Architecture

This contributor reference describes module internals. For installation and everyday use, start with the user guide.

gly uses PowerShell's native formatting system for standard FileInfo and DirectoryInfo output.

Format Data

The standard table view is defined in:

src/formats/FileSystem.format.ps1xml

It is loaded with Update-FormatData -PrependPath.

PowerShell format data is session-wide, so the view can remain active after Remove-Module gly.

Get-GlyFileSystemDisplayName is exported so format data can call it. It supplies the formatted name for the standard table view and the renderer commands.

Initialization

The module:

• parses module types and functions as one combined script block to minimize import overhead;
• initializes session configuration;
• registers compact built-in theme and glyph-set definitions;
• calls Enable-Gly.

The test runner temporarily sets GLY_PESTER_COVERAGE=1 during coverage analysis so the module dot-sources the same implementation files and Pester can attribute executed commands to their original paths. Normal imports continue to use the combined script block.

Built-in rules are expanded into detached strongly typed objects only when a registry command returns them. Formatting reads the compact immutable definitions directly.

Rule Resolution

Theme and glyph rules share the same selector model:

• Kind
• Name
• Extension
• Glob
• Attributes

Rules are applied in order. The last matching rule wins.

The built-in resolver caches an index for kinds, extensions, exact names, globs, and attributes. User-registered rules keep the general selector evaluator and the same precedence semantics.

Strongly Typed Models

Session state uses GlyConfiguration, GlyTheme, GlyThemeRule, GlyStyle, GlyGlyphSet, GlyGlyphRule, and GlySelector.

Registration commands accept hashtables and pscustomobject values, validate them, and convert them before storage. Getter and copy commands return detached typed copies. Nerd Fonts and Emoji use the complete selector catalog; built-in themes, ANSI, ANSICompact, and Unicode use its essential structural subset.

Style Backends

StyleRenderer accepts Auto, PSStyle, Ansi, and PlainText. The global $GlyStyleRenderer preference takes priority over session configuration. With RespectNoColor enabled, the presence of NO_COLOR requests plain text.

Visual Sources

Theme attribution is listed in Theme Palette Sources. Source projects retain their own names, licenses, and distribution terms.

Glyph mappings were inspired by Terminal-Icons, GlyphShell, and PSFileIcons. The expanded Nerd Fonts mappings use the Nerd Fonts cheat sheet as the glyph source.