PowerShell is a task automation and
configuration management
Configuration management (CM) is a process for establishing and maintaining consistency of a product's performance, functional, and physical attributes with its requirements, design, and operational information throughout its life. The CM proc ...
program from
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
, consisting of a
command-line
A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invoking executables and pro ...
shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard o ...
and the associated
scripting language
A scripting language or script language is a programming language that is used to manipulate, customize, and automate the facilities of an existing system. Scripting languages are usually interpreted at runtime rather than compiled.
A scripting ...
. Initially a Windows component only, known as Windows PowerShell, it was made
open-source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
and
cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software r ...
on 18 August 2016 with the introduction of PowerShell Core.
The former is built on the
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a proprietary software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It was the predominant implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) until bein ...
, the latter on
.NET Core
The domain name net is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) used in the Domain Name System of the Internet. The name is derived from the word ''network'', indicating it was originally intended for organizations involved in networking technologies ...
.
In PowerShell, administrative tasks are generally performed via ''cmdlets'' (pronounced ''command-lets''), which are specialized .NET
classes implementing a particular operation. These work by accessing data in different data stores, like the
file system
In computing, file system or filesystem (often abbreviated to fs) is a method and data structure that the operating system uses to control how data is stored and retrieved. Without a file system, data placed in a storage medium would be one larg ...
or
Windows Registry
The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores low-level settings for the Microsoft Windows operating system and for applications that opt to use the registry. The kernel, device drivers, services, Security Accounts Manager, and use ...
, which are made available to PowerShell via ''providers''. Third-party developers can add cmdlets and providers to PowerShell.
Cmdlets may be used by scripts, which may in turn be packaged into modules. Cmdlets work in tandem with the .NET
API
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
.
PowerShell's support for
.NET Remoting
.NET Remoting is a Microsoft application programming interface (API) for interprocess communication released in 2002 with the 1.0 version of .NET Framework. It is one in a series of Microsoft technologies that began in 1990 with the first version ...
,
WS-Management
WS-Management (Web Services-Management) is a DMTF open standard defining a SOAP-based protocol for the management of servers, devices, applications and various Web services. WS-Management provides a common way for systems to access and exchange ...
,
CIM, and
SSH
The Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) is a cryptographic network protocol for operating network services securely over an unsecured network. Its most notable applications are remote login and command-line execution.
SSH applications are based on ...
enables administrators to perform administrative tasks on both local and remote Windows systems. PowerShell also provides a hosting API with which the PowerShell runtime can be embedded inside other applications. These applications can then use PowerShell functionality to implement certain operations, including those exposed via the
graphical interface
The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...
. This capability has been used by
Microsoft Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange Server is a mail server and calendaring server developed by Microsoft. It runs exclusively on Windows Server operating systems.
The first version was called Exchange Server 4.0, to position it as the successor to the related ...
2007 to expose its management functionality as PowerShell cmdlets and providers and implement the
graphical
Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture ...
management tools as PowerShell hosts which invoke the necessary cmdlets.
Other Microsoft applications including
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 The history of Microsoft SQL Server begins with the first Microsoft SQL Server database product – SQL Server v1.0, a 16-bit relational database for the OS/2 operating system, released in 1989.
Versions
Detailed history Genesis
On June 12, 19 ...
also expose their management interface via PowerShell cmdlets.
PowerShell includes its own extensive, console-based help (similar to
man page
A man page (short for manual page) is a form of software documentation usually found on a Unix or Unix-like operating system. Topics covered include computer programs (including library and system calls), formal standards and conventions, and ev ...
s in
Unix shell
A Unix shell is a command-line Interpreter (computing), interpreter or shell (computing), shell that provides a command line user interface for Unix-like operating systems. The shell is both an interactive command language and a scripting langua ...
s) accessible via the
Get-Help
cmdlet. Updated local help contents can be retrieved from the Internet via the
Update-Help
cmdlet. Alternatively, help from the web can be acquired on a case-by-case basis via the
-online
switch to
Get-Help
.
Background
The
command-line interpreter
A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invoking executables and pro ...
(CLI) has been an inseparable part of most Microsoft
operating systems
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also inc ...
.
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
and
Xenix
Xenix is a discontinued version of the Unix operating system for various microcomputer platforms, licensed by Microsoft from AT&T Corporation in the late 1970s. The Santa Cruz Operation (SCO) later acquired exclusive rights to the software, and ...
relied almost exclusively on CLI. (MS-DOS 5 came with a complementary graphical
DOS Shell
DOS Shell is a file manager that debuted in MS-DOS and PC DOS version 4.0, released in June 1988. It was discontinued in MS-DOS version 6.22, but remained part of the Supplemental Disk. The Supplemental Disk could be ordered or could be do ...
.) The Windows 9x family came bundled with
COMMAND.COM
COMMAND.COM is the default command-line interpreter for MS-DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows Me. In the case of DOS, it is the default user interface as well. It has an additional role as the usual first program run after boot (init proc ...
, the command-line environment of MS-DOS. The
Windows NT
Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems sc ...
and
Windows CE
Windows Embedded Compact, formerly Windows Embedded CE, Windows Powered and Windows CE, is an operating system subfamily developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows Embedded family of products.
Unlike Windows Embedded Standard, which is base ...
families, however, came with a new
cmd.exe
Command Prompt, also known as cmd.exe or cmd, is the default command-line interpreter for the OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS, Microsoft Windows (Windows NT family and Windows CE family), and ReactOS operating systems. On Windows CE .NET 4.2, Windo ...
that bore strong similarities to COMMAND.COM. Both environments support a few basic internal commands and a primitive scripting language (
batch files
Batch may refer to:
Food and drink
* Batch (alcohol), an alcoholic fruit beverage
* Batch loaf, a type of bread popular in Ireland
* A dialect term for a bread roll used in North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Coventry, as well as on the Wirral ...
), which can be used to automate various tasks. However, they cannot automate all facets of Windows
graphical user interface
The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...
(GUI) because command-line equivalents of operations are limited and the scripting language is elementary.
Microsoft attempted to address some of these shortcomings by introducing the
Windows Script Host
The Microsoft Windows Script Host (WSH) (formerly named Windows Scripting Host) is an automation technology for Microsoft Windows operating systems that provides scripting abilities comparable to batch files, but with a wider range of supported fe ...
in 1998 with
Windows 98
Windows 98 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. The second operating system in the 9x line, it is the successor to Windows 95, and was released to ...
, and its command-line based host,
cscript.exe
. It integrates with the
Active Script engine and allows scripts to be written in compatible languages, such as
JScript
JScript is Microsoft's legacy dialect of the ECMAScript standard that is used in Microsoft's Internet Explorer 11 and older.
JScript is implemented as an Active Scripting engine. This means that it can be "plugged in" to OLE Automation applicati ...
and
VBScript
VBScript (''"Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition"'') is an Active Scripting language developed by Microsoft that is modeled on Visual Basic. It allows Microsoft Windows system administrators to generate powerful tools for managing computers w ...
, leveraging the
APIs exposed by applications via the component object model (
COM
Com or COM may refer to:
Computing
* COM (hardware interface), a serial port interface on IBM PC-compatible computers
* COM file, or .com file, short for "command", a file extension for an executable file in MS-DOS
* .com, an Internet top-level d ...
). However, it has its own deficiencies: its documentation is not very accessible, and it quickly gained a reputation as a system
vulnerability vector after several high-profile
computer viruses
A computer virus is a type of computer program that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a compu ...
exploited weaknesses in its security provisions. Different versions of Windows provided various special-purpose command-line interpreters (such as
netsh
In computing, netsh, or network shell, is a command-line utility included in Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems beginning with Windows 2000. It allows local or remote configuration of network devices such as the interface.
Overview ...
and
WMIC
WMIC (660 AM) is a full service radio station licensed to Sandusky, Michigan at 660 kHz on the AM dial, with an power output of 1,000 watts. WMIC covers Sanilac County, Michigan and The Thumb area of Michigan. The station is owned by Sanil ...
) with their own command sets but they were not interoperable.
Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2003 is the sixth version of Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft. It is part of the Windows NT family of operating systems and was released to manufacturing on March 28, 2003 and generally available on April 24, 2 ...
further attempted to improve the command line experience but scripting support was still unsatisfactory.
Kermit
By the late 1990s,
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
had come to Microsoft asking for help in making Windows, which ran on Intel CPUs, a more appropriate platform to support the development of future Intel CPUs. At the time, Intel CPU development was accomplished on
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...
computers which ran
Solaris
Solaris may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film
* ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem
** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg
** ''Solaris'' (1972 film), directed by ...
(a
Unix
Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...
variant) on
RISC
In computer engineering, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) is a computer designed to simplify the individual instructions given to the computer to accomplish tasks. Compared to the instructions given to a complex instruction set comput ...
-architecture CPUs. The ability to run Intel's many
KornShell
KornShell (ksh) is a Unix shell which was developed by David Korn at Bell Labs in the early 1980s and announced at USENIX on July 14, 1983. The initial development was based on Bourne shell source code. Other early contributors were Bell ...
automation scripts on Windows was identified as a key capability. Internally, Microsoft began an effort to create a Windows port of Korn Shell, which was code-named Kermit. Intel ultimately pivoted to a
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
-based development platform that could run on Intel CPUs, rendering the Kermit project redundant. However, with a fully funded team, Microsoft program manager
Jeffrey Snover
__NOTOC__
Jeffrey Snover is a Distinguished Engineer at Google. Previously a Microsoft Technical Fellow, PowerShell Chief Architect, and the Chief Architect for the Azure Infrastructure and Management group which includes Azure Stack, System C ...
realized there was an opportunity to create a more general-purpose solution to Microsoft's problem of administrative automation.
Monad
By 2002, Microsoft had started to develop a new approach to command-line management, including a CLI called Monad (also known as Microsoft Shell or MSH). The ideas behind it were published in August 2002 in a white paper called the "Monad Manifesto" by its chief architect,
Jeffrey Snover
__NOTOC__
Jeffrey Snover is a Distinguished Engineer at Google. Previously a Microsoft Technical Fellow, PowerShell Chief Architect, and the Chief Architect for the Azure Infrastructure and Management group which includes Azure Stack, System C ...
.
In a 2017 interview, Snover explains the genesis of PowerShell, saying that he had been trying to make
Unix
Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...
tools available on Windows, which didn't work due to "
core architectural difference between Windows and Linux">between Windows and Linux". Specifically, he noted that
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
considers everything an
ASCII
ASCII ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because of ...
text file
A text file (sometimes spelled textfile; an old alternative name is flatfile) is a kind of computer file that is structured as a sequence of lines of electronic text. A text file exists stored as data within a computer file system. In operating ...
, whereas Windows considers everything an "
API
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
that returns structured data". They were fundamentally incompatible, which led him to take a different approach.
Monad was to be a new extensible CLI with a fresh design capable of automating a range of core administrative tasks. Microsoft first demonstrated Monad publicly at the Professional Development Conference in Los Angeles in October 2003. A few months later, they opened up private beta, which eventually led to a public beta. Microsoft published the first Monad public
beta release
A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...
on 17 June 2005 and the Beta 2 on 11 September 2005, and Beta 3 on 10 January 2006.
PowerShell
On 25 April 2006, not long after the initial Monad announcement, Microsoft announced that Monad had been renamed Windows PowerShell, positioning it as a significant part of its management technology offerings.
Release Candidate (RC) 1 of PowerShell was released at the same time. A significant aspect of both the name change and the RC was that this was now a component of Windows, rather than a mere add-on.
Release Candidate 2 of PowerShell version 1 was released on 26 September 2006, with final
release to the web on 14 November 2006. PowerShell for earlier versions of Windows was released on 30 January 2007.
PowerShell v2.0 development began before PowerShell v1.0 shipped. During the development, Microsoft shipped three
community technology previews (CTP). Microsoft made these releases available to the public. The last CTP release of Windows PowerShell v2.0 was made available in December 2008.
![Powershell for Linux on Ubuntu 22](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Powershell_for_Linux_on_Ubuntu_22.10.png)
PowerShell v2.0 was completed and released to manufacturing in August 2009, as an integral part of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Versions of PowerShell for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 were released in October 2009 and are available for download for both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms.
In an October 2009 issue of ''
TechNet Magazine
Microsoft TechNet was a Microsoft web portal and web service for IT professionals. It included a library containing documentation and technical resources for Microsoft products, a learning center which provides online training, discussion forum ...
'', Microsoft called proficiency with PowerShell "the single most important skill a Windows
administrator will need in the coming years".
Windows 10 shipped a testing framework for PowerShell.
On 18 August 2016, Microsoft announced that they had made PowerShell open-source and cross-platform with support for Windows,
macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
,
CentOS
CentOS (, from Community Enterprise Operating System; also known as CentOS Linux) is a Linux distribution that provides a free and open-source community-supported computing platform, functionally compatible with its upstream source, Red Hat En ...
and
Ubuntu
Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: ''Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All the ...
.
The source code was published on
GitHub
GitHub, Inc. () is an Internet hosting service for software development and version control using Git. It provides the distributed version control of Git plus access control, bug tracking, software feature requests, task management, continuous ...
. The move to open source created a second incarnation of PowerShell called "PowerShell Core", which runs on
.NET Core
The domain name net is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) used in the Domain Name System of the Internet. The name is derived from the word ''network'', indicating it was originally intended for organizations involved in networking technologies ...
. It is distinct from "Windows PowerShell", which runs on the full
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a proprietary software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It was the predominant implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) until bein ...
. Starting with version 5.1, PowerShell Core is bundled with
Windows Server 2016 Nano Server.
Design
A key design tactic for PowerShell was to leverage the large number of
APIs that already existed in Windows, Windows Management Instrumentation, .NET Framework, and other software. PowerShell cmdlets "wrap around" existing functionality. The intent with this tactic is to provide an administrator-friendly, more-consistent interface between administrators and a wide range of underlying functionality. With PowerShell, an administrator doesn't need to know .NET, WMI, or low-level API coding, and can instead focus on using the cmdlets exposed by PowerShell. In this regard, PowerShell creates little new functionality, instead focusing on making existing functionality more accessible to a particular audience.
Grammar
PowerShell's developers based the core grammar of the tool on that of the
POSIX 1003.2 KornShell
KornShell (ksh) is a Unix shell which was developed by David Korn at Bell Labs in the early 1980s and announced at USENIX on July 14, 1983. The initial development was based on Bourne shell source code. Other early contributors were Bell ...
.
However, PowerShell's language was also influenced by
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose scripting language geared toward web development. It was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in 1993 and released in 1995. The PHP reference implementation is now produced by The PHP Group ...
,
Perl
Perl is a family of two high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming languages. "Perl" refers to Perl 5, but from 2000 to 2019 it also referred to its redesigned "sister language", Perl 6, before the latter's name was offici ...
, and many other existing languages.
Named Commands
Windows PowerShell can execute four kinds of named commands:
* ''cmdlets'' (
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a proprietary software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It was the predominant implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) until bein ...
programs designed to interact with PowerShell)
* PowerShell scripts (files suffixed by
.ps1
)
* PowerShell functions
* Standalone
executable
In computing, executable code, an executable file, or an executable program, sometimes simply referred to as an executable or binary, causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instruction (computer science), instructi ...
programs
If a command is a standalone executable program, PowerShell launches it in a separate
process
A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic.
Things called a process include:
Business and management
*Business process, activities that produce a specific se ...
; if it is a cmdlet, it executes in the PowerShell process. PowerShell provides an interactive
command-line interface
A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invoking executables and pro ...
, where the commands can be entered and their output displayed. The user interface offers customizable
tab completion
Command-line completion (also tab completion) is a common feature of command-line interpreters, in which the program automatically fills in partially typed commands.
Command line interpreters are programs that allow a user to interact with the u ...
. PowerShell enables the creation of ''
aliases
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...
'' for cmdlets, which PowerShell textually translates into invocations of the original commands. PowerShell supports both
named and positional
parameters
A parameter (), generally, is any characteristic that can help in defining or classifying a particular system (meaning an event, project, object, situation, etc.). That is, a parameter is an element of a system that is useful, or critical, when ...
for commands. In executing a cmdlet, the job of binding the argument value to the parameter is done by PowerShell itself, but for external executables, arguments are parsed by the external executable independently of PowerShell interpretation.
Extended Type System
The PowerShell ''Extended Type System'' (''ETS'') is based on the .NET type system, but with extended semantics (for example, propertySets and third-party extensibility). For example, it enables the creation of different views of objects by exposing only a subset of the data fields, properties, and methods, as well as specifying custom formatting and sorting behavior. These views are mapped to the original object using
XML
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable ...
-based configuration files.
Cmdlets
Cmdlets are specialized commands in the PowerShell environment that implement specific functions. These are the native commands in the PowerShell stack. Cmdlets follow a ''Verb''-''Noun'' naming pattern, such as ''Get-ChildItem'', which makes it
self-documenting code
In computer programming, self-documenting (or self-describing) source code and user interfaces follow naming conventions and structured programming conventions that enable use of the system without prior specific knowledge. In web development, se ...
.
Cmdlets output their results as objects and can also receive objects as input, making them suitable for use as recipients in a pipeline. If a cmdlet outputs multiple objects, each object in the collection is passed down through the entire pipeline before the next object is processed.
Cmdlets are specialized .NET
classes, which the PowerShell
runtime instantiates and invokes at
execution time
In computer science, runtime, run time, or execution time is the final phase of a computer programs life cycle, in which the code is being executed on the computer's central processing unit (CPU) as machine code. In other words, "runtime" is t ...
. Cmdlets derive either from
Cmdlet
or from
PSCmdlet
, the latter being used when the cmdlet needs to interact with the PowerShell runtime.
These base classes specify certain methods –
BeginProcessing()
,
ProcessRecord()
and
EndProcessing()
– which the cmdlet's implementation overrides to provide the functionality. Whenever a cmdlet runs, PowerShell invokes these methods in sequence, with
ProcessRecord()
being called if it receives pipeline input.
If a collection of objects is piped, the method is invoked for each object in the collection. The class implementing the cmdlet must have one .NET
attribute
Attribute may refer to:
* Attribute (philosophy), an extrinsic property of an object
* Attribute (research), a characteristic of an object
* Grammatical modifier, in natural languages
* Attribute (computing), a specification that defines a prope ...
–
CmdletAttribute
– which specifies the verb and the noun that make up the name of the cmdlet. Common verbs are provided as an
enum
Telephone number mapping is a system of unifying the international telephone number system of the public switched telephone network with the Internet addressing and identification name spaces. Internationally, telephone numbers are systematica ...
.
If a cmdlet receives either pipeline input or command-line parameter input, there must be a corresponding
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
in the class, with a
mutator implementation. PowerShell invokes the mutator with the parameter value or pipeline input, which is saved by the mutator implementation in class variables. These values are then referred to by the methods which implement the functionality. Properties that map to command-line parameters are marked by
ParameterAttribute
and are set before the call to
BeginProcessing()
. Those which map to pipeline input are also flanked by
ParameterAttribute
, but with the
ValueFromPipeline
attribute parameter set.
The implementation of these cmdlet classes can refer to any
.NET API
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
and may be in any
.NET language
The domain name net is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) used in the Domain Name System of the Internet. The name is derived from the word ''network'', indicating it was originally intended for organizations involved in networking technologies ...
. In addition, PowerShell makes certain APIs available, such as
WriteObject()
, which is used to access PowerShell-specific functionality, such as writing resultant objects to the pipeline. Cmdlets can use .NET data access
API
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
s directly or use the PowerShell infrastructure of PowerShell ''Providers'', which make data stores addressable using unique
paths. Data stores are exposed using
drive letters, and hierarchies within them, addressed as directories. Windows PowerShell ships with providers for the
file system
In computing, file system or filesystem (often abbreviated to fs) is a method and data structure that the operating system uses to control how data is stored and retrieved. Without a file system, data placed in a storage medium would be one larg ...
,
registry Registry may refer to:
Computing
* Container registry, an operating-system-level virtualization registry
* Domain name registry, a database of top-level internet domain names
* Local Internet registry
* Metadata registry, information system for re ...
, the
certificate store, as well as the
namespace
In computing, a namespace is a set of signs (''names'') that are used to identify and refer to objects of various kinds. A namespace ensures that all of a given set of objects have unique names so that they can be easily identified.
Namespaces ...
s for command aliases, variables, and functions. Windows PowerShell also includes various cmdlets for managing various
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
systems, including the
file system
In computing, file system or filesystem (often abbreviated to fs) is a method and data structure that the operating system uses to control how data is stored and retrieved. Without a file system, data placed in a storage medium would be one larg ...
, or using
Windows Management Instrumentation
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) consists of a set of extensions to the Windows Driver Model that provides an operating system interface through which instrumented components provide information and notification. WMI is Microsoft's impl ...
to control
Windows components
The following is a list of Microsoft Windows components.
Configuration and maintenance
User interface
Applications and utilities
Windows Server components
File systems
Core components
Services
This list is not all-inclusiv ...
. Other applications can register cmdlets with PowerShell, thus allowing it to manage them, and, if they enclose any datastore (such as a database), they can add specific providers as well.
The number of cmdlets included in the base PowerShell install has generally increased with each version:
Cmdlets can be added into the shell through snap-ins (deprecated in v2) and modules; users are not limited to the cmdlets included in the base PowerShell installation.
Pipeline
PowerShell implements the concept of a ''
pipeline
Pipeline may refer to:
Electronics, computers and computing
* Pipeline (computing), a chain of data-processing stages or a CPU optimization found on
** Instruction pipelining, a technique for implementing instruction-level parallelism within a s ...
'', which enables piping the output of one cmdlet to another cmdlet as input. For example, the output of the
Get-Process
cmdlet could be piped to the
Where-Object
to filter any process that has less than 1 MB of
paged memory
In computer operating systems, memory paging is a memory management scheme by which a computer stores and retrieves data from secondary storage for use in main memory. In this scheme, the operating system retrieves data from secondary stora ...
, and then to the
Sort-Object
cmdlet (e.g., to sort the objects by handle count), and then finally to the
Select-Object
cmdlet to select just the first ten processes based on handle count.
As with
Unix pipelines, PowerShell pipelines can construct complex commands, using the
,
operator to connect stages. However, the PowerShell pipeline differs from Unix pipelines in that stages execute ''within'' the PowerShell runtime rather than as a set of processes coordinated by the
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...
. Additionally, structured .NET objects, rather than
byte streams, are passed from one stage to the next. Using
objects
Object may refer to:
General meanings
* Object (philosophy), a thing, being, or concept
** Object (abstract), an object which does not exist at any particular time or place
** Physical object, an identifiable collection of matter
* Goal, an ...
and executing stages within the PowerShell runtime eliminates the need to
serialize data structures, or to extract them by explicitly
parsing
Parsing, syntax analysis, or syntactic analysis is the process of analyzing a string of symbols, either in natural language, computer languages or data structures, conforming to the rules of a formal grammar. The term ''parsing'' comes from Lati ...
text output. An object can also
encapsulate certain functions that work on the contained data, which become available to the recipient command for use. For the last cmdlet in a pipeline, PowerShell automatically pipes its output object to the
Out-Default
cmdlet, which transforms the objects into a stream of format objects and then renders those to the screen.
Because all PowerShell objects are .NET objects, they share a
.ToString()
method, which retrieves the text representation of the data in an object. In addition, PowerShell allows formatting definitions to be specified, so the text representation of objects can be customized by choosing which data elements to display, and in what manner. However, in order to maintain
backward compatibility
Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especially i ...
, if an external executable is used in a pipeline, it receives a text stream representing the object, instead of directly integrating with the PowerShell type system.
Scripting
Windows PowerShell includes a
dynamically typed
In computer programming, a type system is a logical system comprising a set of rules that assigns a property called a type to every "term" (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols). Usually the terms are various constructs of a computer progra ...
scripting language
A scripting language or script language is a programming language that is used to manipulate, customize, and automate the facilities of an existing system. Scripting languages are usually interpreted at runtime rather than compiled.
A scripting ...
which can implement complex operations using cmdlets
imperatively. The scripting language supports variables, functions, branching (
if-then-else
In computer science, conditionals (that is, conditional statements, conditional expressions and conditional constructs,) are programming language commands for handling decisions. Specifically, conditionals perform different computations or actio ...
), loops (
while
,
do
,
for
, and
foreach
In computer programming, foreach loop (or for each loop) is a control flow statement for traversing items in a collection. is usually used in place of a standard loop statement. Unlike other loop constructs, however, loops usually maintai ...
), structured error/exception handling and
closures/
lambda expressions Lambda expression may refer to:
*Lambda expression in computer programming, also called an anonymous function, is a defined function not bound to an identifier.
* Lambda expression in lambda calculus, a formal system in mathematical logic and ...
,
as well as integration with .NET. Variables in PowerShell scripts are prefixed with
$
. Variables can be assigned any value, including the output of cmdlets. Strings can be enclosed either in single quotes or in double quotes: when using double quotes, variables will be expanded even if they are inside the quotation marks. Enclosing the path to a file in braces preceded by a dollar sign (as in
$
) creates a reference to the contents of the file. If it is used as an
L-value, anything assigned to it will be written to the file. When used as an
R-value, the contents of the file will be read. If an object is assigned, it is serialized before being stored.
Object members can be accessed using
.
notation, as in C# syntax. PowerShell provides special variables, such as
$args
, which is an array of all the command line arguments passed to a function from the command line, and
$_
, which refers to the current object in the pipeline. PowerShell also provides
arrays
An array is a systematic arrangement of similar objects, usually in rows and columns.
Things called an array include:
{{TOC right
Music
* In twelve-tone and serial composition, the presentation of simultaneous twelve-tone sets such that the ...
and
associative array
In computer science, an associative array, map, symbol table, or dictionary is an abstract data type that stores a collection of (key, value) pairs, such that each possible key appears at most once in the collection. In mathematical terms an ...
s. The PowerShell scripting language also evaluates arithmetic expressions entered on the command line immediately, and it parses common abbreviations, such as GB, MB, and KB.
Using the
function
keyword, PowerShell provides for the creation of functions. A simple function has the following general look:
function name (ype
Peace River Airport is a municipally owned airport located west of the Town of Peace River, Alberta, Canada. The airport has one runway, which is , and a terminal building, which is .
Northern Air is based at the airport and provides scheduled ...
Param1, ype
Peace River Airport is a municipally owned airport located west of the Town of Peace River, Alberta, Canada. The airport has one runway, which is , and a terminal building, which is .
Northern Air is based at the airport and provides scheduled ...
Param2)
However, PowerShell allows for advanced functions that support named parameters, positional parameters, switch parameters and dynamic parameters.
function Verb-Noun
The defined function is invoked in either of the following forms:
name value1 value2
Verb-Noun -Param1 value1 -Param2 value2
PowerShell allows any static .NET methods to be called by providing their namespaces enclosed in brackets (
[]
), and then using a pair of colons (
::
) to indicate the static method.
For example:
[Console]::WriteLine("PowerShell")
There are dozens of ways to create objects in PowerShell. Once created, one can access the properties and instance methods of an object using the
.
notation.
PowerShell accepts
strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
, both raw and
escaped. A string enclosed between single
quotation mark
Quotation marks (also known as quotes, quote marks, speech marks, inverted commas, or talking marks) are punctuation marks used in pairs in various writing systems to set off direct speech, a quotation, or a phrase. The pair consists of an ...
s is a raw string while a string enclosed between double quotation marks is an escaped string. PowerShell treats straight and curly quotes as equivalent.
The following list of special characters is supported by PowerShell:
For error handling, PowerShell provides a .NET-based
exception-handling mechanism. In case of errors, objects containing information about the error (
Exception
object) are thrown, which are caught using the
try ... catch
construct (although a
trap
construct is supported as well). PowerShell can be configured to silently resume execution, without actually throwing the exception; this can be done either on a single command, a single session or perpetually.
Scripts written using PowerShell can be made to persist across sessions in either a
.ps1
file or a
.psm1
file (the latter is used to implement a module). Later, either the entire script or individual functions in the script can be used. Scripts and functions operate analogously with cmdlets, in that they can be used as commands in pipelines, and parameters can be bound to them. Pipeline objects can be passed between functions, scripts, and cmdlets seamlessly. To prevent unintentional running of scripts, script execution is disabled by default and must be enabled explicitly. Enabling of scripts can be performed either at system, user or session level. PowerShell scripts can be
signed to verify their integrity, and are subject to
Code Access Security Code Access Security (CAS), in the Microsoft .NET framework, is Microsoft's solution to prevent untrusted code from performing privileged actions. When the CLR loads an assembly it will obtain evidence for the assembly and use this to identify the ...
.
The PowerShell scripting language supports
binary prefix
A binary prefix is a unit prefix for multiples of units. It is most often used in data processing, data transmission, and digital information, principally in association with the bit and the byte, to indicate multiplication by a power of& ...
notation similar to the
scientific notation
Scientific notation is a way of expressing numbers that are too large or too small (usually would result in a long string of digits) to be conveniently written in decimal form. It may be referred to as scientific form or standard index form, o ...
supported by many programming languages in the C-family.
Hosting
One can also use PowerShell embedded in a management application, which uses the PowerShell runtime to implement the management functionality. For this, PowerShell provides a
managed hosting
API
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
. Via the APIs, the application can instantiate a ''runspace'' (one instantiation of the PowerShell runtime), which runs in the application's
process
A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic.
Things called a process include:
Business and management
*Business process, activities that produce a specific se ...
and is exposed as a
Runspace
object.
The state of the runspace is encased in a
SessionState
object. When the runspace is created, the Windows PowerShell runtime initializes the instantiation, including initializing the providers and enumerating the cmdlets, and updates the
SessionState
object accordingly. The Runspace then must be opened for either synchronous processing or asynchronous processing. After that it can be used to execute commands.
To execute a command, a pipeline (represented by a
Pipeline
object) must be created and associated with the runspace. The pipeline object is then populated with the cmdlets that make up the pipeline. For sequential operations (as in a PowerShell script), a Pipeline object is created for each statement and nested inside another Pipeline object.
When a pipeline is created, Windows PowerShell invokes the pipeline processor, which resolves the cmdlets into their respective
assemblies (the ''command processor'') and adds a reference to them to the pipeline, and associates them with
InputPipe
,
OutputPipe
and
ErrorOutputPipe
objects, to represent the connection with the pipeline. The types are verified and parameters bound using
reflection Reflection or reflexion may refer to:
Science and technology
* Reflection (physics), a common wave phenomenon
** Specular reflection, reflection from a smooth surface
*** Mirror image, a reflection in a mirror or in water
** Signal reflection, in ...
.
Once the pipeline is set up, the host calls the
Invoke()
method to run the commands, or its asynchronous equivalent,
InvokeAsync()
. If the pipeline has the
Write-Host
cmdlet at the end of the pipeline, it writes the result onto the console screen. If not, the results are handed over to the host, which might either apply further processing or display the output itself.
Microsoft Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange Server is a mail server and calendaring server developed by Microsoft. It runs exclusively on Windows Server operating systems.
The first version was called Exchange Server 4.0, to position it as the successor to the related ...
2007 uses the hosting APIs to provide its management GUI. Each operation exposed in the GUI is mapped to a sequence of PowerShell commands (or pipelines). The host creates the pipeline and executes them. In fact, the interactive PowerShell console itself is a PowerShell host, which
interprets the scripts entered at command line and creates the necessary
Pipeline
objects and invokes them.
Desired State Configuration
DSC allows for declaratively specifying how a software environment should be configured.
Upon running a ''configuration'', DSC will ensure that the system gets the state described in the configuration. DSC configurations are idempotent. The ''Local Configuration Manager'' (LCM) periodically polls the system using the control flow described by ''resources'' (imperative pieces of DSC) to make sure that the state of a configuration is maintained.
Versions
Initially using the code name "Monad", PowerShell was first shown publicly at the Professional Developers Conference in October 2003 in Los Angeles. All major releases are still supported, and each major release has featured backwards compatibility with preceding versions.
Windows PowerShell 1.0
![Windows PowerShell 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Windows_PowerShell_1.0_PD.png)
PowerShell 1.0 was released in November 2006 for
Windows XP SP2
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was release to manufacturing, released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Wind ...
,
Windows Server 2003 SP1 and
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...
. It is an optional component of
Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 is the fourth release of the Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of the operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, and generally to retail on Fe ...
.
Windows PowerShell 2.0
PowerShell 2.0 is integrated with
Windows 7
Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...
and
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 R2 is the fifth version of the Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft and released as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became General av ...
and is released for
Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...
with Service Pack 3,
Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2003 is the sixth version of Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft. It is part of the Windows NT family of operating systems and was released to manufacturing on March 28, 2003 and generally available on April 24, 2 ...
with Service Pack 2, and
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...
with Service Pack 1.
PowerShell v2 includes changes to the scripting language and hosting API, in addition to including more than 240 new cmdlets.
New features of PowerShell 2.0 include:
* PowerShell remoting: Using
WS-Management
WS-Management (Web Services-Management) is a DMTF open standard defining a SOAP-based protocol for the management of servers, devices, applications and various Web services. WS-Management provides a common way for systems to access and exchange ...
, PowerShell 2.0 allows scripts and cmdlets to be invoked on a remote machine or a large set of remote machines.
* Background jobs: Also called a ''PSJob'', it allows a command sequence (script) or pipeline to be invoked asynchronously. Jobs can be run on the local machine or on multiple remote machines. An interactive cmdlet in a PSJob blocks the execution of the job until user input is provided.
* Transactions: Enable cmdlet and developers can perform
transactional operations. PowerShell 2.0 includes transaction cmdlets for starting, committing, and rolling back a ''PSTransaction'' as well as features to manage and direct the transaction to the participating cmdlet and provider operations. The PowerShell Registry provider supports transactions.
* Advanced functions: These are cmdlets written using the PowerShell scripting language. Initially called "script cmdlets", this feature was later renamed "advanced functions".
* SteppablePipelines: This allows the user to control when the
BeginProcessing()
,
ProcessRecord()
and
EndProcessing()
functions of a cmdlet are called.
* Modules: This allows script developers and administrators to organize and partition PowerShell scripts in self-contained, reusable units. Code from a
module
Module, modular and modularity may refer to the concept of modularity. They may also refer to:
Computing and engineering
* Modular design, the engineering discipline of designing complex devices using separately designed sub-components
* Mo ...
executes in its own self-contained context and does not affect the state outside the module. Modules can define a restricted runspace environment by using a script. They have a persistent state as well as public and private members.
* Data language: A domain-specific subset of the PowerShell scripting language that allows data definitions to be decoupled from the scripts and allows
localized string resources to be imported into the script at runtime (''Script Internationalization'').
* Script debugging: It allows
breakpoint
In software development, a breakpoint is an intentional stopping or pausing place in a program, put in place for debugging purposes. It is also sometimes simply referred to as a pause.
More generally, a breakpoint is a means of acquiring knowle ...
s to be set in a PowerShell script or function. Breakpoints can be set on lines, line & columns, commands and read or write access of variables. It includes a set of cmdlets to control the breakpoints via script.
* Eventing: This feature allows listening, forwarding, and acting on management and system events. Eventing allows PowerShell hosts to be notified about state changes to their managed entities. It also enables PowerShell scripts to subscribe to ''ObjectEvents'', ''PSEvents'', and ''WmiEvents'' and process them synchronously and asynchronously.
* Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE): PowerShell 2.0 includes a GUI-based PowerShell host that provides integrated debugger,
syntax highlighting
Syntax highlighting is a feature of text editors that are used for programming, scripting, or markup languages, such as HTML. The feature displays text, especially source code, in different colours and fonts according to the category of terms ...
, tab completion and up to 8 PowerShell Unicode-enabled consoles (Runspaces) in a tabbed UI, as well as the ability to run only the selected parts in a script.
* Network file transfer: Native support for prioritized, throttled, and asynchronous transfer of files between machines using the
Background Intelligent Transfer Service
Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) is a component of Microsoft Windows XP and later iterations of the operating systems, which facilitates asynchronous, prioritized, and throttled transfer of files between machines using idle network ...
(BITS).
* New cmdlets: Including
Out-GridView
, which displays tabular data in the
WPF GridView object, on systems that allow it, and if ISE is installed and enabled.
* New operators:
-Split
,
-Join
, and Splatting (
@
) operators.
* Exception handling with Try-Catch-Finally: Unlike other .NET languages, this allows multiple exception types for a single catch block.
* Nestable Here-Strings: PowerShell
Here-Strings have been improved and can now nest.
* Block comments: PowerShell 2.0 supports block comments using
<#
and
#>
as delimiters.
* New APIs: The new APIs range from handing more control over the PowerShell parser and runtime to the host, to creating and managing collection of Runspaces (
RunspacePools
) as well as the ability to create ''Restricted Runspaces'' which only allow a configured subset of PowerShell to be invoked. The new APIs also support participation in a transaction managed by PowerShell
Windows PowerShell 3.0
PowerShell 3.0 is integrated with
Windows 8
Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012; it was subsequently made available for downl ...
and with
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2012, codenamed "Windows Server 8", is the sixth version of the Windows Server operating system by Microsoft, as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. It is the server version of Windows based on Windows 8 and succe ...
. Microsoft has also made PowerShell 3.0 available for
Windows 7
Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...
with Service Pack 1, for
Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 is the fourth release of the Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of the operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, and generally to retail on Fe ...
with Service Pack 1, and for
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 R2 is the fifth version of the Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft and released as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became General av ...
with Service Pack 1.
PowerShell 3.0 is part of a larger package
Windows Management Framework3.0 (WMF3), which also contains the
WinRM service to support remoting.
Microsoft made several
Community Technology Preview
A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...
releases of WMF3. An early community technology preview 2 (CTP 2) version of Windows Management Framework 3.0 was released on 2 December 2011. Windows Management Framework 3.0 was released for general availability in December 2012 and is included with Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 by default.
New features in PowerShell 3.0 include:
* Scheduled jobs: Jobs can be scheduled to run on a preset time and date using the
Windows Task Scheduler
Task Scheduler (formerly Scheduled Tasks) is a job scheduler in Microsoft Windows that launches computer programs or scripts at pre-defined times or after specified time intervals. Microsoft introduced this component in the Microsoft Plus! for ...
infrastructure.
* Session connectivity: Sessions can be disconnected and reconnected. Remote sessions have become more tolerant of temporary network failures.
* Improved code writing:
Code completion
Autocomplete, or word completion, is a feature in which an application predicts the rest of a word a user is typing. In Android and iOS smartphones, this is called predictive text. In graphical user interfaces, users can typically press the tab ...
(IntelliSense) and
snippets are added. PowerShell ISE allows users to use dialog boxes to fill in parameters for PowerShell cmdlets.
* Delegation support: Administrative tasks can be delegated to users who do not have permissions for that type of task, without granting them perpetual additional permissions.
* Help update: Help documentations can be updated via Update-Help command.
* Automatic module detection: Modules are loaded implicitly whenever a command from that module is invoked. Code completion works for unloaded modules as well.
* New commands: Dozens of new modules were added, including functionality to manage disks
get-WmiObject win32_logicaldisk
, volumes, firewalls, network connections, and printers, which had previously been performed via WMI.
Windows PowerShell 4.0
PowerShell 4.0 is integrated with
Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1 is a release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on August 27, 2013, and broadly released for retail sale on October 17, 2013, about a year after the retail release of its pre ...
and with
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012 R2, codenamed "Windows Server 8.1" or "Windows Server Blue", is the seventh version of the Windows Server operating system by Microsoft, as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. It was unveiled on June 3, 2013 a ...
. Microsoft has also made PowerShell 4.0 available for
Windows 7 SP1
Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...
,
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 R2 is the fifth version of the Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft and released as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became General av ...
SP1 and
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2012, codenamed "Windows Server 8", is the sixth version of the Windows Server operating system by Microsoft, as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. It is the server version of Windows based on Windows 8 and succe ...
.
New features in PowerShell 4.0 include:
* Desired State Configuration: Declarative language extensions and tools that enable the deployment and management of configuration data for systems using the
DMTF
Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit industry standards organization that creates open manageability standards spanning diverse emerging and traditional IT infrastructures including cloud, virtualization, network, s ...
management standards and
WS-Management
WS-Management (Web Services-Management) is a DMTF open standard defining a SOAP-based protocol for the management of servers, devices, applications and various Web services. WS-Management provides a common way for systems to access and exchange ...
Protocol
* New default execution policy: On Windows Servers, the default execution policy is now
RemoteSigned
.
* Save-Help: Help can now be saved for modules that are installed on remote computers.
* Enhanced debugging: The
debugger
A debugger or debugging tool is a computer program used to software testing, test and debugging, debug other programs (the "target" program). The main use of a debugger is to run the target program under controlled conditions that permit the pr ...
now supports debugging workflows, remote script execution and preserving debugging sessions across PowerShell session reconnections.
* -PipelineVariable switch: A new ubiquitous parameter to expose the current pipeline object as a variable for programming purposes
* Network diagnostics to manage physical and
Hyper-V
Microsoft Hyper-V, codenamed Viridian, and briefly known before its release as Windows Server Virtualization, is a native hypervisor; it can create virtual machines on x86-64 systems running Windows. Starting with Windows 8, Hyper-V superseded W ...
's virtualized
network switch
A network switch (also called switching hub, bridging hub, and, by the IEEE, MAC bridge) is networking hardware that connects devices on a computer network by using packet switching to receive and forward data to the destination device.
A netw ...
es
* Where and ForEach method syntax provides an alternate method of filtering and iterating over objects.
Windows PowerShell 5.0
![PowerShell 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/PowerShell_5.0_icon.png)
Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5.0 RTM which includes PowerShell 5.0 was re-released to web on 24 February 2016, following an initial release with a severe bug.
Key features included:
* The new
class
keyword
Keyword may refer to:
Computing
* Keyword (Internet search), a word or phrase typically used by bloggers or online content creator to rank a web page on a particular topic
* Index term, a term used as a keyword to documents in an information syst ...
that creates
classes for
object-oriented programming
Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of "objects", which can contain data and code. The data is in the form of fields (often known as attributes or ''properties''), and the code is in the form of pr ...
* The new
enum
keyword that creates
enums
*
OneGet
cmdlets to support the
Chocolatey
Chocolatey is a machine-level, command-line package manager and installer for software on Microsoft Windows. It uses the NuGet packaging infrastructure and Windows PowerShell to simplify the process of downloading and installing software.
In A ...
package manager
A package manager or package-management system is a collection of software tools that automates the process of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing computer programs for a computer in a consistent manner.
A package manager deals wi ...
* Extending support for switch management to
layer 2
The data link layer, or layer 2, is the second layer of the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking. This layer is the protocol layer that transfers data between nodes on a network segment across the physical layer. The data link layer pr ...
network switches.
* Debugging for PowerShell background jobs and instances of PowerShell hosted in other processes (each of which is called a "runspace")
* Desired State Configuration (DSC) Local Configuration Manager (LCM) version 2.0
* DSC partial configurations
* DSC Local Configuration Manager meta-configurations
* Authoring of DSC resources using PowerShell classes
Windows PowerShell 5.1
It was released along with the
Windows 10 Anniversary Update on August 2, 2016, and in
Windows Server 2016
Windows Server 2016 is the eighth release of the Windows Server server operating system developed by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. It was developed concurrently with Windows 10 and is the successor to the Wind ...
. PackageManagement now supports proxies, PSReadLine now has ViMode support, and two new cmdlets were added: Get-TimeZone and Set-TimeZone. The LocalAccounts module allows for adding/removing local user accounts. A preview for PowerShell 5.1 was released for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2 on July 16, 2016, and was released on January 19, 2017.
PowerShell 5.1 is the first version to come in two editions of "Desktop" and "Core". The "Desktop" edition is the continuation of the traditional Windows PowerShell that runs on the .NET Framework stack. The "Core" edition runs on .NET Core and is bundled with Windows Server 2016 Nano Server. In exchange for smaller footprint, the latter lacks some features such as the cmdlets to manage clipboard or join a computer to a domain, WMI version 1 cmdlets, Event Log cmdlets and profiles.
This was the final version of PowerShell made exclusively for Windows.
PowerShell Core 6
PowerShell Core 6.0 was first announced on 18 August 2016, when Microsoft unveiled PowerShell Core and its decision to make the product
cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software r ...
, independent of Windows, free and open source.
It achieved
general availability
A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...
on 10 January 2018 for Windows,
macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
and
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
. It has its own support lifecycle and adheres to the Microsoft lifecycle policy that is introduced with Windows 10: Only the latest version of PowerShell Core is supported. Microsoft expects to release one minor version for PowerShell Core 6.0 every six months.
The most significant change in this version of PowerShell is the expansion to the other platforms. For Windows administrators, this version of PowerShell did not include any major new features. In an interview with the community on 11 January 2018, the PowerShell team was asked to list the top 10 most exciting things that would happen for a Windows IT professional who would migrate from Windows PowerShell 5.1 to PowerShell Core 6.0; in response, Angel Calvo of Microsoft could only name two: cross-platform and open-source.
6.1
According to Microsoft, one of the new features of PowerShell 6.1 is "Compatibility with 1900+ existing cmdlets in Windows 10 and
Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2019 is the ninth version of the Windows Server operating system by Microsoft, as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. It is the second version of the Server (computing), server operating system based on the Windows ...
." Still, no details of these cmdlets can be found in the full version of the change log. Microsoft later professes that this number was insufficient as PowerShell Core failed to replace Windows PowerShell 5.1 and gain traction on Windows.
It was, however, popular on Linux.
6.2
PowerShell Core 6.2 is focused primarily on performance improvements, bug fixes, and smaller cmdlet and language enhancements that improved developer productivity.
PowerShell 7
PowerShell 7 is the replacement for PowerShell Core 6.x products as well as Windows PowerShell 5.1, which is the last supported Windows PowerShell version.
The focus in development was to make PowerShell 7 a viable replacement for Windows PowerShell 5.1, i.e. to have near parity with Windows PowerShell in terms of compatibility with modules that ship with Windows.
New features in PowerShell 7 include:
* The
-Parallel
switch for the
ForEach-Object
cmdlet to help handle parallel processing
* Near parity with Windows PowerShell in terms of compatibility with built-in Windows modules
* A new error view
* The
Get-Error
cmdlet
* Pipeline chaining operators (
&&
and
, ,
) that allow conditional execution of the next cmdlet in the pipeline
* The
?: operator for
ternary operation
In mathematics, a ternary operation is an ''n''-ary operation with ''n'' = 3. A ternary operation on a set ''A'' takes any given three elements of ''A'' and combines them to form a single element of ''A''.
In computer science, a ternary operator i ...
* The
??=
operator that only assigns a value to a variable when the variable's existing value is
null
Null may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics Computing
* Null (SQL) (or NULL), a special marker and keyword in SQL indicating that something has no value
* Null character, the zero-valued ASCII character, also designated by , often use ...
* The
??
operator for
null coalescing
* Cross-platform
Invoke-DscResource
(experimental)
* Return of the
Out-GridView
cmdlet
* Return of the
-ShowWindow
switch for the
Get-Help
PowerShell 7.2
PowerShell 7.2 is the next long-term support version of PowerShell, after version 7.0. It uses
.NET 6.0 and features universal installer packages for Linux. On Windows, updates to PowerShell 7.2 and later come via the
Microsoft Update
Windows Update is a Microsoft service for the Windows 9x and Windows NT families of operating system, which automates downloading and installing Microsoft Windows software updates over the Internet. The service delivers software updates for Win ...
service; this feature has been missing from PowerShell 6.0 through 7.1.
PowerShell 7.3
This version includes some general Cmdlet updates and fixes, testing for framework dependent package in release pipeline as well as build and packaging improvements.
Comparison of cmdlets with similar commands
The following table contains a selection of the cmdlets that ship with PowerShell, noting similar commands in other well-known command-line interpreters. Many of these similar commands come out-of-the-box defined as aliases within PowerShell, making it easy for people familiar with other common shells to start working.
Notes
Filename extensions
Application support
Alternative implementation
A project named ''Pash'', a
pun
A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...
on the widely known "
bash
Bash or BASH may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Bash!'' (Rockapella album), 1992
* ''Bash!'' (Dave Bailey album), 1961
* '' Bash: Latter-Day Plays'', a dramatic triptych
* ''BASH!'' (role-playing game), a 2005 superhero game
* "Bash" ('' ...
" Unix shell, has been an
open-source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
and
cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software r ...
reimplementation of PowerShell via the
Mono framework
Mono is a free and open-source .NET Framework-compatible software framework. Originally by Ximian, it was later acquired by Novell, and is now being led by Xamarin, a subsidiary of Microsoft and the .NET Foundation. Mono can be run on many softwa ...
.
Pash was created by Igor Moochnick, written in
C# and was released under the
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the Four Freedoms (Free software), four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was th ...
. Pash development stalled in 2008, was restarted on
GitHub
GitHub, Inc. () is an Internet hosting service for software development and version control using Git. It provides the distributed version control of Git plus access control, bug tracking, software feature requests, task management, continuous ...
in 2012,
and finally ceased in 2016 when PowerShell was officially made open-source and cross-platform.
See also
*
Common Information Model (computing)
The Common Information Model (CIM) is an open standard that defines how managed elements in an IT environment are represented as a common set of objects and relationships between them.
The Distributed Management Task Force maintains the CIM ...
*
Comparison of command shells
A command shell is a command-line interface to interact with and manipulate a computer's operating system.
General characteristics
Interactive features
Background execution
Background execution allows a shell to run a command without us ...
*
Comparison of programming languages
Programming languages are used for controlling the behavior of a machine (often a computer). Like natural languages, programming languages follow the rules for syntax and semantics.
There are thousands of programming languages and new ones are c ...
*
Web-Based Enterprise Management
In computing, Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) comprises a set of systems-management technologies developed to unify the management of distributed computing environments. The WBEM initiative, initially sponsored in 1996 by BMC Software, C ...
*
Windows Script Host
The Microsoft Windows Script Host (WSH) (formerly named Windows Scripting Host) is an automation technology for Microsoft Windows operating systems that provides scripting abilities comparable to batch files, but with a wider range of supported fe ...
*
Windows Terminal
Windows Terminal is a multi-tabbed terminal emulator that Microsoft has developed for Windows 10 and later as a replacement for Windows Console. It can run any command-line app in a separate tab. It is preconfigured to run Command Prompt, Powe ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
''Windows PowerShell Survival Guide''on
TechNet Wiki
{{Microsoft FOSS
.NET programming languages
Unix shells
Windows command shells
Dynamically typed programming languages
Configuration management
Free and open-source software
Interpreters (computing)
Microsoft free software
Microsoft programming languages
Object-oriented programming languages
Procedural programming languages
Programming languages created in 2006
Scripting languages
Software using the MIT license
Text-oriented programming languages
Windows administration
Formerly proprietary software