Install a Visual Studio Extension Using Powershell

One of my previous posts outlined how to manage Visual Studio extension installations by creating Chocolatey packages for each and every VSIX file you want to install. This works fine in an environment where you are already using an existing Chocolatey repository to hold custom or internalized packages. The following PowerShell snippet presents a way to install VSIX files without relying on Chocolatey:

function Get-VsixFile {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
        [string]$Url
    )

    $page = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $Url

    $json = $page.AllElements |
        Where-Object Class -eq 'vss-extension' |
        Select-Object -ExpandProperty innerHtml |
        ConvertFrom-Json |
        Select-Object -ExpandProperty versions

    $vsixUrl = $json.files |
        Where-Object assetType -match '\.vsix$' |
        Select-Object -ExpandProperty source

    $file = New-TemporaryFile

    try {
        Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $vsixUrl -OutFile $file
        return $file
    }
    catch {
        Remove-Item $file -Force
        throw $_
    }
}

function Invoke-VsixInstaller2017Community {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
        [string]$File
    )

    $psi = New-Object System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo
    $psi.FileName = 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Community\Common7\IDE\VSIXInstaller.exe'
    $psi.Arguments = "/q $File"

    $process = [System.Diagnostics.Process]::Start($psi)
    $process.WaitForExit()

    if ($process.ExitCode -ne 0) {
        throw "VSIXInstaller exit code: '$($process.ExitCode)'"
    }
}

function Install-Vsix2017Community {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
        [string]$Url
    )

    $file = Get-VsixFile -Url $Url

    try {
        Invoke-VsixInstaller2017Community -File $file
    }
    finally {
        Remove-Item $file -Force
    }
}

These functions can be used like this:

Install-Vsix2017Community -Url 'https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Suchiman.SerilogAnalyzer'

Or like this:

Invoke-VsixInstaller2017Community -File 'C:\Users\MyUser\Downloads\SerilogAnalyzer.Vsix.vsix'

Note: The different editions of Visual Studio 2017 (Community, Professional, …) are installed in different locations, which is why the above PowerShell snippets carry "2017Community" in their names.