🤔 Why Proper Logging Matters

We’ve all seen it—or done it ourselves. That innocent-looking Write-Host scattered across scripts like confetti at a party. 🎉 But guess what? Write-Host is not a log. It simply displays text to the screen and disappears into the void. 😱 If you’re running scripts in automation, remoting, or as scheduled tasks, those messages are gone. No history. No troubleshooting. Just sadness. 😢

So let’s fix that! 🚀

✅ The Right Way: Write-Output & Logging

Instead of Write-Host, use Write-Output. Unlike Write-Host, Write-Output actually sends data through the PowerShell pipeline, which means you can capture, store, and analyze it later.

Write-Output "Script started at $(Get-Date)"

This can be redirected to a file or stored in a variable.

Want to make it even better? Log it to a file:

"[$(Get-Date)] Script started." | Out-File -FilePath "C:\Logs\MyScript.log" -Append

📝 Start-Transcript: Your Best Friend

If you need a full session log, use Start-Transcript. This command captures everything that happens in your session, making troubleshooting much easier.

Start-Transcript -Path "C:\Logs\MyScriptSession.log" -Append

At the end of your script, stop it:

Stop-Transcript

Now you have a full record of commands and outputs. 🧐

📂 Structuring Logs for Automation

Logs should be structured, so they’re easy to parse. Instead of just dumping raw text, use structured formats like CSV or JSON:

$logEntry = [PSCustomObject]@{
    Timestamp = Get-Date
    Message   = "Something happened"
    Level     = "INFO"
}
$logEntry | ConvertTo-Json | Out-File -FilePath "C:\Logs\StructuredLog.json" -Append

This makes logs machine-readable and easy to analyze. 🤖

🖥️ Writing Logs to the Event Viewer

For system-wide logging, use the Windows Event Log. This is perfect for production environments where logs need to be centralized. Note: Writing to the event log requires administrator privileges.

Write-EventLog -LogName Application -Source "MyPowerShellScript" -EntryType Information -EventId 1001 -Message "Script executed successfully."

To use this, ensure your script registers an event source first:

New-EventLog -LogName Application -Source "MyPowerShellScript"

🛠️ A Handy Logging Function

Here’s a reusable function to log messages in a structured and readable way:

Function Write-Log {
    Param (
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
        [string]$Message,

        [ValidateSet("INFO", "WARNING", "ERROR")]
        [string]$Level = "INFO",

        [string]$LogFile = "C:\Logs\MyScript.log"
    )

    $logEntry = "[$(Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss")] [$Level] $Message"
    $logEntry | Out-File -FilePath $LogFile -Append
    Write-Output $logEntry
}

# Example Usage:
Write-Log -Message "Script started successfully." -Level INFO
Write-Log -Message "Potential issue detected!" -Level WARNING
Write-Log -Message "Critical error encountered!" -Level ERROR

# Example with timestamped log file:
$timestamp = Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd-HHmmss"
$logFileName = "C:\Logs\MyScript_$timestamp.log"
Write-Log -Message "Script started successfully with timestamped log." -Level INFO -LogFile $logFileName

This function ensures logs are structured and categorized for easier troubleshooting. 🔍

🎬 Conclusion

Logging is critical for troubleshooting and automation. Stop using Write-Host, and start logging properly with:

✅ Write-Output for standard messages
✅ Out-File or Start-Transcript for script logs
✅ ConvertTo-Json for structured data
✅ Write-EventLog for system-wide logging (requires admin privileges)
✅ A reusable Write-Log function for structured messages

Future you (and your IT team) will thank you. 🙌

🔗 For more info, check out Microsoft’s official documentation:

• 📖 Start-Transcript
• 📖 Write-EventLog

Happy logging! 📜💻