Running PowerShell Commands with pwsh.exe instead of powershell.exe

Introduction

With the release of PowerShell 7, a new executable named pwsh.exe was introduced, which can be used to run PowerShell commands instead of the traditional powershell.exe. While powershell.exe is still available and continues to support Windows PowerShell, the pwsh.exe executable is the recommended way to run PowerShell 7 and above, including PowerShell Core and PowerShell 7. This article will cover the benefits of using pwsh.exe and how it differs from the traditional powershell.exe.

What is pwsh.exe?

pwsh.exe is the executable for running PowerShell 7 and above. It is the successor to the Windows PowerShell powershell.exe executable and is designed to be cross-platform, meaning it can run on Windows, Linux, and macOS. pwsh.exe supports all the features of Windows PowerShell and adds new ones, including performance improvements, new cmdlets, and support for new operating systems.

Benefits of using pwsh.exe

There are several benefits of using pwsh.exe over powershell.exe:

• pwsh.exe is cross-platform, meaning it can be used on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
• pwsh.exe supports all the features of Windows PowerShell and adds new ones, including performance improvements, new cmdlets, and support for new operating systems.
• pwsh.exe uses less memory and starts faster than powershell.exe.
• pwsh.exe supports side-by-side installation, meaning multiple versions of PowerShell can be installed on the same machine.

How to use pwsh.exe

Using pwsh.exe is similar to using powershell.exe, with a few key differences:

• To run pwsh.exe, open a command prompt or terminal window and enter pwsh.exe.
• To run a PowerShell command, enter the command after pwsh.exe. For example, to run the Get-WmiObject cmdlet, enter pwsh.exe Get-WmiObject -query "select * from Win32_OperatingSystem".
• To run a PowerShell script, use the -File parameter. For example, to run a script named test.ps1, enter pwsh.exe -File test.ps1.

Differences between pwsh.exe and powershell.exe

While pwsh.exe and powershell.exe are similar in many ways, there are some key differences:

• pwsh.exe supports cross-platform operation, while powershell.exe is only available on Windows.
• pwsh.exe uses less memory and starts faster than powershell.exe.
• pwsh.exe supports side-by-side installation, meaning multiple versions of PowerShell can be installed on the same machine.
• pwsh.exe supports new cmdlets and features, such as pwsh.exe -Command to run a single command, and pwsh.exe -Version to specify the version of PowerShell to use.
• The behavior of some cmdlets, such as Get-Process, may differ between pwsh.exe and powershell.exe.

In this article, we have covered the benefits of using pwsh.exe over powershell.exe, how to use pwsh.exe, and the differences between the two executables. By using pwsh.exe, you can take advantage of the new features and performance improvements in PowerShell 7 and above, and run PowerShell on multiple platforms.

References

• What's new in PowerShell 7.0
• What's new in PowerShell 7.1
• Installing PowerShell Core on Windows