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Install PowerShell 7 on macOS

There are multiple package versions of PowerShell 7 that can be installed. This article focuses on installing the latest stable release package. For more information about the package versions, see the PowerShell Support Lifecycle article.

Newer versions of PowerShell 7 replace existing previous versions of PowerShell 7. Preview versions of PowerShell can be installed side-by-side with other versions of PowerShell. Newer preview versions replace existing previous preview versions. If you need to run PowerShell 7.5 side-by-side with a previous version, reinstall the previous version using the binary archive method.

Choose an installation method

There are several ways to install PowerShell on macOS.

Manually download and install the package

Download the install package from the releases page. Select the package version you want to install.

There are two ways to install PowerShell using the downloaded package.

Install the package using Finder

Install PowerShell using Finder:

  1. Open Finder

  2. Locate the downloaded package

  3. Double-click the file

    You will receive the following error message when installing the package:

    "powershell-7.5.4-osx-arm64.pkg" Not Opened

    Apple could not verify "powershell-7.5.4-osx-arm64.pkg" is free from malware that may harm your Mac or compromise your privacy.

  4. Select the Done button to close the prompt.

This error message comes from the Gatekeeper feature of macOS. For more information, see Safely open apps on your Mac - Apple Support.

After you've tried to open the package, follow these steps:

  1. Open System Settings.
  2. Select Privacy & Security and scroll down to the Security section.
  3. Select the Open Anyway button to confirm your intent to install PowerShell.
  4. When the warning prompt reappears, select Open Anyway.
  5. Enter username and password to allow the installation to proceed.

Install the package from a command shell

To install the PowerShell package from the command line, you must bypass the Gatekeeper checks. Use one of the following methods to install the package:

  • Run the installer command with the allowUntrusted flag:

    sudo installer -allowUntrusted -pkg ./Downloads/powershell-7.5.4-osx-arm64.pkg -target /

  • Or install the package as you normally would after running one of the following commands:

    • Run sudo xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine ./Downloads/powershell-7.5.4-osx-arm64.pkg.
    • Use the Unblock-File cmdlet if you're using PowerShell. Include the full path to the .pkg file.

Install as a .NET Global tool

If you already have the .NET Core SDK installed, you can use the .NET Global tool to install PowerShell 7.

dotnet tool install --global PowerShell

The dotnet tool installer adds ~/.dotnet/tools to your PATH environment variable. However, the currently running shell doesn't have the updated PATH. Start PowerShell from a new shell by typing pwsh.

Install PowerShell 7 from a binary archive

PowerShell binary tar.gz archives are provided for the macOS platform to enable advanced deployment scenarios. When you install using this method, you must also manually install any dependencies.

Download the install package from the releases page onto your Mac. Select the archive version you want to install.

Use the following commands to install PowerShell from the binary archive. Change the download URL to match the version you want to install.

# Download the powershell '.tar.gz' archive
curl -L -o /tmp/powershell.tar.gz https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v7.5.4/powershell-7.5.4-osx-arm64.tar.gz

# Create the target folder where powershell is placed
sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/microsoft/powershell/7

# Expand powershell to the target folder
sudo tar zxf /tmp/powershell.tar.gz -C /usr/local/microsoft/powershell/7

# Set execute permissions
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/microsoft/powershell/7/pwsh

# Create the symbolic link that points to pwsh
sudo ln -s /usr/local/microsoft/powershell/7/pwsh /usr/local/bin/pwsh

Start PowerShell 7

After the package is installed, run pwsh from a terminal. If you have installed a Preview package, run pwsh-preview.

  • The location of $PSHOME varies based on the package you installed.
    • For Stable and LTS packages: /usr/local/microsoft/powershell/7/
    • For Preview packages: /usr/local/microsoft/powershell/7-preview/
    • The macOS install package creates a symbolic link, /usr/local/bin/pwsh that points to pwsh in the $PSHOME location.
  • User profiles are read from ~/.config/powershell/profile.ps1
  • Default profiles are read from $PSHOME/profile.ps1
  • User modules are read from ~/.local/share/powershell/Modules
  • Shared modules are read from /usr/local/share/powershell/Modules
  • Default modules are read from $PSHOME/Modules
  • PSReadLine history is recorded to ~/.local/share/powershell/PSReadLine/ConsoleHost_history.txt

PowerShell respects the XDG Base Directory Specification on macOS.

Update PowerShell 7

To update PowerShell, download the new version of the package or binary archive and install it.

Uninstall PowerShell 7

If you manually installed PowerShell 7, you must manually remove it. The following command removes the symbolic link and PowerShell files.

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/bin/pwsh /usr/local/microsoft/powershell

Use sudo rm to remove any other remaining PowerShell files and folders.

Supported versions of macOS

Microsoft supports PowerShell until PowerShell reaches end-of-support or the version of macOS reaches end-of-support.

The following versions of macOS are supported:

  • macOS 26 (Tahoe) x64 and Arm64
  • macOS 15 (Sequoia) x64 and Arm64
  • macOS 14 (Sonoma) x64 and Arm64

Apple determines the support lifecycle of macOS. For more information, see the following:

Supported installation methods

Microsoft supports the installation methods in this document. There may be other third-party methods of installation available from other sources. While those tools and methods may work, Microsoft can't support those methods. For more information, see Alternate ways to install PowerShell.

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