about_Profiles
Short description
Describes how to create and use a PowerShell profile.
Long description
You can create a PowerShell profile to customize your environment and add session-specific elements to every PowerShell session that you start.
A PowerShell profile is a script that runs when PowerShell starts. You can use the profile as a startup script to customize your environment. You can add commands, aliases, functions, variables, modules, PowerShell drives and more. You can also add other session-specific elements to your profile so they're available in every session without having to import or re-create them.
PowerShell supports several profiles for users and host programs. However, it doesn't create the profiles for you.
Profile types and locations
PowerShell supports several profile files that are scoped to users and PowerShell hosts. You can have any or all these profiles on your computer.
The PowerShell console supports the following basic profile files. These file paths are the default locations.
- All Users, All Hosts
- Windows -
$PSHOME\Profile.ps1
- Linux -
/opt/microsoft/powershell/7/profile.ps1
- macOS -
/usr/local/microsoft/powershell/7/profile.ps1
- Windows -
- All Users, Current Host
- Windows -
$PSHOME\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
- Linux -
/opt/microsoft/powershell/7/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
- macOS -
/usr/local/microsoft/powershell/7/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
- Windows -
- Current User, All Hosts
- Windows -
$HOME\Documents\PowerShell\Profile.ps1
- Linux -
~/.config/powershell/profile.ps1
- macOS -
~/.config/powershell/profile.ps1
- Windows -
- Current user, Current Host
- Windows -
$HOME\Documents\PowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
- Linux -
~/.config/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
- macOS -
~/.config/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
- Windows -
Note
In Windows, the location of the Documents
folder can be changed by folder
redirection or OneDrive. We don't recommend redirecting the Documents
folder to a network share or including it in OneDrive. Redirecting the folder
can cause modules to fail to load and create errors in your profile scripts.
For information about removing the Documents
folder from OneDrive
management, consult the OneDrive documentation.
The profile scripts are executed in the order listed. This means that changes made in the AllUsersAllHosts profile can be overridden by any of the other profile scripts. The CurrentUserCurrentHost profile always runs last. In PowerShell Help, the CurrentUserCurrentHost profile is the profile most often referred to as your PowerShell profile.
Other programs that host PowerShell can support their own profiles. For example, Visual Studio Code (VS Code) supports the following host-specific profiles.
- All users, Current Host -
$PSHOME\Microsoft.VSCode_profile.ps1
- Current user, Current Host -
$HOME\Documents\PowerShell\Microsoft.VSCode_profile.ps1
The profile paths include the following variables:
- The
$PSHOME
variable stores the installation directory for PowerShell - The
$HOME
variable stores the current user's home directory
The $PROFILE variable
The $PROFILE
automatic variable stores the paths to the PowerShell profiles
that are available in the current session.
To view a profile path, display the value of the $PROFILE
variable. You can
also use the $PROFILE
variable in a command to represent a path.
The $PROFILE
variable stores the path to the "Current User, Current Host"
profile. The other profiles are saved in note properties of the $PROFILE
variable.
For example, the $PROFILE
variable has the following values in the Windows
PowerShell console.
- Current User, Current Host -
$PROFILE
- Current User, Current Host -
$PROFILE.CurrentUserCurrentHost
- Current User, All Hosts -
$PROFILE.CurrentUserAllHosts
- All Users, Current Host -
$PROFILE.AllUsersCurrentHost
- All Users, All Hosts -
$PROFILE.AllUsersAllHosts
Because the values of the $PROFILE
variable change for each user and in each
host application, ensure that you display the values of the profile variables
in each PowerShell host application that you use.
To see the current values of the $PROFILE
variable, type:
$PROFILE | Select-Object *
You can use the $PROFILE
variable in many commands. For example, the
following command opens the "Current User, Current Host" profile in Notepad:
notepad $PROFILE
The following command determines whether an "All Users, All Hosts" profile has been created on the local computer:
Test-Path -Path $PROFILE.AllUsersAllHosts
How to create a profile
To create a PowerShell profile, use the following command format:
if (!(Test-Path -Path <profile-name>)) {
New-Item -ItemType File -Path <profile-name> -Force
}
For example, to create a profile for the current user in the current PowerShell host application, use the following command:
if (!(Test-Path -Path $PROFILE)) {
New-Item -ItemType File -Path $PROFILE -Force
}
In this command, the if
statement prevents you from overwriting an existing
profile. Replace the value of the $PROFILE
variable with the path to the
profile file that you want to create.
Note
To create "All Users" profiles in Windows Vista and later versions of Windows, start PowerShell with the Run as administrator option.
How to edit a profile
You can open any PowerShell profile in a text editor, such as Notepad.
To open the profile of the current user in the current PowerShell host application in Notepad, type:
notepad $PROFILE
To open other profiles, specify the profile name. For example, to open the profile for all the users of all the host applications, type:
notepad $PROFILE.AllUsersAllHosts
To apply the changes, save the profile file, and then restart PowerShell.
How to choose a profile
If you use multiple host applications, put the items that you use in all the
host applications into your $PROFILE.CurrentUserAllHosts
profile. Put items
that are specific to a host application, such as a command that sets the
background color for a host application, in a profile that's specific to that
host application.
If you are an administrator who is customizing PowerShell for many users, follow these guidelines:
- Store the common items in the
$PROFILE.AllUsersAllHosts
profile - Store items that are specific to a host application in
$PROFILE.AllUsersCurrentHost
profiles that are specific to the host application - Store items for particular users in the user-specific profiles
Be sure to check the host application documentation for any special implementation of PowerShell profiles.
How to use a profile
Many of the items that you create in PowerShell and most commands that you run affect only the current session. When you end the session, the items are deleted.
The session-specific commands and items include PowerShell variables, environment variables, aliases, functions, commands, and PowerShell modules that you add to the session.
To save these items and make them available in all future sessions, add them to a PowerShell profile.
Another common use for profiles is to save frequently used functions, aliases, and variables. When you save the items in a profile, you can use them in any applicable session without recreating them.
How to start a profile
When you open the profile file, it's blank. However, you can fill it with the variables, aliases, and commands that you use frequently.
Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
Add a function that lists aliases for any cmdlet
function Get-CmdletAlias ($cmdletname) {
Get-Alias |
Where-Object -FilterScript {$_.Definition -like "$cmdletname"} |
Format-Table -Property Definition, Name -AutoSize
}
Customize your console
function CustomizeConsole {
$hosttime = (Get-ChildItem -Path $PSHOME\pwsh.exe).CreationTime
$hostversion="$($Host.Version.Major)`.$($Host.Version.Minor)"
$Host.UI.RawUI.WindowTitle = "PowerShell $hostversion ($hosttime)"
Clear-Host
}
CustomizeConsole
Add a customized PowerShell prompt
function Prompt {
$env:COMPUTERNAME + "\" + (Get-Location) + "> "
}
For more information about the PowerShell prompt, see about_Prompts.
For other profile examples, see Customizing your shell environment.
The NoProfile parameter
To start PowerShell without profiles, use the NoProfile parameter of
pwsh.exe
, the program that starts PowerShell.
To begin, open a program that can start PowerShell, such as Cmd.exe or PowerShell itself. You can also use the Run dialog box in Windows.
Type:
pwsh -NoProfile
For a complete list of the parameters of pwsh.exe
, type:
pwsh -?
Profiles and Execution Policy
The PowerShell execution policy determines, in part, whether you can run scripts and load configuration files, including the profiles. The Restricted execution policy is the default. It prevents all scripts from running, including the profiles. If you use the "Restricted" policy, the profile doesn't run, and its contents aren't applied.
A Set-ExecutionPolicy
command sets and changes your execution policy. it's
one of the few commands that applies in all PowerShell sessions because the
value is saved in the registry. You don't have to set it when you open the
console, and you don't have to store a Set-ExecutionPolicy
command in your
profile.
Profiles and remote sessions
PowerShell profiles aren't run automatically in remote sessions, so the
commands that the profiles add aren't present in the remote session. In
addition, the $PROFILE
automatic variable isn't populated in remote sessions.
To run a profile in a session, use the Invoke-Command cmdlet.
For example, the following command runs the "Current user, Current Host"
profile from the local computer in the session in $s
.
Invoke-Command -Session $s -FilePath $PROFILE
The following command runs the "Current user, Current Host" profile from the
remote computer in the session in $s
. Because the $PROFILE
variable isn't
populated, the command uses the explicit path to the profile. We use dot
sourcing operator so that the profile executes in the current scope on the
remote computer and not in its own scope.
Invoke-Command -Session $s -ScriptBlock {
. "$HOME\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1"
}
After running this command, the commands that the profile adds to the session
are available in $s
.
See also
PowerShell