PowerShell / PowerShell/vscode-powershell

VSCode doesn't show `CommandElementAst` problems

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Issue-Bug Needs: Triage
Dominant language
TypeScript
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Forks
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Description

Prerequisites
  • I have written a descriptive issue title.
  • I have searched all open and closed issues to ensure it has not already been reported.
  • I have read the troubleshooting guide.
  • I am sure this issue is with the extension itself and does not reproduce in a standalone PowerShell instance.
  • I have verified that I am using the latest version of Visual Studio Code and the PowerShell extension.
  • If this is a security issue, I have read the security issue reporting guidance.
Summary

Example statements

Write-Host 42
$Test = 123
Invoke-Expression 'Something'
gci
Actual:

VSCode only captures 2 PROBLEMS:

Image
Expected:

I would expect 4 PROBLEMS where commands along with Write-Host and Invoke-Expression also being recognized as PROBLEMS and marked with a wavy line because they are in fact violations:

Image
PowerShell Version
Name                           Value
----                           -----
PSVersion                      7.6.0
PSEdition                      Core
GitCommitId                    7.6.0
OS                             Microsoft Windows 10.0.26100
Platform                       Win32NT
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0…}
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.4
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1
WSManStackVersion              3.0

Name             : ConsoleHost
Version          : 7.6.0
InstanceId       : 47f4b351-639d-4f3b-bb83-0c564477b6bd
UI               : System.Management.Automation.Internal.Host.InternalHostUserInterface
CurrentCulture   : en-US
CurrentUICulture : en-US
PrivateData      : Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleHost+ConsoleColorProxy
DebuggerEnabled  : True
IsRunspacePushed : False
Runspace         : System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.LocalRunspace
Visual Studio Code Version
1.115.0
41dd792b5e652393e7787322889ed5fdc58bd75b
x64
Extension Version
liamjpeters.powershell-ast-inspector@0.5.2
ms-vscode.powershell@2025.4.0
Steps to Reproduce

(See Summary)

Visuals

(See Summary)

I suspect that the issue is related to the CommandElementAst hover feature where the analyzer issues are usually captured:

Image

But overwritten or blocked by the command syntax help:

Image
Logs

No response

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

Reproduce the issue with the four PowerShell statements and inspect the CommandElementAst hover feature alongside analyzer diagnostics. Determine why command syntax help prevents the Write-Host and Invoke-Expression violations from appearing as Problems; done means all four expected diagnostics are shown with wavy underlines.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
powershell, typescript, vscode
Domain
devtools
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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