Building Fast Tools and Smarter Workflows with Justin Grote

In this episode of the PowerShell Podcast, we welcome back Justin Grote, a Microsoft MVP and open-source powerhouse, for an in-depth and fast-paced conversation. Fresh off his PowerShell Wednesday presentation, Justin shares the thinking behind his latest innovations, including the creation of the high-performance ExcelFast module and his evangelism for dev containers and modern development workflows.

 

Key topics in this episode include:

• Getting the most from VS Code – Justin shares power-user tips, favorite settings, and the evolution of his 1,000-line configuration file.
• GitHub Copilot and real-world developer productivity – How Justin’s approach to AI tooling shifted after experiencing measurable value in his PowerShell workflows.
• Dev containers and runtime containers – A detailed breakdown of the difference, practical use cases, and how they transform collaboration, onboarding, and consistency.
• Excel Fast – A brand-new module optimized for high-performance reading, writing, and streaming of large Excel and CSV datasets, developed with dev containers from day one.
• Open-source contributions to PowerShell – Including enhanced logging for Invoke-RestMethod and building a dev container for the PowerShell repo itself.
• PowerShell Conf EU previews – From a 90-minute VS Code optimization deep dive to a hands-on runspaces lab with GitHub Codespaces integration.

This episode is packed with practical advice, philosophy on tooling, and Justin’s trademark blend of performance focus and community-first thinking. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or looking to up your scripting game, you’ll walk away with new ideas and resources to explore.

 

Guest Bio – Justin Grote
Justin Grote is a Microsoft MVP, PowerShell advocate, and open-source contributor with a deep focus on automation, performance, and developer productivity. Known for tools like ModuleFast and his work improving PowerShell workflows, Justin blends real-world experience with a passion for teaching and sharing. Whether he's optimizing VS Code, contributing to the PowerShell repo, or speaking at global conferences, Justin empowers the community with practical solutions and thoughtful insight.

 

Links:

• Find Justin on GitHub, BlueSky, or on Discord (@JustinGrote): https://github.com/JustinGrote
• Try out ExcelFast: https://github.com/JustinGrote/ExcelFast
• PSConfEU Announcement: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7328093268225806337/
• Create Dev Container Docs: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/devcontainers/create-dev-container
• SecretManagement.DpapiNG: https://github.com/jborean93/SecretManagement.DpapiNG
• Connect with Andrew on Socials: https://andrewpla.tech/links
• Catch PowerShell Wednesdays weekly at 2 PM EST on discord.gg/pdq
• The PowerShell Podcast hub: https://pdq.com/the-powershell-podcast 
• The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dHbWFUyUaOE