Topics

22 articles Also with Automation 17 · Windows Server 14

PowerShell

Parameter design, error and exit-code handling, the AWS.Tools modules in production, and the cmdlets that only work on Windows.

17 articles Also with Automation 16 · PowerShell 14

Windows Server

Enable OpenSSH on Server 2022 and 2025, put administrator keys where sshd reads them, and script workstation setup. With the PowerShell for each step.

28 articles Also with PowerShell 17 · Windows Server 16

Automation

Unattended installs, scheduled work and the scripts that run with nobody watching, including what to do when one fails quietly.

7 parts, in order

Free Up Space on a Developer Mac

Find which tool caches and build leftovers fill your Mac, and get the space back without breaking a project or a running coding session.

1. What's Taking Up All the Space on My Developer Mac?
2. Why Is the uv Cache So Large on My Mac?
3. Shrink Docker Desktop's disk on a Mac Announced
4. Clear the npx directory that npm cache clean misses Announced
5. Find what Xcode's simulators and device support files are using Announced
6. Remove build leftovers from projects you no longer work on Announced
7. What AI coding agents leave on your disk, and what not to delete Announced

3 parts, in order

Failure signals

Three articles about scripts that report success for work that didn't happen. Each takes a different runtime (PowerShell, cmd.exe, the AWS CLI) and asks the same question: what did this command actually tell you when it failed?

1. Why $LASTEXITCODE Doesn't Work the Way You Expect in PowerShell
2. Why Does My Batch File Exit When I Call a Function?
3. AWS CLI sync vs. Write-S3Object: What Changes on the Second Run

4 parts, in order

OpenSSH on Windows Server

From a stopped sshd to key-only login for named accounts, on Server 2022 and 2025. Three guides that were written separately and read as one procedure.

1. How to Enable SSH on Windows Server 2022
2. How to Enable SSH on Windows Server 2025
3. Configure SSH Key Authentication for an Administrator on Windows Server with PowerShell
4. Harden sshd_config on Windows Server Announced

6 parts, in order

Reading Dashcam Video Without Watching It

A 2 TB drive of five-camera Rivian R1T footage, sorted, searched and cut by reading what the files already say: GPS, keyframes, motion and color.

1. How to Sort Months of Dashcam Footage with Claude Code
2. Read the GPS Location from Rivian Dashcam Video with ffprobe
3. Rivian Dashcam Camera Missing from a Drive: It Restarted in Another Folder
4. Cut Multi-Camera Dashcam Clips with ffmpeg Without Re-Encoding, and Keep Them in Sync
5. Make a Hyperlapse from Keyframes with ffmpeg Without Decoding Every Frame
6. Finding a Bridge in 2 TB of Dashcam Video by the Color of Tunnel Lights

9 parts, in order

Host a Steam Dedicated Server on Windows

Everything you need to run your own Steam dedicated server on Windows, from the first install to moving it to a new machine. The examples use 7 Days to Die, and the same steps work for most Steam game servers.

1. Find a Dedicated Server's Steam App ID for SteamCMD
2. Install SteamCMD and a Steam Dedicated Server on Windows Server
3. Configure a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server and Open Its Ports
4. Start a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server at Boot on Windows and Stop It Cleanly
5. Profile a game server and size its machine Announced
6. Update a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server Only When There Is a New Build
7. Back Up a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server to Amazon S3 with PowerShell
8. Restore a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server Backup Without Merging the Old World
9. Move a 7 Days to Die Dedicated Server to a New Windows Server by Restoring Its Last Backup