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.
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