multi-pwsh

Install and manage side-by-side PowerShell versions with aliases and native hosting.

Bootstrap

Latest release bootstrap scripts:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Devolutions/multi-pwsh/refs/heads/master/tools/install-multi-pwsh.sh | bash

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Devolutions/multi-pwsh/refs/heads/master/tools/install-multi-pwsh.ps1 | iex

Install a specific tag (example v0.9.0):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Devolutions/multi-pwsh/refs/heads/master/tools/install-multi-pwsh.sh | bash -s -- v0.9.0

& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Devolutions/multi-pwsh/refs/heads/master/tools/install-multi-pwsh.ps1))) -Version v0.9.0

Uninstall bootstrap scripts:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Devolutions/multi-pwsh/refs/heads/master/tools/uninstall-multi-pwsh.sh | bash

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Devolutions/multi-pwsh/refs/heads/master/tools/uninstall-multi-pwsh.ps1 | iex

Install and verify aliases

multi-pwsh install stable
multi-pwsh install preview
multi-pwsh install lts
multi-pwsh install 7.4

Verify aliases:

pwsh --version
pwsh-preview --version
pwsh-lts --version
pwsh-7.4 --version

More docs

• Native host mode and virtual environments
• Testing guide
• Release process

Scoped installs

multi-pwsh install, update, uninstall, and list now support --scope <user|machine> across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

That means:

• extracted versions stay side-by-side under the selected install root
• aliases continue to live in one stable bin directory
• PATH only needs one entry per scope
• user is the default scope when --scope is omitted

Platform behavior:

• Windows uses the GitHub ZIP archives with MSI-like install roots and selected installer-style integrations that still make sense for archive installs.
• macOS machine installs use the official .tar.gz archives under /usr/local/microsoft/powershell with aliases published to /usr/local/bin.
• Linux machine installs use the official .tar.gz archives under /opt/microsoft/powershell with aliases published to /usr/local/bin.
• Unix machine installs expect you to provide elevation yourself; multi-pwsh does not invoke sudo.

Examples:

multi-pwsh install stable
multi-pwsh install preview
multi-pwsh install lts
multi-pwsh install 7.4
multi-pwsh install 7.5 --scope machine --enable-psremoting --add-explorer-context-menu
multi-pwsh install 7.5 --scope machine
multi-pwsh list --scope all
multi-pwsh uninstall 7.4.13 --scope machine

Windows scoped-install flags mirror the most useful MSI-style options:

• --add-path / --no-add-path
• --register-manifest / --no-register-manifest
• --enable-psremoting
• --disable-telemetry
• --add-explorer-context-menu
• --add-file-context-menu
• --scope <user|machine>
• --root <path>

Microsoft Update registration is intentionally out of scope for archive installs at the moment, even on Windows.

On macOS and Linux, scoped installs support:

• --scope <user|machine>
• --root <path>
• --arch <auto|x64|x86|arm64|arm32>
• --include-prerelease
• --add-path / --no-add-path

The Windows-only integration flags above currently return an error on macOS/Linux.

Manage installed lines

Channel installs and updates

multi-pwsh install stable
multi-pwsh install preview
multi-pwsh install lts
multi-pwsh update stable
multi-pwsh update preview
multi-pwsh update lts
multi-pwsh list
multi-pwsh list --available
multi-pwsh list --available --include-prerelease

Exact versions and lines

multi-pwsh install 7.4.x
multi-pwsh install 7.6 --include-prerelease
multi-pwsh install 7.6-preview6
multi-pwsh install 7.6-rc1
multi-pwsh install 7.6.0-rc.1
multi-pwsh update 7.4
multi-pwsh update 7.5
multi-pwsh update 7.6 --include-prerelease
multi-pwsh uninstall 7.4.13

Alias policy and host mode

multi-pwsh alias set pwsh stable
multi-pwsh alias set pwsh lts
multi-pwsh alias set pwsh-preview preview
multi-pwsh alias set pwsh-lts lts
multi-pwsh alias set 7.4 7.4.11
multi-pwsh alias unset 7.4
multi-pwsh host 7.4 -venv msgraph -NoLogo -NoProfile -Command "$env:PSModulePath"
multi-pwsh doctor --repair-aliases

Venv management

multi-pwsh venv create msgraph
multi-pwsh venv export msgraph msgraph.zip
multi-pwsh venv import msgraph-copy msgraph.zip
multi-pwsh venv delete msgraph
multi-pwsh venv list

multi-pwsh usage reference:

multi-pwsh install <stable|preview|lts|version|major|major.minor|major.minor.x> [--scope <user|machine>] [--root <path>] [--arch <auto|x64|x86|arm64|arm32>] [--include-prerelease] [--add-path|--no-add-path] [--register-manifest|--no-register-manifest] [--enable-psremoting] [--disable-telemetry] [--add-explorer-context-menu] [--add-file-context-menu]
multi-pwsh update <stable|preview|lts|major.minor> [--scope <user|machine>] [--root <path>] [--arch <auto|x64|x86|arm64|arm32>] [--include-prerelease] [--add-path|--no-add-path] [--register-manifest|--no-register-manifest] [--enable-psremoting] [--disable-telemetry] [--add-explorer-context-menu] [--add-file-context-menu]
multi-pwsh uninstall <version> [--scope <user|machine>] [--root <path>] [--force]
multi-pwsh list [--scope <user|machine|all>] [--root <path>] [--available] [--include-prerelease]
multi-pwsh venv create <name>
multi-pwsh venv delete <name>
multi-pwsh venv export <name> <archive.zip>
multi-pwsh venv import <name> <archive.zip>
multi-pwsh venv list
multi-pwsh alias set <major.minor> <version|latest>
multi-pwsh alias set <pwsh|pwsh-preview|pwsh-lts> <stable|preview|lts|version>
multi-pwsh alias unset <major.minor|pwsh|pwsh-preview|pwsh-lts>
multi-pwsh host <version|major|major.minor|pwsh-alias> [-VirtualEnvironment <name>|-venv <name>] [pwsh arguments...]
multi-pwsh doctor --repair-aliases

The Windows integration flags in the install and update forms are limited to archive-friendly behaviors; on macOS/Linux, use --scope, --root, --arch, --include-prerelease, and --add-path controls. Legacy scope aliases such as current-user and all-users are still accepted for compatibility.

Selector behavior

• stable installs the latest GA/non-preview release for your platform and configures pwsh to follow the latest installed stable release.
• preview installs the latest prerelease for your platform and configures pwsh-preview to follow the latest installed preview release.
• lts installs the latest patch from the current LTS line for your platform and configures pwsh-lts to follow the latest installed LTS release.
• 7 installs the latest available 7.x release for your platform.
• 7.4 installs the latest available 7.4.x release for your platform.
• 7.4.x installs all available releases in that line for your platform.
• 7.4.11 installs that exact version.

multi-pwsh install 7.4.x installs every available patch release in that line for your current platform and creates per-version aliases such as pwsh-7.4.11.

The pwsh-7.4 alias tracks latest by default; pin it with multi-pwsh alias set 7.4 7.4.11 and unpin with multi-pwsh alias unset 7.4.

If a pinned target version is not installed, the pin remains in metadata and the alias stays unresolved until you install that version or unpin.

The bare pwsh alias is a managed policy alias. Configure it with multi-pwsh alias set pwsh stable, multi-pwsh alias set pwsh lts, multi-pwsh alias set pwsh preview, or an exact version. pwsh-preview tracks preview by default, and pwsh-lts tracks LTS by default. Policy aliases resolve only to installed versions; install or update the desired channel before pointing an alias at it.

The current LTS line is encoded in the tool; at the moment that is 7.6.

Native host mode and virtual environments

• multi-pwsh host <selector> ... runs PowerShell through native hosting instead of launching a pwsh subprocess.
• Use -venv <name> or -VirtualEnvironment <name> to select a managed module root for hosted launches.
• Use multi-pwsh doctor --repair-aliases to repair host shims and named aliases.

See docs/host-and-venv.md for host shims, venv layout, import/export, managed paths, and current limitations.

Testing

• Scoped install smoke tests: pwsh -NoLogo -NoProfile -NonInteractive -File .\tests\Invoke-ScopedInstallSmokeTest.ps1
• Venv matrix tests: pwsh -NoLogo -NoProfile -NonInteractive -File .\tests\Invoke-VenvTestMatrix.ps1

See docs/testing.md for online test mode, alias-targeted runs, and troubleshooting flags.