PowerShell

What it is

PowerShell is a cross-platform automation and configuration tool that runs on Windows, Linux and macOS. It is a command-line shell, a scripting language and a framework for processing cmdlets. Most shells accept and return only text. PowerShell passes .NET objects, so you filter results by property instead of parsing text output. It is built for structured data such as JSON, CSV and XML, for REST APIs and for object models. This repository started as a fork of the Windows PowerShell codebase, and its changes are not ported back to Windows PowerShell 5.1. Issues tracked in this repository are only for PowerShell 7.x and higher.

1. You install PowerShell 7 for your system
2. You start it with the pwsh command
3. A cmdlet returns .NET objects, not text
4. The pipe hands those objects to the next command
5. Where-Object or Select-Object keeps what you need

Who it suits

System administrators used it first, to automate admin tasks on Windows. Microsoft says DevOps, cloud operations people and developers use it now. It fits anyone who automates work across Windows, Linux and macOS, or who handles JSON, CSV or XML from tools and APIs. As a scripting language it is commonly used to automate the management of systems, and to build, test and deploy solutions, often in CI/CD environments.

Windows already has Windows PowerShell 5.1 installed by default. PowerShell 7 does not replace it. It installs to a new folder and runs beside it.

Where to use it

PowerShell 7 runs on these systems, and the kit has a page for each.

• Windows, with WinGet, an MSI package, an MSIX package, a ZIP package or the .NET global tool
• macOS, with the PKG, the .NET global tool, a binary archive or the community Homebrew formula
• Ubuntu, Debian and RHEL, with a package from Microsoft’s package repository or a package file from GitHub
• Alpine, with a tar.gz archive
• Other Linux systems, with the Snap package or a binary archive, plus community routes for Raspberry Pi OS, Arch Linux and Kali
• Linux, macOS or Windows, by building it from source

How to set it up

Get it saves a zip of Mindket’s setup notes in your downloads folder, with one page per system from Microsoft’s install pages. Microsoft recommends WinGet on Windows clients and its package repository on Ubuntu, Debian and RHEL.

1. Open the kit page for your system.
2. On Windows, run the WinGet line below. It works from cmd.exe, Windows PowerShell or pwsh.exe. Since PowerShell 7.6.0 it installs the MSIX package. Add --installer-type wix to get the MSI instead.
3. On Linux, run the page’s script. On Ubuntu, Debian and RHEL it adds Microsoft’s package repository and installs powershell.
4. On macOS, double-click the PKG. Download the one for your processor from the releases page first.
5. Open a new terminal and run pwsh.

winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell --source winget

Any system with the .NET Core SDK can use the global tool instead.

dotnet tool install --global PowerShell

How to use it

Start PowerShell with pwsh. Four cmdlets help you find your way: Get-Verb lists the verbs commands use, Get-Command lists installed commands, Get-Member shows what an object holds, and Get-Help shows a command’s help page. Pipe a command into Where-Object to keep the objects whose property matches, or into Get-Member to see the type it returns.

Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.ProcessName -like "p*"}
Get-Process | Get-Member

The pipe, the | character, sends the output of one command to the next as its input. For Get-Process, Get-Member reports the type System.Diagnostics.Process.

Example

You want to know which commands work with processes before you write a cleanup script. You ask Get-Command for every name that ends in -Process.

Get-Command -Name *-Process

Microsoft’s page on finding commands shows five cmdlets from the Microsoft.PowerShell.Management module: Debug-Process, Get-Process, Start-Process, Stop-Process and Wait-Process. Each name is a verb and the noun Process.

For newcomers and experts

If you are new. A cmdlet is a PowerShell command, named as a Verb-Noun pair such as Get-Process. Microsoft’s docs say PowerShell is designed to help you learn a little at a time, as you need it. The README points newcomers to Microsoft’s getting started documentation. The kit’s learning page lists it, with PowerShell 101 and the free PowerShell training on Microsoft Learn. Start with Get-Command and Get-Help.

For experts. Upgrade with the method you first used, as the README and the install pages say. On Windows, $PSHOME tells you which, and a path under WindowsApps means the MSIX package. From PowerShell 7.7.0 there is no MSI package, and WinGet installs only the MSIX. An MSIX install is for one user, runs in a sandbox and does not accept PowerShell remoting sessions. SSH remoting for outbound connections still works. The FAQ says not every error is a catchable exception by default, and that setting $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop' will likely do what you want.

To build PowerShell yourself, import build.psm1, run Start-PSBootstrap, then Start-PSBuild -UseNuGetOrg. The flag points the build at the public NuGet.org feed, because the project references a private Azure Artifacts feed by default. C# developers get the Microsoft.PowerShell.SDK package from NuGet.org.

Good to know

PowerShell sends basic telemetry unless you opt out.

• Telemetry: at startup pwsh sends items such as the operating system, the PowerShell version, the host’s location from its IP address and random GUIDs. Set POWERSHELL_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT to true, yes or 1 before it starts. From 7.6.2 on Windows, turning off optional diagnostic data works too
• Setup notes only: the kit holds Mindket’s notes and no PowerShell files. Microsoft did not make or endorse them
• Versions: the commands name the release the install pages showed on 3 November 2026. A preview can hold breaking changes and is not for production
• Support: Microsoft supports the methods on its install pages. The Homebrew formula, the Arch package and Kali are community routes, and Canonical maintains the Snap packages. Microsoft supports PowerShell on a best-effort basis, and without a paid support agreement you are limited to community support
• Windows PowerShell: its problems go to the Feedback Hub app, not to this repository
• Containers: the README says the PowerShell container images are now maintained by the .NET team, and the containers at mcr.microsoft.com/powershell are currently not maintained
• License: MIT, copyright Microsoft Corporation