BurntToast v1.0 and 10 Years of PowerShell Notifications with Josh King

Andrew's longtime friend, mentor, and PowerShell legend Josh King joins The PowerShell Podcast to celebrate the tenth anniversary and version 1.0 release of his popular open-source module BurntToast, which powers customizable Windows toast notifications. Josh shares the story behind the project’s evolution, the challenges of maintaining an open-source module with millions of downloads, and the balance between community expectations and personal well-being.

 

In addition to diving into BurntToast’s new actionable notifications and real-world use cases, Josh and host Andrew Pla reflect on their shared history in the PowerShell community, the importance of mentorship, and how taking small steps (like creating a GitHub repo or sharing a script) can lead to huge career growth.

 

Key Takeaways:

• BurntToast hits version 1.0 – After ten years of development, BurntToast now includes support for actionable notifications, letting users interact directly through PowerShell-based Windows alerts.
• Open-source and burnout – Josh discusses the pressures of maintaining a high-profile module and the importance of setting boundaries while giving back to the community.
• Mentorship and community matter – Simple encouragement, open sharing, and small contributions can transform careers and strengthen the PowerShell ecosystem.

Guest Bio:
Josh is a Senior Infrastructure Operations Engineer at Chocolatey Software and a former Microsoft MVP. He has a long history working within Windows and VMware environments and has a passion for all things PowerShell and automation.Resource Links

• BurntToast Module (PowerShell Gallery) – https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/BurntToast
• Josh’s Blog – https://toastit.dev
• Josh King on GitHub – https://github.com/Windos
• Connect with Andrew - https://andrewpla.tech/links
• Josh on BlueSky – https://bsky.app/profile/toastit.dev
• Josh's PowerShell Wednesday BurntToast Presentation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD1VaxXWcXA
• Learn about #requires - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_requires?view=powershell-7.5
• PDQ Discord – https://discord.gg/PDQ
• The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wi7Ijo9Od-k