Installing PowerShell - PowerShell Tutorial

Installing PowerShell 7

PowerShell 7 is the latest cross-platform version. Here's how to install it on every major operating system.

Windows Installation

Method 1: MSI Installer (Recommended)

Visit the PowerShell GitHub releases page
Download the .msi file for your architecture (usually x64)
Run the installer and follow the prompts

Method 2: Windows Package Manager (winget)

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

Method 3: Microsoft Store

Search for "PowerShell" in the Microsoft Store and click Install.

Verify Installation

pwsh --version

You should see output like:

PowerShell 7.4.6

Note: pwsh launches PowerShell 7, while powershell launches Windows PowerShell 5.1. They can coexist side by side.

macOS Installation

Using Homebrew (Recommended)

# Install Homebrew if you don't have it
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
 
# Install PowerShell
brew install --cask powershell
 
# Launch PowerShell
pwsh

Verify Installation

pwsh --version

Linux Installation

Ubuntu / Debian

# Update package list and install prerequisites
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y wget apt-transport-https software-properties-common
 
# Import the Microsoft repository GPG keys
source /etc/os-release
wget -q https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/$VERSION_ID/packages-microsoft-prod.deb
sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb
rm packages-microsoft-prod.deb
 
# Install PowerShell
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y powershell
 
# Launch PowerShell
pwsh

CentOS / RHEL / Fedora

# Register the Microsoft RedHat repository
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/8/prod.repo | sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/microsoft.repo
 
# Install PowerShell
sudo dnf install -y powershell
 
# Launch PowerShell
pwsh

Arch Linux

# Install from AUR
yay -S powershell-bin

Setting Up VS Code (Recommended Editor)

Visual Studio Code with the PowerShell extension provides the best development experience:

Step 1: Install VS Code

Download VS Code from code.visualstudio.com

Step 2: Install the PowerShell Extension

Open VS Code
Press Ctrl+Shift+X (or Cmd+Shift+X on macOS)
Search for "PowerShell"
Install the official PowerShell extension by Microsoft

Step 3: Configure the Integrated Terminal

Open VS Code settings (Ctrl+,) and set:

{
  "terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.windows": "PowerShell",
  "powershell.powerShellDefaultVersion": "PowerShell (x64)"
}

Key VS Code Features for PowerShell

IntelliSense — Auto-completion for cmdlets, parameters, and variables
Syntax Highlighting — Color-coded PowerShell syntax
Integrated Terminal — Run scripts directly in the editor
Debugging — Set breakpoints, step through code, inspect variables
Linting — PSScriptAnalyzer integration for best practices

Your First PowerShell Command

Open PowerShell (type pwsh in your terminal) and try:

# Display a greeting
Write-Host "Hello, ShellRAG!" -ForegroundColor Green
 
# Get today's date
Get-Date
 
# See your PowerShell version
$PSVersionTable

Expected output:

Hello, ShellRAG!

DayOfWeek     : Monday
Year          : 2026
...

Name                           Value
----                           -----
PSVersion                      7.4.6
PSEdition                      Core
OS                             Microsoft Windows 10.0.22631
Platform                       Win32NT

Understanding the PowerShell Console

When you open PowerShell, you'll see a prompt like:

PS C:\Users\YourName>

PS indicates you're in PowerShell
C:\Users\YourName is your current directory
> is the prompt where you type commands

Useful Console Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Tab`	Auto-complete commands and paths
`Ctrl+C`	Cancel current command
`Ctrl+L`	Clear the screen
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate command history
`Ctrl+R`	Search command history
`F7`	Show command history window

PowerShell Profiles

PowerShell profiles are scripts that run when PowerShell starts. They let you customize your environment:

# Check if a profile exists
Test-Path $PROFILE
 
# Create a profile if it doesn't exist
if (!(Test-Path $PROFILE)) {
    New-Item -ItemType File -Path $PROFILE -Force
}
 
# Open your profile in VS Code
code $PROFILE

Add customizations to your profile:

# Example profile content
Write-Host "Welcome to PowerShell!" -ForegroundColor Cyan
 
# Custom aliases
Set-Alias -Name ll -Value Get-ChildItem
Set-Alias -Name np -Value notepad
 
# Custom prompt
function prompt {
    $currentDir = Split-Path -Leaf (Get-Location)
    Write-Host "[$currentDir]" -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Green
    return " > "
}

Now that PowerShell is installed and configured, let's learn about cmdlets — the building blocks of PowerShell!