Fix PowerShell argument handling in spam-comment deletion example

[qorud02]

The spam-comment deletion example currently tells Windows users to run the same $(...) command in PowerShell. With multiple IDs on one output line, PowerShell passes a single argument such as "11 22" to WP-CLI instead of the two ID arguments "11" and "22".

Add a PowerShell example that splits the ID list on whitespace and skips deletion when the list is empty. Keep the existing Bash example and identify the shells it supports.

Fixes #664.

Validation: executed the original and corrected examples in Windows PowerShell 5.1.26100.9549 and PowerShell 7.6.5 through WP-CLI 2.12.0 / PHP 8.4.26 on Windows 11. A non-destructive before_wp_load command fixture reports the arguments received. Checked two IDs, one ID, and no IDs. The fixture exercises real WP-CLI argument parsing without deleting database records. git diff --check also passes.

AI assistance: OpenAI Codex helped reproduce the shell behavior and prepare this documentation change and its tests.

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Documentation
  • Clarified that the spam-comment deletion command works in bash-compatible shells but not Windows Command Prompt.
  • Added a PowerShell alternative that handles returned IDs separately and skips deletion when none are found.

[coderabbitai]

Navigate logical layers of code changes, visualize relationships, and explore their blast radius.

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: defaults

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Advanced

Run ID: 47415382-4dbd-419d-84b9-9425323685e8

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 823baff and 766c823.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• guides/common-tasks.md

Included review availability: This review used your included allowance. Your plan provides up to 2 included reviews per hour; 1 remain after this review.

---

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The spam-comment deletion guide now distinguishes bash-compatible shell behavior from Windows Command Prompt behavior. It adds a PowerShell example that splits returned IDs and skips deletion when no IDs are present.

Changes

Spam-comment deletion guidance

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Shell-specific deletion examples guides/common-tasks.md	The guide retains the existing command for bash-compatible shells, notes that it does not work in Windows Command Prompt, and adds a PowerShell example that splits IDs and checks for an empty list.

Priority: ⬇️ Low

Estimated code review effort: 1 (Trivial) | ~5 minutes

Change: Other · Severity of issue fixed: Low

Suggested reviewers: brianhenryie

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to 766c8

The new PowerShell guidance handles multiple, single, and empty ID lists, while the Bash example remains available for compatible shells. No merge-blocking issue was identified.

Architecture Summary

Architecture risk: 🔵 Low · up to 766c8

The change affects 1 system.

Changed systems: guides

Architecture concerns
No architecture-level concerns identified.

Review details

Systems and components

• observed — guides (service) was modified; 1 changed file maps to changed impact.

Before / after behavior

• observed — Modified behavior in guides/common-tasks.md: Replaced a note directing Windows users to Git Bash, WSL, or PowerShell with guidance that the existing command works in bash-compatible shells but not Command Prompt, plus a PowerShell example that splits whitespace-separated IDs and runs deletion only when the resulting ID list is nonempty.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and concisely describes the main change: correcting PowerShell argument handling in the spam-comment deletion example.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	The PR addresses all coding requirements in issue #664. It retains the Bash example in guides/common-tasks.md. It adds a PowerShell example that splits whitespace-separated IDs into separate argumen…
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	The change is limited to the spam-comment deletion documentation in guides/common-tasks.md. The shell-support note and the PowerShell guard directly clarify the behavior required by issue #664. No u…
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 0 functions across 0…

✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create a new PR

• Autopilot · Keep fixing CodeRabbit findings and required CI, and resolving merge conflicts

Autopilot is currently an internal CodeRabbit preview.

---

Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out.

❤️ Share

• X
• Mastodon
• Reddit
• LinkedIn

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands.}

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🟢 Approval recommended

No unresolved review issues remain.

Review effort: Lite
Findings: None

What changed in this PR

Updates the spam-comment deletion documentation with shell-specific examples, including safe PowerShell handling.

Changes:

• Clarifies Bash-compatible shell support.
• Adds PowerShell ID splitting and empty-result handling.

File	Description
guides/​common-tasks.md	Documents Bash and PowerShell deletion commands.

---

💡 Add a code-review agent skill or configure MCP servers for context-aware, tailored reviews. Learn more in the docs.

[mon2000x111-sketch]

_{Approved in CodeRabbit Change Stack}

[mon2000x111-sketch]

_{Approved in CodeRabbit Change Stack}

[mon2000x111-sketch]

_{Approved in CodeRabbit Change Stack}

[swissspidy]

We should probably have a dedicated Windows page/section at some point