Automate cmdlet help updates via Git clone and monthly workflow

[Copilot]

Manual maintenance of cmdlet help documentation from three upstream repositories (pnp/powershell, pnp/cli-microsoft365, MicrosoftDocs/OfficeDocs-SharePoint-PowerShell) was error-prone and required local repository clones at hardcoded paths.

Changes

• Git clone approach clones documentation repositories into docfx/help-repos/ during workflow execution (ignored via .gitignore)
• Get-HelpJson.ps1 now uses $PSScriptRoot for relative paths, removing hardcoded C:\git\readonly\script-samples-help\ dependency
• Monthly GitHub Action (.github/workflows/update-cmdlet-help.yml) clones repositories and generates PRs when documentation changes

Workflow

schedule:
  - cron: '0 0 1 * *'  # 1st of each month
workflow_dispatch:      # Manual trigger available

The action clones the three repositories using git clone --depth 1, runs Get-HelpJson.ps1, and creates a PR only when help files change. Generated files:

• powershell.help.json (776 cmdlets)
• cli.help.json (848 commands)
• spoms.help.json (287 cmdlets)

Manual usage

mkdir -p docfx/help-repos
cd docfx/help-repos
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/pnp/powershell.git pnp-powershell
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/pnp/cli-microsoft365.git cli-microsoft365
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/OfficeDocs-SharePoint-PowerShell.git OfficeDocs-SharePoint-PowerShell
cd ..
pwsh ./Get-HelpJson.ps1

Documentation in docfx/help-repos/README.md covers the git clone workflow and automation details.

Original prompt

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This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Automate the cmdlet help update</issue_title>
<issue_description>Idea:

• Explore the GIT submodule command to link sections of the repo to the help articles in the three (or more) repos where the cmdlet help originates. Other approaches welcomed.
• Update the Get-HelpJson.ps1 to process from these alternative locations

Public Source Repositories for cmdlet help:

• https://github.com/pnp/powershell
• https://github.com/pnp/cli-microsoft365
• https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/OfficeDocs-SharePoint-PowerShell

Preferred output from this

• GitHub Action runs monthly to update the run Get-HelpJson.ps1 to get the links to the documentation
• Create a PR for human review for the updates</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

• Fixes Automate the cmdlet help update #284

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[pkbullock]

@copilot - I want to update this solution to avoid using submodules use git clone instead.

[Copilot]

@copilot - I want to update this solution to avoid using submodules use git clone instead.

Updated the solution to use git clone instead of submodules. The workflow now clones the three documentation repositories during execution, and the help-repos/ directory is ignored via .gitignore. Changes in commit 51aaa68.

[pkbullock]

I've reviewed and will see if this generates the files as expected.