# Installing PowerShell 7 on Windows, Debian and RHEL, the way Microsoft documents it

PowerShell 7 (`pwsh`) is the cross-platform PowerShell. On Windows, it installs next to Windows PowerShell 5.1 (`powershell.exe`) rather than replacing it. On Linux, Microsoft's preferred source is its own package repository, packages.microsoft.com ("PMC"). Commands below are from Microsoft Learn, current for PowerShell 7.6 (LTS).

## Windows: WinGet

```powershell
winget search --id Microsoft.PowerShell --exact
winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell --source winget
```

Since 7.6, WinGet installs the **MSIX** package by default. That install is per user, and it doesn't support incoming PowerShell remoting or all-users profiles. From 7.7, MSIX is the only package WinGet offers. For a server or an all-users install, ask for the MSI while it still exists:

```powershell
winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell --source winget --installer-type wix
```

Upgrade and remove with the same tool:

```powershell
winget upgrade --id Microsoft.PowerShell
winget uninstall --id Microsoft.PowerShell
```

WinGet ships with Windows 11. On Windows Server, only Server 2025 with Desktop Experience has it; for other servers, use the MSI.

## Debian 12 and 13: the Microsoft repository

```sh
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y wget
source /etc/os-release
wget -q https://packages.microsoft.com/config/debian/$VERSION_ID/packages-microsoft-prod.deb
sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb   # adds the repository and its signing key
rm packages-microsoft-prod.deb
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y powershell
```

Remove it with `sudo apt-get remove powershell`.

## RHEL 8, 9 and 10: the same repository, through dnf

```sh
source /etc/os-release
majorver=${VERSION_ID%.*}                  # 9.6 -> 9
curl -sSL -O https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/$majorver/packages-microsoft-prod.rpm
sudo rpm -i packages-microsoft-prod.rpm
rm packages-microsoft-prod.rpm
sudo dnf install -y powershell
```

Remove it with `sudo dnf remove powershell`. Microsoft's script also runs a full `sudo dnf update` before the install; that step is optional.

On both Linux distributions, the repository package keeps `pwsh` updated with the rest of the system (`apt upgrade`, `dnf upgrade`). If there's no repository for your release, Microsoft's fallback is the `.deb` or `.rpm` from the [GitHub releases](https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases).

## Check it

```powershell
pwsh -NoLogo -Command '"$($PSVersionTable.PSVersion)  $PSHOME"'
```

`$PSHOME` also tells you how it was installed:

| `$PSHOME` | Installed by |
|---|---|
| `C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7` | MSI |
| `C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\...` | MSIX (WinGet's default since 7.6, or the Store) |
| `/opt/microsoft/powershell/7` | the `.deb` or `.rpm` package |

On Linux, profiles and modules follow XDG: `~/.config/powershell/` and `~/.local/share/powershell/Modules`.

## Sources

- Microsoft Learn: install PowerShell 7 on [Windows](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/install-powershell-on-windows), [Debian](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/install-debian) and [RHEL](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/install-rhel), all current for 7.6.
- The five repository config packages (`config/debian/{12,13}` and `config/rhel/{8,9,10}`) all return HTTP 200 from packages.microsoft.com. The installs themselves weren't run here.