How do i Use the New-PesterConfiguration ? I can't get it to set Verbosity to Diagnostic in my output

[esdccs1]

from https://pester.dev/docs/usage/configuration#pesterpreference
I have copied the following code into a file:

$PesterPreference = [PesterConfiguration]::Default
$PesterPreference.Debug.WriteDebugMessages = $true
$PesterPreference.Debug.WriteDebugMessagesFrom = "Mock"

BeforeAll {
    function a { "hello" }
}
Describe "pester preference" {
    It "mocks" {
        Mock a { "mock" }
        a | Should -Be "mock"
    }
}

I then invoke it
Invoke-Pester .\mytest.ps1

I then get
Starting discovery in 1 files.
Discovery found 1 tests in 94ms.
Running tests.
[+] C:\Users<my_user>\my_folder\mytest.ps1 907ms (630ms|185ms)
Tests completed in 909ms
Tests Passed: 1, Failed: 0, Skipped: 0 NotRun: 0

Why arent the debug outputs showing?

EDIT: I found if I DIRECTLY execute the script e.g. .\myscript.ps1 the debug output shows... but it is hidden if i use Invoke-Pester command

I want to in general use the configuration detailed in https://pester.dev/docs/usage/output, but it wont work.

heres another test
my test file:

    Describe "pester preference" {
        It "test 1" {
        
         5 | Should -Be 5
       }

    It "test2 " {
        5 | Should -Be 5
        5 | Should -Be 5
        5 | Should -Be 5
    }

    It "test3 " {
        5 | Should -Be 5
        5 | Should -Be 5
        5 | Should -Be 5
    }
}

Then I set the configuration... Am I doing it wrong somehow?

$conf = New-PesterConfiguration
$conf.Output.Verbosity = "Diagnostic"
Invoke-Pester .\mytest2.ps1

Starting discovery in 1 files.
Discovery found 3 tests in 88ms.
Running tests.
[+] C:\Users<my_user>\my_folder\mytest\mytest2.ps1 345ms (106ms|152ms)
Tests completed in 348ms
Tests Passed: 3, Failed: 0, Skipped: 0 NotRun: 0

I would have expected the Diagnostic Level verbosity to show each test , and maybe the "Assert statements" as they execute?

My Get-Module -ListAvailable shows

Script     5.4.0                 Pester                              Desk      {Invoke-Pester, Describe, Context, It…}
Script     3.4.0                 Pester                              Desk      {Describe, Context, It, Should…}

[fflaten]

Thanks for reporting this!

Right above the first sample it says "while running interactively". Interactive execution means running the script directly without calling Invoke-Pester, typically by pressing F5 in VSCode or ISE. So it's intended behavior, but poorly explained and something we should update 🙂

$PesterPreference is session preferences (like $PSDefaultParameterValues in PowerShell) and any values has to be set before calling Invoke-Pester which merges it with any provided parameters. In general I'd recommend to avoid $PesterPreference unless you want to include a few settings in your profile

Instead you could use a test.ps1 file where you define your configuration and pass it to Invoke-Pester -Configuration $conf. Maybe even post-process the results object (returned by setting $conf.Run.PassThru = $true).

$conf = New-PesterConfiguration
$conf.Output.Verbosity = "Diagnostic"
$conf.Run.Path = "$PSScriptRoot\mytest2.ps1" # or "$PSScriptRoot/tst" folder ++
Invoke-Pester -Configuration $conf

[esdccs1]

Thank you! I love the new documentation website, keep up the great work.