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Nebula.Log

Getting started

Nebula.Log is a lightweight, configurable PowerShell logging module for readable console output and durable file logs. It offers leveled logging, optional JSON Lines, simple rotation, and a helper that ensures the activity log is writable before you start a run.

  • Levels: INFO, SUCCESS, WARNING, DEBUG, ERROR
  • Output: console, file, or file-only (-WriteOnlyToFile)
  • Rotation: automatic archive once size exceeds a threshold (default 512 KB)
  • Formats: classic text or JSON Lines (-AsJson), optional -PassThru object
  • Convenience: alias Log-Message for Write-Log
  • Safety: Test-ActivityLog to validate (and optionally repair) the activity log

What's included​

  • Write-Log: main entry point for leveled logging with rotation, JSON, color, and file writes
  • Test-ActivityLog: checks whether the activity log is writable and can auto-fix it
  • Alias Log-Message: maps to Write-Log
tip

Every function exposes built-in help. Use Get-Help <FunctionName> -Detailed or -Examples for notes, parameters, and prerequisites.

Requirements​

  • PowerShell 5.1+ (or 7+ recommended).

How to download Nebula.Log

Nebula.Log is available on the PowerShell Gallery.
Its GitHub repository is available at github.com/gioxx/Nebula.Log.

This is definitely the recommended option and is currently the simplest, provided your machine has internet connectivity and the ability to download files from Microsoft's PowerShell Gallery (powershellgallery.com).

The CurrentUser installs modules in a location that's accessible only to the current user of the computer (for example: $HOME\Documents\PowerShell\Modules):

Install-Module -Name Nebula.Log -Scope CurrentUser

The AllUsers scope installs modules in a location that's accessible to all users of the computer ($env:ProgramFiles\PowerShell\Modules):

Install-Module -Name Nebula.Log -Scope AllUsers

When no Scope is defined, the default is set based on the PowerShellGet version.

info

In PowerShellGet 1.x versions, the default is AllUsers, which requires elevation for install.
For PowerShellGet versions 2.0.0 and above in PowerShell 6 or higher:

  • The default is CurrentUser, which doesn't require elevation for install.
  • If you are running in an elevated session, the default is AllUsers.

I recommend forcing the installation for AllUsers so that the entire system can call the module's functions, regardless of where the script to be executed is located. Needless to say, the final assessment is up to you, and the module also works in a user context (the user who will install the module, of course).

Update module​

The same rules mentioned in the previous paragraph apply. You can therefore also associate the Scope parameter with the Update command.

Update-Module -Name Nebula.Log

Cleaning of previous installations (optional)​

The most up-to-date version of the module installed on your system will always be the one that PowerShell will prefer when you launch an Import-Module or call one of the Nebula.Log functions.
In any case, if you want, you can always perform a complete cleanup of the installed versions and get the latest one (from PowerShell Gallery).

Uninstall-Module -Name Nebula.Log -AllVersions -Force
Install-Module -Name Nebula.Log -Scope CurrentUser -Force