are declared as Position=0. While they exist in different parameter sets (each with two variants), there is no unique parameter in either set that would allow PowerShell to disambiguate and select the intended parameter set during binding.

As a result, the default parameter set (Path_SuppressedOnly) is always chosen. Any string passed down the pipeline (by value) or as a positional argument is bound to the Path parameter. This means that ScriptDefinition's Position=0 and pipeline (by value) binding declarations are effectively unreachable - any positional or pipeline string will always be bound to Path.

This isn't a bug, but is a design issue: the ScriptDefinition parameter advertises pipeline (by value) and positional binding, but there is no way for users to actually use these features due to parameter set ambiguity.

I propose removing ValueFromPipeline = true and Position = 0 from ScriptDefinition. This isn't a breaking change as they can't currently be used.

ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName is fine - the below works:

[PSCustomObject]@{ScriptDefinition = '$Var = 1'} | Invoke-ScriptAnalyzer

Environment data

> $PSVersionTable

Name                           Value
----                           -----
PSVersion                      7.4.11
PSEdition                      Core
GitCommitId                    7.4.11
OS                             Microsoft Windows 10.0.22631
Platform                       Win32NT
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0}
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.3
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1
WSManStackVersion              3.0

> (Get-Module -ListAvailable PSScriptAnalyzer).Version | ForEach-Object { $_.ToString() }

1.24.0

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start at the Invoke-ScriptAnalyzer parameter declarations and inspect the Path and ScriptDefinition parameter sets, including their positional and pipeline-binding metadata. Done means ScriptDefinition no longer advertises the unreachable positional or pipeline-by-value bindings while property-name binding remains available; verify the resulting command behavior against the examples in the issue.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
powershell
Domain
cli
Issue type
Refactor
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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