How to Add Text to Each File in a Directory in a Repository

Summary: This wiki page shows how I added google ads to each wiki page in a Repository using powershell, and use a VS Code extension to make sure new files get the same treatment.
Date: 25 October 2025

dokuwiki, powershell, vscode

Background

When using Google Auto Adsense on my wiki, I get ads like everywhere, which makes the pages look cluttered and hard to read. My solution is to add an ad at the bottom of each page. However, I don not want to do that manually.

Using a VS Code extension to run a script on file save

I originally wanted to use git hooks to run a script. However, git hooks have a notourious bad reputation when running them on Windows. So instead I opted to use a VS Code extension that runs a script when saving a file.

I previously used this Run on Save extension for work, which worked very well, so I decided to use it here again.

After installing the extension, you need to add some configuration to your settings.json file. I've used the vscode settings extensively before, so I just needed to add the following settings:

    "emeraldwalk.runonsave": {
        // Messages to show before & after all commands
        "message": "*** All Start ***",
        "messageAfter": "*** All Complete ***",
        // Show elappsed time for all commands
        "showElapsed": true,
        "commands": [
            {
                "match": "\\.txt$",
                "notMatch": "\\drafts/.*$",
                "cmd": "pwsh.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ${workspaceFolder}\\ads\\Add-AdsToWikiPages.ps1"
            }
        ]
    }

This will run the powershell script located in the ads folder every time a .txt file is saved in the dokuwiki/pages folder.

The Powershell script

This is the powershell script me and copilot created together and I tested very thoroughly before using it on my actual wiki pages:

It starts with defining the function that can later be called with parameters.
It has an option to exclude certain files from being modified.
It checks if the string to be added is already present in the file, and only adds it if it's not there yet.
It appends the string at the end of the file, ensuring proper formatting with new lines.

function Add-StringToFiles {
  param(
    [Parameter(Mandatory)]
    [string]$FolderPath,
    [Parameter(Mandatory)]
    [string]$StringToAdd,
    [string[]]$ExcludeList = @()
  )
 
  Get-ChildItem -Path $FolderPath -File -Filter "*.txt" | ForEach-Object {
    $filePath = $_.FullName
    $fileName = $_.Name
 
    # Skip if file is in exclude list
    if ($ExcludeList -contains $fileName) {
      Write-Host "Skipping excluded file: $fileName"
      return
    }
 
    $content = Get-Content -Path $filePath -Raw
 
    if ($content -notmatch [regex]::Escape("//This wiki has been made possible by://")) {
      $newContent = "$content`r`n$StringToAdd`r`n"
      Set-Content -Path $filePath -Value $newContent
    }
  }
}
 
$folder = "C:\Repos\GetShifting\knowledge\dokuwiki\pages"
$excludeFiles = @("overview.txt", "alltags.txt", "sidebar.txt")
$adString = '//This wiki has been made possible by://
 
<HTML>
<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8613096447910897"
     crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<!-- Wiki End of Page -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
     style="display:block"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-8613096447910897"
     data-ad-slot="6221699236"
     data-ad-format="auto"
     data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>
<script>
     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>
</HTML>
'
 
Add-StringToFiles -FolderPath $folder -StringToAdd $adString -ExcludeList $excludeFiles

This wiki has been made possible by:

wiki.getshifting.com

Table of Contents

How to Add Text to Each File in a Directory in a Repository

Background

Using a VS Code extension to run a script on file save

The Powershell script