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Starting Windows PowerShell

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Windows PowerShell is a scripting engine that's embedded into multiple hosts. The most common hosts you'll start are the interactive command-line powershell.exe and the Interactive Scripting Environment powershell_ise.exe.

PowerShell has renamed binary

PowerShell version 6 and higher uses .NET Core. Supported versions are available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Beginning in PowerShell 6, the PowerShell binary was renamed pwsh.exe for Windows and pwsh for macOS and Linux. You can start PowerShell preview versions using pwsh-preview. For more information, see About pwsh.

To find cmdlet reference and installation documentation for PowerShell 7, use the following links:

Document Link
Cmdlet reference PowerShell Module Browser
Windows installation Installing PowerShell on Windows
macOS installation Installing PowerShell on macOS
Linux installation Installing PowerShell on Linux

To view content for other PowerShell versions, see How to use the PowerShell documentation.

From the Start Menu

  • Open the Start menu, type Windows PowerShell, select Windows PowerShell, then select Open.

At the Command Prompt

In Windows Command shell, Windows PowerShell, or Windows PowerShell ISE, to start Windows PowerShell, type: PowerShell.

You can also use the parameters of the powershell.exe program to customize the session. For more information, see PowerShell.exe Command-Line Help.

With Administrative privileges (Run as administrator)

Open the Start menu, type Windows PowerShell, select Windows PowerShell, and then select Run as administrator.

How to Start Windows PowerShell ISE on Earlier Releases of Windows

Use any of the following methods to start Windows PowerShell ISE.

From the Start Menu

  • Open the Start menu, type ISE, select Windows PowerShell ISE, then select Open.

At the Command Prompt

In Windows Command shell, Windows PowerShell, or Windows PowerShell ISE, to start Windows PowerShell, type: PowerShell_ISE. In Windows PowerShell, you can use the alias ise.

With Administrative privileges (Run as administrator)

Click Start, type ISE, right-click Windows PowerShell ISE, and then click Run as administrator.

Starting the 32-Bit Version of Windows PowerShell

When using a 64-bit computer, Windows PowerShell (x86), a 32-bit version of Windows PowerShell is installed in addition to the 64-bit version. When you run Windows PowerShell, the 64-bit version runs by default.

However, you might occasionally need to run Windows PowerShell (x86), such as when you're using a module that requires the 32-bit version or when you're connecting remotely to a 32-bit computer.

To start a 32-bit version of Windows PowerShell, use any of the following procedures.

  • Click Start, type Windows PowerShell, select Windows PowerShell (x86), then select Open.