Add Export-PowerShellDataFile function for writing PSD1 files

[MariusStorhaug]

PowerShell ships Import-PowerShellDataFile but has no built-in Export-PowerShellDataFile. Modules that need to persist a hashtable to disk in PSD1 form — module manifests, configuration snapshots, generated localized data files — currently have to compose the file by hand string-by-string, or call New-ModuleManifest (which is manifest-specific and inflexible).

This issue adds the missing Export-PowerShellDataFile. There is intentionally no Import-PowerShellDataFile here — the built-in already covers that surface; the module re-exports the built-in (or omits it entirely).

Request

Desired capability

$config | Export-PowerShellDataFile -Path settings.psd1
$manifest | Export-PowerShellDataFile -Path module.psd1 -NoClobber

Standard parameters

Parameter	Description
-Path	File path (position 0, default parameter set)
-LiteralPath	Literal path (no wildcard expansion)
-InputObject	Hashtable to export (ValueFromPipeline, mandatory)
-Encoding	Default utf8NoBOM
-NoClobber	Fail if target exists
-Force	Overwrite read-only files
-Indent	Spaces per nesting level (default: 4)

All ConvertTo-PowerShellDataFile parameters pass through.

Acceptance criteria

• $h | Export-PowerShellDataFile -Path f.psd1 produces a file readable by the built-in Import-PowerShellDataFile
• Output round-trips: Import-PowerShellDataFile $f returns an equivalent hashtable
• -NoClobber, -Force, -Encoding, -LiteralPath behave as in Export-Csv
• ShouldProcess support (-WhatIf, -Confirm)
• The generated file passes Test-ModuleManifest when the input represents a valid module manifest

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Technical decisions

Architecture: Thin wrapper around ConvertTo-PowerShellDataFile (tracked separately). Adds only file I/O and the standard file-cmdlet parameters.

Function placement: src/functions/public/Export-PowerShellDataFile.ps1.

Parameter sets: Path (default, position 0) and LiteralPath, mirroring Export-Csv.

No Import-PowerShellDataFile in this module: The built-in already exists. Re-implementing or shadowing it adds risk without benefit. If the module ever needs to extend the built-in (e.g., string parsing), that lives under ConvertFrom-PowerShellDataFile rather than a competing Import- function.

Alias: Export-Psd1.

Encoding default: UTF-8 without BOM — matches PowerShell 7+ default for Set-Content.

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Implementation plan

• Add Export-PowerShellDataFile in src/functions/public/Export-PowerShellDataFile.ps1 with Export-Psd1 alias
• Add tests/Export-PowerShellDataFile.Tests.ps1 — basic write, -NoClobber, -Force, -Encoding, -WhatIf, pipeline input, round-trip via built-in Import-PowerShellDataFile
• Add module-manifest validation test (output passes Test-ModuleManifest)
• Update examples/General.ps1 and README

Related

• ConvertFrom/ConvertTo-PowerShellDataFile (prerequisite — separate issue)