Databases, Software, Tutorials and guides

SQL Server: How to backup all databases with a timestamp

Leave a comment

I hate, hate, hate clicking and clicking again, especially for tasks that can be automated. And one of these tasks is doing DB backups, which I have to do every time before starting a deployment.

So here’s what I’ve come up with. This generates a backup for every database except the system ones (see line 20) as databasename_yyyymmdd.bak, e.g. ERP-UAT-DB_20230321.bak.

/*
Source: DotJim blog (http://dandraka.com)
Jim Andrakakis, March 2023
*/

DECLARE @name NVARCHAR(256) -- database name  
DECLARE @path NVARCHAR(512) -- path for backup files  
DECLARE @fileName NVARCHAR(512) -- filename for backup  
DECLARE @fileDate NVARCHAR(40) -- used for file name

/* specify database backup directory */
SET @path = 'D:\myBackups\'  
 
/* get date as yyyyMMdd */
SELECT @fileDate = CONVERT(NVARCHAR(20),GETDATE(),112) 
 
DECLARE db_cursor CURSOR READ_ONLY FOR  
SELECT name 
FROM master.sys.databases 
WHERE name NOT IN ('master','model','msdb','tempdb')  -- exclude these databases
AND state = 0 -- database is online
AND is_in_standby = 0 -- database is not read only for log shipping

OPEN db_cursor   
FETCH NEXT FROM db_cursor INTO @name   
 
WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0   
BEGIN   
   SET @fileName = @path + @name + '_' + @fileDate + '.BAK'  
   BACKUP DATABASE @name TO DISK = @fileName  
   FETCH NEXT FROM db_cursor INTO @name   
END   
 
CLOSE db_cursor   
DEALLOCATE db_cursor

Change the path, obviously, and you can also change the WHERE name NOT IN (‘master’,’model’,’msdb’,’tempdb’). E.g. you can do something like WHERE name LIKE ‘%_PRODUCTION’ to suit your scenario.

Software, Tutorials and guides

RabbitMQ: How to publish (upload) a file to a queue via Powershell using REST

Leave a comment

As part of my job, this is something I use a lot. And the thing is, it’s quite easy, it’s just an Invoke-WebRequest. Here’s how I do it:

#
# Source: DotJim blog (https://dandraka.com)
# Jim Andrakakis, January 2023
#

# ===== Parameters =====

param(
    [string]$fileName = 'C:\temp\uploadinfo.json',
    [string]$rqServer = 'http://myServer:15672', # better use HTTPS though
    [string]$rqVhostName = 'myVhost',
    [string]$rqQueueName = 'myQueue',
    [string]$rqExchangeName = 'amq.default', # or your exchange name
    [string]$rqUsername = 'myUser', # this user needs at least 'Management' permissions to post to the REST API
    [string]$rqPassword = 'myPass',
	# RabbitMQ has a recommended message size limit of 128 MB
    # See https://www.cloudamqp.com/blog/what-is-the-message-size-limit-in-rabbitmq.html
    # But of course depending on your app you might want to set it lower
	[int]$rqMessageLimitMB = 128		
)

# ======================

Clear-Host
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$WarningPreference = 'Continue'

[string]$rqUrl = "$rqServer/api/exchanges/$rqVhostName/$rqExchangeName/publish"

# Sanity check
if (-not (Test-Path $fileName)) {
    Write-Error "File $fileName was not found"
}

# Check RabbitMQ size limit
[int]$rqMessageLimit = $rqMessageLimitMB * 1024 * 1024 
[long]$fileSize = (Get-Item -Path $fileName).Length
if ($fileSize -gt $rqMessageLimit) {
    Write-Error "File $fileName is bigger that the maximum size allowed by RabbitMQ ($rqMessageLimitMB MB)"
}

$plainCredentials = "$($rqUsername):$($rqPassword)"
$encodedCredentials = [Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes($plainCredentials))
$authHeader = "Basic " + $encodedCredentials

[string]$content = Get-Content -Path $fileName -Encoding UTF8
$msgBase64 = [Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes($content))
$json = "{`"properties`":{`"content_type`":`"application/json`",`"delivery_mode`":2},`"routing_key`":`"$rqQueueName`",`"payload`":`"$msgBase64`",`"payload_encoding`":`"base64`"}"
$resp = Invoke-WebRequest -Method Post -Uri $rqUrl -Headers @{'Authorization'= $authHeader} -Body $json
if([math]::Floor($resp.StatusCode/100) -ne 2) {
    Write-Error "File $fileName could not be posted, error $($resp.BaseResponse)"
}

Write-Host "File $fileName was posted to $rqUrl"
Coffee, Facepalm

Signs that you need coffee, #8

Leave a comment

You wake up on a rainy Saturday morning and desperately need a cappuccino.

You take the milk out of the fridge.

You start the milk frother without actually pouring milk into it .

You put the coffee cup under the espresso machine and press the coffee button without having turned it on.

You see the milk out of the fridge, wonder who forgot it there, and put it back in.

You stare at the coffee cup trying to understand why it’s empty.

You peek at the milk frother and are perplexed to discover it too is empty.

In this state, it will probably take a miracle for me to get the coffee I so obviously need.

Software

My script cheat sheet

Leave a comment

That’s not a post, at least in the classical sense 😊 Rather it’s a collection of small scripts, that I will keep updating, for me to find easily. No rocket science, just small everyday stuff that I find myself googling again and again.

Powershell: Get the first X bytes of a file.

#
# Source: DotJim blog (http://dandraka.com)
# Jim Andrakakis, September 2022
#

# ===== Change here =====
$path = 'C:\somepath\somehugelogfile.log'
$pathOut = 'C:\temp\sneakpeak.txt'
$numBytes = 10000
# =======================

$ErrorActionPreference='Stop'
Clear-Host

$bytes = Get-Content -Path $path -Encoding byte -TotalCount $numBytes
$str = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetString($bytes)
Out-File -FilePath $pathOut -InputObject $str

Powershell: Remove files older than X days recursively.

#
# Source: DotJim blog (http://dandraka.com)
# Jim Andrakakis, September 2022
#

# ===== Change here =====
$path = 'C:\somepath\'
$filter = '*.xml'
$numDays = 30 
# =======================

$ErrorActionPreference='Stop'
Clear-Host

Get-ChildItem -Path $path -Filter $filter -Recurse | Where-Object {($_.LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays($numDays * -1))} | Remove-Item

Powershell: Change information in XML files en masse.

#
# Source: DotJim blog (http://dandraka.com)
# Jim Andrakakis, September 2022
#

# ===== Change here =====
$dir = 'C:\somepath\'
# =======================

$ErrorActionPreference='Stop'
Clear-Host

$list = Get-ChildItem -Path $dir -Filter '*.xml'
foreach($file in $list) {
    [xml]$xml=Get-Content -Path $file.FullName -Encoding UTF8
    # customize the XML paths below
    $customerName = $xml.PrintJob.DocumentHeader.CustomerName 
    if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($customerName )) {
        continue
    }
    $xml.PrintJob.DocumentBody.RecipientName = $customerName 
    $xml.Save($file.FullName)
}

Windows command line: Change permissions of all files and directories in a path recursively.

CD C:\somepath
FOR /D %o IN (*.*) DO echo Y| cacls %o /T /G "NT AUTHORITY\Authenticated Users":F

Here “NT AUTHORITY\Authenticated Users” stands for the authenticated users group of the local machine; “F” stands for Full Permissions.

Linux command line: copy file from one PC to another

# scp -r /path/to/file USERNAME@IP_OF_TARGET:/path/to/dir
scp -r /home/dimitris/Downloads/Win11.iso dimitris@192.168.0.5:/home/dimitris/Downloads

Powershell: Basic CATCH block

#
# Source: DotJim blog (http://dandraka.com)
# Jim Andrakakis, March 2023
#

$ErrorActionPreference='Stop'
Clear-Host

$errorList = New-Object -TypeName System.Collections.ArrayList
try {
    # whatever
}
catch {
    $errorMsg = "Error processing file '$($file.FullName)', exception in line $($_.InvocationInfo.ScriptLineNumber): $_.Exception.Message $_"
    $errorList.Add($errorMsg) | Out-Null
    Write-Warning $errorMsg      
}

Powershell: Get info from multiple XML files and write into CSV

#
# Source: DotJim blog (http://dandraka.com)
# Jim Andrakakis, October 2022
#

# The file filter here is based on date from-to, 
# but obvs you can change Where-Object to match size or name or whatever.

# The CSV separator was chosen to be tab (`t) because this is 
# very Excel-friendly.

# ===== Change here =====
$path = 'E:\somepath'
$outPath = "C:\temp\out-$([guid]::NewGuid().ToString().Split('-')[0]).csv"

$strDateTimeFrom = "2022-09-29 18:00:00"
$strDateTimeTo = "2022-09-29 20:00:00"
# =======================

Clear-Host
$ErrorActionPreference='Stop'

[DateTime]$dateTimeFrom = [DateTime]::Parse($strDateTimeFrom)
[DateTime]$dateTimeTo = [DateTime]::Parse($strDateTimeTo)

$filesList = Get-ChildItem -Path $path -Recurse -Filter '*.xml' | Where-Object { ($_.LastWriteTime -gt $dateTimeFrom) -and ($_.LastWriteTime -lt $dateTimeTo) }

$dataList = New-Object -TypeName 'System.Collections.Generic.List[string]'
# change this to match the XML info below
$dataList.Add("CompanyName`tInvoiceId`tTemplateId`tDocumentId`tFileName")
foreach($file in $filesList) {
    $fileFullName = $file.FullName
    $fileName = $file.Name
    [xml]$xml = Get-Content -Path $fileFullName
    # that's the part where you specify what info you need from the XML
    # my XMLs have multiple Document nodes per file, that's why I need a loop
    foreach($document in $xml.PrintJob.Documents.Document) {
        $documentId = $document.DocumentHeader.DocumentId
        $templateId = $document.DocumentHeader.TemplateId
        $invoiceId = $document.ArchiveAttributes.InvoiceId
        $custName = $document.DocumentHeader.Addresses.Recipient.CompanyName

        $dataList.Add("$custName`t$invoiceId`t$templateId`t$documentId`t$fileName")
    }
}

Out-File -FilePath $outPath -Encoding utf8 -InputObject $dataList
Write-Host "Finished, $($filesList.Count) files processed"

Powershell: Copy XML files depending on their data plus data from a database

Clear-Host
$ErrorActionPreference='Stop'

# === Parameters ===
$path = 'D:\dataFilesPath'
$copyPath = 'D:\copyFilesPath'
$dbServer = 'mySqlServer'
$dbName = 'Customers'
$sql = 'SELECT CustomerName FROM Customers WHERE Active=1'
# === Parameters ===

$res = Invoke-Sqlcmd -ServerInstance $dbServer -Database $dbName -Query $sql

$exclusionList = New-Object -TypeName 'System.Collections.Generic.List[string]'

# if a different field of the query is needed, change [0]
$res | % { $exclusionList.Add($_[0].ToLowerInvariant().Trim()) }

if (-not (Test-Path -Path $copyPath)) { New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $copyPath} $list = Get-ChildItem -Path $path -Filter '*.xml' -Recurse

$cnt=0
foreach($file in $list) {
    [xml]$contents = Get-Content -Path $file.FullName -Encoding UTF8
    # obvs you'll need to change the XPATH 
    # to match your XML structure
    $customerName = $contents.Data.CustomerData.Customer_Name.'#cdata-section'.ToLowerInvariant().Trim()

    if ($exclList.Contains($customerName)) {
        continue
    }
    Write-Host "Found $customerName"

    Copy-Item -Path $file.FullName -Destination $copyPath
    $cnt++
}

Write-Host "Finished, $cnt files copied to $copyPath"

Chocolatey: My dev machine install list

choco install notepadplusplus
choco install winmerge -y 
choco install vscode -y 
choco install vscode-powershell -y 
choco install vscode-csharp -y 
choco install vscode-gitlens -y 
choco install git -y 
choco install tortoisegit -y 
choco install svn -y 
choco install tortoisesvn -y 
choco install postman -y 
choco install soapui -y 
choco install sql-server-management-studio -y

choco install intellijidea-community
choco install openjdk8

choco install visualstudio2019professional --package-parameters " --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.Azure --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.ManagedDesktop --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NetCoreTools --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NetWeb --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.Universal --includeRecommended --includeOptional --passive --locale en-US" -y
choco install visualstudio2022professional --package-parameters " --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.Azure --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.ManagedDesktop --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NetCoreTools --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NetWeb --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.Universal --includeRecommended --includeOptional --passive --locale en-US" -y
choco install dotnet-5.0-sdk -y
choco install dotnet-6.0-sdk -y

choco install ServiceBusExplorer -y

Install-Package \\fileserver\share\JamsScheduler\SetupClientx64.msi

Powershell: Keep the lights on

Clear-Host
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms
Write-Host 'Starting...'
$WShell = New-Object -com "Wscript.Shell"
while ($true)
{
  $WShell.sendkeys("{F16}")
  Start-Sleep -Seconds 180
}

Powershell: Archive files (zip + delete)

#
# Source: DotJim blog (http://dandraka.com)
# Jim Andrakakis, November 2022
#

# Prerequisite: 7zip is installed in the system.

# =================================
# This script zips everything found in $archiveName that 
# has a ModifiedDate after $dateFromStr and matches $filter.
# Inside $archivePath, it creates one dir per run and 
# inside this, one 7zip file per month plus one txt file
# that has the 7zip contents.
# E.g.
# C:\OldLogFiles
#     Run-LogFileArchive-20221122-112015
#         Archive-LogFileArchive-20200301-20200401.7z.001
#         Archive-LogFileArchive-20200301-20200401.txt
#         Archive-LogFileArchive-20200401-20200501.7z.001
#         Archive-LogFileArchive-20200401-20200501.txt
#         (etc etc)
# - The names of the run dirs (Run-LogFileArchive-20221122-112015) are
#   always Run-[archiveName]-[current date-time].
# - The names of the archives are Archive-[archiveName]-[From date]-[To date].7z.
# - Obviously the script will only generate 7z files for the months 
#   where it finds files.
# =================================

Clear-Host
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

try
{
    # ===== Parameters - Change here =====

    # A short description for the archive. This is added to the filenames.
    $archiveName = "LogFileArchive"

    # Directory to create the archive in
    $archivePath = "C:\OldLogFiles"

    # Directory to archive files from
    $path = "C:\logs"
    
    # Filter for files to archive, for example *.*, *.log or *.pdf
    $filter = "*.log"

    # How many months of files to keep (i.e. not archive), for example 12 (1 year).
    $monthsToKeep = 1

    # From-date to archive, e.g. '2020-12-31'
    # If $deleteFiles = $true you don't need to change this ever.
    $dateFromStr = "1900-01-01"

    # Delete files and empty folders after archiving?
    $deleteFiles = $true

	# Path of 7zip command line
	$zip = "C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe"

    # ===== Parameters =====

    if ([string]::IsNullOrWhitespace($filter)) 
    { 
    	$filter = "*.*"
    }   
            
    if ($monthsToKeep -le 0)
    {
    	throw "Months to keep cannot be 0 or negative"
    }

    if ([string]::IsNullOrWhitespace($dateFromStr))
    { 
    	throw "Date From cannot be empty"
    }     
        
    $dateToStr = [datetime]::Today.AddMonths($monthsToKeep * -1).ToString("yyyy-MM-01")

	Write-Host "Delete files set to $deleteFiles"	

    # ===== Sanity checks =====
    if ([string]::IsNullOrWhitespace($archiveName)) { throw "Parameter archiveName cannot be empty" }
    if ([string]::IsNullOrWhitespace($archivePath)) { throw "Parameter archivePath cannot be empty" }
    if ([string]::IsNullOrWhitespace($path)) { throw "Parameter path cannot be empty" }
    if ([string]::IsNullOrWhitespace($zip)) { throw "Parameter sevenZipPath cannot be empty" }
    
    if (-not(Test-Path -Path $archivePath)) { throw "Archive path $archivePath does not exist" }
    if (-not(Test-Path -Path $path)) { throw "Root path $path does not exist" }
    if (-not(Test-Path -Path $zip)) { throw "7zip not found in $zip" }
    
    $archivePath = [System.IO.Path]::Combine($archivePath, "Run-$archiveName-$([datetime]::Now.ToString("yyyyMMdd-HHmmss"))")

    # Loop through months
    $dateFrom = [datetime]::Parse($dateFromStr)
    $dateTo = [datetime]::Parse($dateToStr)

    $dateFromLoop = $dateFrom
    $loop = $true

    $haveArchivedFiles = $false

    if (Test-Path -Path $archivePath)
    {
        throw "Directory $archivePath already exists, stopping out of precaution"
    }
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $archivePath | Out-Null
    
    $fullList = Get-ChildItem -Path $path -Filter $filter -File -Recurse `
    	| Where-Object { ($_.LastWriteTime -ge $dateFrom) -and ($_.LastWriteTime -lt $dateTo) }    

    while($loop)
    {    
        $dateToLoop = $dateFromLoop.AddMonths(1)
        if ($dateToLoop -gt $dateTo)
        {
            $dateToLoop = $dateTo
            $loop = $false
        }

        $archiveFile = [System.IO.Path]::Combine($archivePath, "Archive-$archiveName-$($dateFromLoop.ToString("yyyyMMdd"))-$($dateToLoop.ToString("yyyyMMdd")).7z")
        #Write-Host $archiveFile
        $archiveList = $archiveFile.Replace(".7z", ".txt")
    
        $list = $fullList | Where-Object { ($_.LastWriteTime -ge $dateFromLoop) -and ($_.LastWriteTime -lt $dateToLoop) }

        if ($list.Count -gt 0)
        {
            $haveArchivedFiles = $true
            $list | % { Out-File -FilePath $archiveList -Encoding utf8 -Append -InputObject "$($_.FullName)" }

            $cmd = $zip
            Write-Host "================ Archiving files from $path to $archiveFile ================"
            $params = "a $archiveFile -spf -ssw -stl -v2g -mx2 @$archiveList"
            & "$cmd" $params.Split(" ")
            
            # 7z parameter -sdel instructs 7zip to delete files after archiving
            # $params = "a $archiveFile -sdel -spf -ssw -stl -v2g -mx2 @$archiveList"
            # BUUUUUUUUT there's an open 7z bug which is that -sdel doesn't work
            # with file lists (which we need here)
            # that's why we need to delete the files with powershell after 7z
            if ($deleteFiles) {
				$list | % { Remove-Item -Force -ErrorAction Continue -Path "$($_.FullName)" }
                Write-Host "Deleted $($list.Count) files"
            }         
        }

        $dateFromLoop = $dateToLoop
    }

    if (-not $haveArchivedFiles)
    {
        Write-Host "================ No files found to archive ================"
    }
}
catch
{
    Write-Host "================ An error occured ================"
    Write-Error $_
}

Git: Add existing code to repo

# See also https://docs.github.com/en/migrations/importing-source-code/using-the-command-line-to-import-source-code/adding-locally-hosted-code-to-github
cd C:\mysourcecode
git init -b main
git add . 
git commit -m "initial commit"
git remote add origin https://mycodeprovider/myrepo
git push -u origin --all

Powershell: 1-liner to create azure devops project and repos from zip files

Prerequisite: git config and az login have been completed.

cls; $proj=(Split-Path -Path $pwd -Leaf); az devops project create --name $proj; gci *.zip | % { Expand-Archive $_.FullName }; gci -Directory | % { cd $_.FullName; $dir=(Split-Path -Path $pwd -Leaf); az repos create --project $proj --name $dir; git init -b main ; git add . ; git commit -m "initial commit" ; git remote add origin https://MYUSERNAME@dev.azure.com/MYUSERNAME/$proj/_git/$dir ; git push -u origin --all }
Facepalm, Greece, Software

Stories from the Field, #2: The customer is not always right

Leave a comment

(note: all “Stories from the Field” are true, thinly anonymized to protect the -usually- guilty)

Project Manager: Hi Jim and team, we need a new version of our product with this and that new feature.

Team: Sure, but it’ll need a bit more memory on our customers’ computers.

PM: No worries, our customers have more than adequate computers already.

Team: Hmmmokey

Team: (codes)

Team: (tests)

Team: It’s ready and has passed our internals tests successfully.

Team: Now it’s time to go and test it on a few customers just to be safe, like we did last time.

PM: Yeah about that.

Team: WHAT NOW THIS IS A GOOD THING

PM: No no no don’t get me wrong, our customers loved it.

PM: In fact they loved it so much that they have been asking for it.

PM: Jim can you talk to Sales? They’ll tell you some great customers to test with.

Jim: (makes the rookie mistake and calls Sales)

Sales: Oh hi so happy to hear you.

Jim: Really? You usually complain about how our product is a piece of shit.

Sales: AAAAHAHAHAFUNNY no really I’m totally happy to hear you.

Sales: I’ve got a totally great customer you can test the new version with.

Sales: Who is totally not a cheapskate bloodsucking asshole.

Sales: You should totally call him.

Jim: I have a bad feeling about this.

Jim: (calls customer)

Totally Not A Cheapskate Customer: Oh hi happy to hear you, you’re supposed to give me free product to resell to my customers right?

Jim: NO NOT AT ALL we need to test our product and therefore 1) yes you get something for free but 2) be aware that your computers need to have more memory and 3) it’s still being tested which means DO NOT CHARGE YOUR CUSTOMERS FOR IT AND PLEASE TELL THEM THIS MIGHT NOT WORK.

Totally Not A Cheapskate Customer: Yada yada yada so I get free stuff great see you on Thursday bye.

Jim: (has a very bad feeling about this)

Jim and a Teammate: (show up early)

Jim and a Teammate: (start installing the new version on the Totally Not a Cheapskate Customer’s computers)

Jim and a Teammate: Wait this doesn’t work you don’t have enough memory here.

Jim and a Teammate: This isn’t even enough memory for the previous version.

Totally Not A Cheapskate Customer: SO WHAT I DON’T CARE ARE YOU TRYING TO STEAL THE FOOD OF MY CHILDREN? (* actual quote)

Jim and a Teammate: No wait we made very very clear that…

Totally Not A Cheapskate Customer: YOU ARE WORSE THAN THIEVES (* actual quote)

Totally Not A Cheapskate Customer’s Customers: WHY DON’T YOU GIVE US CHEAP STUFF AREN’T WE CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY??? (* actual quote)

Totally Not A Cheapskate Customer: I’LL CALL YOUR BOSS RIGHT NOW

PM: Hi Jim what’s going on there?

Jim: This and that, the Totally Not A Cheapskate Customer turned out to be a Totally Cheapskate Customer.

PM: Hmmm so Sales wasn’t 100% sincere.

PM: Who would’ve thought.

PM: Can you remove the installation restriction just for now?

Jim: I can but some things might work, some might not.

PM: Do your best.

Team: (does their best and has a special version ready within 15 minutes)

Jim and a Teammate: (install the software)

Jim and a Teammate: See it kind of works but it has issues BECAUSE IT NEEDS MORE MEMORY.

Totally Not A Cheapskate Customer: SEE MY LOYAL CUSTOMERS I HAVE SLAIN THE THIEVING EVIL CORPORATE DRAGON AND GAVE YOU CHEAP STUFF.

Jim and a Teammate: Wait you actually charged them for this we specifically asked you not to.

Totally Not A Cheapskate Customer: BEGONE YOU FOUL DEMON.

Jim: (silently curses in languages he doesn’t even speak)

Security, Software, Tutorials and guides

Git: how to avoid checking in secrets (using a Powershell pre-commit hook)

Leave a comment

Who among us hasn’t found him- or herself in this very awkward position: committing a config or code file with secrets (such as passwords or API keys) and then semi-panicked googling how to delete it from source control.

Been there and let me tell you the easiest way to delete it: copy all the code on disk, delete the repository completely and then re-create it.

(if this is not an option, well, there’s still a way but with much more work and risk, so do keep that code backup around!)

But you know what’s even better? That’s right, avoid this in the first place! That’s why Git hooks are so useful: they work without you neededing to remember to check your config files every time.

So here’s my solution to this:

  1. In the repository, go to .git/hooks and rename pre-commit.sample to pre-commit (i.e. remove the extension)
  2. Open pre-commit with a text editor and replace its contents with the following:
#!/bin/sh
C:/Windows/System32/WindowsPowerShell/v1.0/powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command '.\hooks\pre-commit.ps1'
  1. Add a new directory on the root of the repository named hooks.
  2. Inside this, add a text file named pre-commit.ps1 with the following code:
#
# Source: DotJim blog (http://dandraka.com)
# Jim Andrakakis, July 2022
#
Clear-Host
$ErrorActionPreference='Stop'

# ===== Change here =====
$listOfExtensions=@('*.xml','*.config')
$listOfSecretNodes=@('username','password','clientid','secret','connectionstring')
$acceptableString='lalala'
# ===== Change here =====

$codePath = (Get-Item -Path $PSScriptRoot).Parent.Parent.FullName

$errorList=New-Object -TypeName 'System.Collections.ArrayList'

foreach($ext in $listOfExtensions) {
    $list = Get-ChildItem -Path $codePath -Recurse -Filter $ext

    foreach($file in $list) {
        $fileName = $file.FullName
        if ($fileName.Contains('\bin\')) {
            continue
        }
        Write-Host "Checking $fileName for secrets"
        [xml]$xml=[xml]((Get-Content -Path $fileName).ToLowerInvariant())
        foreach($secretName in $listOfSecretNodes) {
            $nodes = $xml.SelectNodes("//*[contains(local-name(), '$secretName')]")
            foreach($node in $nodes) {
                if ($node.InnerText.ToLowerInvariant() -ne $acceptableString) {
                    $str = "[$fileName] $($node.Name) contains text other than '$acceptableString', please replace this with $acceptableString before commiting."
                    $errorList.Add($str) | Out-Null
                    Write-Warning $str
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

if ($errorList.Count -gt 0) {
    Write-Error 'Commit cancelled, please correct before commiting.'
}

So there you have it. I’m getting automatically stopped every time I tried to commit any .xml or .config file that contains a node with a name that contains username, password, clientid, secret or connectionstring, whenever the value of it is not ‘lalala’.

Obviously the extensions, node names and acceptable string can be changed at the top of the script. You can also change this quite easily to check JSON files as well.

Also note that this works on Windows (because of the Powershell path in the pre-commit hook) but with a minor change in the pre-commit bash script, you should be able to make it work cross-platform with Powershell core. I haven’t tested it but it should be:

#!/usr/bin/env pwsh -File '.\hooks\pre-commit.ps1'

Have fun coding!

Coffee, Facepalm

Signs that you need coffee, #7

1 Comment

You do the first coffee break of the day, say around 10:00.

You sit at the table, feeling sleepy, wondering why the coffee hasn’t had any effect on you.

After ten whole minutes you realize you didn’t actually prepare the coffee.

I’m sure there’s some joke about vicious circles here, but I haven’t had my coffee so I’m too sleepy to think what that might be.