PowerShell · TravisEz13 · Nov 24, 2025 · Oct 29, 2025
@@ -5,7 +5,9 @@ runs:
   steps:
   - name: Capture Environment
     if: success() || failure()
-    run: 'Get-ChildItem -Path env: | Out-String -width 9999 -Stream | write-Verbose -Verbose'
+    run: |-
+      Import-Module .\tools\ci.psm1
+      Show-Environment
     shell: pwsh
   - name: Set Build Name for Non-PR
     if: github.event_name != 'PullRequest'

@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@ runs:
   steps:
   - name: Capture Environment
     if: success() || failure()
-    run: 'Get-ChildItem -Path env: | Out-String -width 9999 -Stream | write-Verbose -Verbose'
+    run: |-
+      Import-Module ./tools/ci.psm1
+      Show-Environment
     shell: pwsh
 
   - uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v5

@@ -24,10 +24,8 @@ runs:
   - name: Capture Environment
     if: success() || failure()
     run: |-
-      Import-Module ./build.psm1
-      Write-LogGroupStart -Title 'Environment'
-      Get-ChildItem -Path env: | Out-String -width 9999 -Stream | write-Verbose -Verbose
-      Write-LogGroupEnd -Title 'Environment'
+      Import-Module ./tools/ci.psm1
+      Show-Environment
     shell: pwsh
 
   - name: Download Build Artifacts

@@ -24,10 +24,8 @@ runs:
   - name: Capture Environment
     if: success() || failure()
     run: |-
-      Import-Module ./build.psm1
-      Write-LogGroupStart -Title 'Environment'
-      Get-ChildItem -Path env: | Out-String -width 9999 -Stream | write-Verbose -Verbose
-      Write-LogGroupEnd -Title 'Environment'
+      Import-Module ./tools/ci.psm1
+      Show-Environment
     shell: pwsh
 
   - name: Download Build Artifacts

diff --git a/.github/instructions/log-grouping-guidelines.instructions.md b/.github/instructions/log-grouping-guidelines.instructions.md
@@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
+---
+applyTo:
+  - "build.psm1"
+  - "tools/ci.psm1"
+  - ".github/**/*.yml"
+  - ".github/**/*.yaml"
+---
+
+# Log Grouping Guidelines for GitHub Actions
+
+## Purpose
+
+Guidelines for using `Write-LogGroupStart` and `Write-LogGroupEnd` to create collapsible log sections in GitHub Actions CI/CD runs.
+
+## Key Principles
+
+### 1. Groups Cannot Be Nested
+
+GitHub Actions does not support nested groups. Only use one level of grouping.
+
+**❌ Don't:**
+```powershell
+Write-LogGroupStart -Title "Outer Group"
+Write-LogGroupStart -Title "Inner Group"
+# ... operations ...
+Write-LogGroupEnd -Title "Inner Group"
+Write-LogGroupEnd -Title "Outer Group"
+```
+
+**✅ Do:**
+```powershell
+Write-LogGroupStart -Title "Operation A"
+# ... operations ...
+Write-LogGroupEnd -Title "Operation A"
+
+Write-LogGroupStart -Title "Operation B"
+# ... operations ...
+Write-LogGroupEnd -Title "Operation B"
+```
+
+### 2. Groups Should Be Substantial
+
+Only create groups for operations that generate substantial output (5+ lines). Small groups add clutter without benefit.
+
+**❌ Don't:**
+```powershell
+Write-LogGroupStart -Title "Generate Resource Files"
+Write-Log -message "Run ResGen"
+Start-ResGen
+Write-LogGroupEnd -Title "Generate Resource Files"
+```
+
+**✅ Do:**
+```powershell
+Write-Log -message "Run ResGen (generating C# bindings for resx files)"
+Start-ResGen
+```
+
+### 3. Groups Should Represent Independent Operations
+
+Each group should be a logically independent operation that users might want to expand/collapse separately.
+
+**✅ Good examples:**
+- Install Native Dependencies
+- Install .NET SDK
+- Build PowerShell
+- Restore NuGet Packages
+
+**❌ Bad examples:**
+- Individual project restores (too granular)
+- Small code generation steps (too small)
+- Sub-steps of a larger operation (would require nesting)
+
+### 4. One Group Per Iteration Is Excessive
+
+Avoid putting log groups inside loops where each iteration creates a separate group.  This would probably cause nesting.
+
+**❌ Don't:**
+```powershell
+$projects | ForEach-Object {
+    Write-LogGroupStart -Title "Restore Project: $_"
+    dotnet restore $_
+    Write-LogGroupEnd -Title "Restore Project: $_"
+}
+```
+
+**✅ Do:**
+```powershell
+Write-LogGroupStart -Title "Restore All Projects"
+$projects | ForEach-Object {
+    Write-Log -message "Restoring $_"
+    dotnet restore $_
+}
+Write-LogGroupEnd -Title "Restore All Projects"
+```
+
+## Usage Pattern
+
+```powershell
+Write-LogGroupStart -Title "Descriptive Operation Name"
+try {
+    # ... operation code ...
+    Write-Log -message "Status updates"
+}
+finally {
+    # Ensure group is always closed
+}
+Write-LogGroupEnd -Title "Descriptive Operation Name"
+```
+
+## When to Use Log Groups
+
+Use log groups for:
+- Major build phases (bootstrap, restore, build, test, package)
+- Installation operations (dependencies, SDKs, tools)
+- Operations that produce 5+ lines of output
+- Operations where users might want to collapse verbose output
+
+Don't use log groups for:
+- Single-line operations
+- Code that's already inside another group
+- Loop iterations with minimal output per iteration
+- Diagnostic or debug output that should always be visible
+
+## Examples from build.psm1
+
+### Good Usage
+
+```powershell
+function Start-PSBootstrap {
+    # Multiple independent operations, each with substantial output
+    Write-LogGroupStart -Title "Install Native Dependencies"
+    # ... apt-get/yum/brew install commands ...
+    Write-LogGroupEnd -Title "Install Native Dependencies"
+
+    Write-LogGroupStart -Title "Install .NET SDK"
+    # ... dotnet installation ...
+    Write-LogGroupEnd -Title "Install .NET SDK"
+}
+```
+
+### Avoid
+
+```powershell
+# Too small - just 2-3 lines
+Write-LogGroupStart -Title "Generate Resource Files (ResGen)"
+Write-Log -message "Run ResGen"
+Start-ResGen
+Write-LogGroupEnd -Title "Generate Resource Files (ResGen)"
+```
+
+## GitHub Actions Syntax
+
+These functions emit GitHub Actions workflow commands:
+- `Write-LogGroupStart` → `::group::Title`
+- `Write-LogGroupEnd` → `::endgroup::`
+
+In the GitHub Actions UI, this renders as collapsible sections with the specified title.
+
+## Testing
+
+Test log grouping locally:
+```powershell
+$env:GITHUB_ACTIONS = 'true'
+Import-Module ./build.psm1
+Write-LogGroupStart -Title "Test"
+Write-Log -Message "Content"
+Write-LogGroupEnd -Title "Test"
+```
+
+Output should show:
+```
+::group::Test
+Content
+::endgroup::
+```
+
+## References
+
+- [GitHub Actions: Grouping log lines](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/using-workflows/workflow-commands-for-github-actions#grouping-log-lines)
+- `build.psm1`: `Write-LogGroupStart` and `Write-LogGroupEnd` function definitions
@@ -56,7 +56,8 @@ jobs:
         # queries: ./path/to/local/query, your-org/your-repo/queries@main
 
     - run: |
-        Get-ChildItem -Path env: | Out-String -width 9999 -Stream | write-Verbose -Verbose
+        Import-Module .\tools\ci.psm1
+        Show-Environment
       name: Capture Environment
       shell: pwsh
 

@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ jobs:
     # Set job outputs to values from filter step
     outputs:
       source: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.source }}
+      buildModuleChanged: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.buildModuleChanged }}
       packagingChanged: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.packagingChanged }}
     steps:
       - name: checkout
@@ -70,7 +71,7 @@ jobs:
     name: Build PowerShell
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: changes
-    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.buildModuleChanged == 'true' }}
     steps:
       - name: checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v5
@@ -84,7 +85,7 @@ jobs:
     needs:
       - ci_build
       - changes
-    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.buildModuleChanged == 'true' }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: checkout
@@ -102,7 +103,7 @@ jobs:
     needs:
       - ci_build
       - changes
-    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.buildModuleChanged == 'true' }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: checkout
@@ -120,7 +121,7 @@ jobs:
     needs:
       - ci_build
       - changes
-    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.buildModuleChanged == 'true' }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: checkout
@@ -138,7 +139,7 @@ jobs:
     needs:
       - ci_build
       - changes
-    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.buildModuleChanged == 'true' }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: checkout
@@ -155,7 +156,7 @@ jobs:
     name: xUnit Tests
     needs:
       - changes
-    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.buildModuleChanged == 'true' }}
     uses: ./.github/workflows/xunit-tests.yml
     with:
       runner_os: ubuntu-latest

@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ jobs:
     # Set job outputs to values from filter step
     outputs:
       source: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.source }}
+      buildModuleChanged: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.buildModuleChanged }}
     steps:
       - name: checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v5
@@ -67,7 +68,7 @@ jobs:
     name: Build PowerShell
     runs-on: macos-15-large
     needs: changes
-    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.buildModuleChanged == 'true' }}
     steps:
       - name: checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v5
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ jobs:
     needs:
       - ci_build
       - changes
-    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.buildModuleChanged == 'true' }}
     runs-on: macos-15-large
     steps:
       - name: checkout
@@ -98,7 +99,7 @@ jobs:
     needs:
       - ci_build
       - changes
-    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.buildModuleChanged == 'true' }}
     runs-on: macos-15-large
     steps:
       - name: checkout
@@ -116,7 +117,7 @@ jobs:
     needs:
       - ci_build
       - changes
-    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.buildModuleChanged == 'true' }}
     runs-on: macos-15-large
     steps:
       - name: checkout
@@ -134,7 +135,7 @@ jobs:
     needs:
       - ci_build
       - changes
-    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.buildModuleChanged == 'true' }}
     runs-on: macos-15-large
     steps:
       - name: checkout
@@ -151,7 +152,7 @@ jobs:
     name: xUnit Tests
     needs:
       - changes
-    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.buildModuleChanged == 'true' }}
     uses: ./.github/workflows/xunit-tests.yml
     with:
       runner_os: macos-15-large
@@ -160,7 +161,7 @@ jobs:
     name: macOS packaging and testing
     needs:
       - changes
-    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.changes.outputs.source == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.buildModuleChanged == 'true' }}
     runs-on:
       - macos-15-large
     steps: