Why does PowerShellGet require PSGetModuleInfo.xml to be hidden in the filesystem?

[chadbaldwin]

After HOURS of debugging and troubleshooting I finally figured out that "PSGetModuleInfo.xml" needs to be marked as hidden in the filesystem in order for Get-InstalledModule to include it in its search.

Unfortunately, even though I skimmed through issue PowerShell/PowerShellGet#41, where they mention this exact problem, I still managed to miss this comment where they mention the fix I needed, and I continued on with testing file contents, permissions differences and then eventually compared file attributes which led me back here.

Is there a reason why this is required to include the file in its search?

This issue has popped up for me a few times and I finally decided to actually look into it today.

This happens to me due to two difference scenarios...

1. Storing the "Documents" folder (default storage location for user scoped modules) in OneDrive. When adding a new module on one computer and it syncs to OneDrive, that attribute is not synced to the other computer, therefore the module is not listed.

2. Git - occasionally I need to make manual changes to the modules I like to use. For example, I might be tracking down an issue in the module, or maybe it doesn't provide enough debugging info. So I will create a git repo inside the modules folder, create a branch, make the changes I need, and then I will switch back to the main branch. If PSGetModuleInfo.xml is affected by any of those git checkouts, then it will get re-written without the hidden flag, and again, excluded from Get-InstalledModule.

I did not create an issue because it seems this is something people are aware of, so I assume it is by design, however, I don't understand why it is designed that way. So that's why I'm here in discussions instead.

[chadbaldwin]

Looking at the source for Get-InstalledModule, it appears to call PackageManagement\Get-Package at the end, and Get-Package is susceptible to this problem as well.

I've tried drilling into the source code for both PowerShellGet and PackageManagement, but get a bit lost.

I don't know if I've run into a circular problem I can't solve because I don't know if Get-Package is just calling some delegated function from PowerShellGet.

For example, I'm not sure if maybe Package Providers have to supply PackageManagement with something it can call to get a list of modules, etc.

I think I've exhausted my debugging/troubleshooting capabilities at this point.