PowerShell 7 or higher requires macOS 13 and higher. All packages are available on the GitHubreleases page for PowerShell. After the package is installed, runpwsh from a terminal.Before installing, check the list ofSupported versions.

Install the latest stable release of PowerShell

There are several ways to install PowerShell on macOS. Choose one of the following methods:

• Install usingHomebrew. Homebrew is the preferred package manager for macOS.
• Install viaDirect Download.
• Install asa .NET Global tool.
• Install frombinary archives.

Install using Homebrew

If thebrew command isn't found, you need to install Homebrew followingtheir instructions.

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Oncebrew is installed, install PowerShell.

The following command installs the latest stable release of PowerShell:

brew install --cask powershell

Verify the installation is working correctly:

pwsh

When new versions of PowerShell are released, update Homebrew's formulae and upgrade PowerShell:

brew updatebrew upgrade powershell

Install the latest preview release of PowerShell

The following command installs the latest preview release of PowerShell:

brew install powershell/tap/powershell-preview

Run the following command to start the preview version of PowerShell:

pwsh-preview

When new preview versions of PowerShell are released, update Homebrew's formulae and upgrade to thelatest preview version of PowerShell:

brew updatebrew upgrade powershell-preview

Install the latest LTS release of PowerShell

The following command installs the latest LTS release of PowerShell:

brew install powershell/tap/powershell-lts

Verify your installation:

pwsh-lts

When new LTS versions of PowerShell are released, run the following commands to update Homebrew'sformulae and upgrade to the latest LTS version of PowerShell:

brew updatebrew upgrade powershell-lts

Installation via Direct Download

Starting with version 7.2, PowerShell supports the Apple M-series Arm-based processors. Download theinstall package from thereleases page onto your Mac. The links to the current versions are:

• PowerShell 7.5

  • Arm64 processors -powershell-7.5.2-arm64.pkg
  • x64 processors -powershell-7.5.2-osx-x64.pkg

• PowerShell 7.4

  • Arm64 processors -powershell-7.4.11-osx-arm64.pkg
  • x64 processors -powershell-7.4.11-osx-x64.pkg

There are two ways to install PowerShell using the Direct Download method.

Using Finder

Install PowerShell using Finder:

1. Open Finder
2. Locate the downloaded package
3. Double-click the file
4. Follow the prompts

You might receive the following error message when installing the package:

"powershell-7.5.2-osx-arm64.pkg" cannot be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicioussoftware.

To work around this issue using Finder:

1. Locate the downloaded package in Finder
2. Control-click (click while pressing theControl (or Ctrl) key on the package
3. SelectOpen from the context menu

Using Terminal

Install PowerShell from the terminal. Change the filename to match the package you downloaded.

sudo installer -pkg ./Downloads/powershell-7.5.2-osx-arm64.pkg -target /

You might receive the following error message when installing the package:

"powershell-7.5.2-osx-arm64.pkg" cannot be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicioussoftware.

There are a few different ways to work around this issue from the command line:

• Run theinstaller command with theallowUntrusted flag:

  `sudo installer -allowUntrusted -pkg ./Downloads/powershell-7.5.2-osx-arm64.pkg -target /`

• Or install the package as you normally would after running one of the following commands:

  • Runsudo xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine ./Downloads/powershell-7.5.2-osx-arm64.pkg.
  • Use theUnblock-File cmdlet if you're using PowerShell. Include the full path to the.pkgfile.

Install as a .NET Global tool

If you already have the.NET Core SDK installed, it's easy to install PowerShell as a.NET Global tool.

dotnet tool install --global PowerShell

The dotnet tool installer adds~/.dotnet/tools to yourPATH environment variable. However, thecurrently running shell doesn't have the updatedPATH. Start PowerShell from a new shell by typingpwsh.

Binary archives

PowerShell binarytar.gz archives are provided for the macOS platform to enable advanceddeployment scenarios. When you install using this method, you must also manually install anydependencies.

Installing binary archives on macOS

Download the install package from thereleases page onto your Mac. The links to the currentversions are:

• PowerShell 7.5-preview

  • Arm64 processors -powershell-7.5.2-osx-arm64.tar.gz
  • x64 processors -powershell-7.5.2-osx-x64.tar.gz

• PowerShell 7.4 (LTS)

  • Arm64 processors -powershell-7.4.11-osx-arm64.tar.gz
  • x64 processors -powershell-7.4.11-osx-x64.tar.gz

Use the following commands to install PowerShell from the binary archive. Change the download URL tomatch the version you want to install.

# Download the powershell '.tar.gz' archivecurl -L -o /tmp/powershell.tar.gz https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v7.5.2/powershell-7.5.2-osx-arm64.tar.gz# Create the target folder where powershell is placedsudo mkdir -p /usr/local/microsoft/powershell/7# Expand powershell to the target foldersudo tar zxf /tmp/powershell.tar.gz -C /usr/local/microsoft/powershell/7# Set execute permissionssudo chmod +x /usr/local/microsoft/powershell/7/pwsh# Create the symbolic link that points to pwshsudo ln -s /usr/local/microsoft/powershell/7/pwsh /usr/local/bin/pwsh

Uninstalling PowerShell

If you installed PowerShell with Homebrew, use the following command to uninstall:

brew uninstall --cask powershell

If you installed PowerShell via direct download, PowerShell must be removed manually:

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/bin/pwsh /usr/local/microsoft/powershell

To remove the extra PowerShell paths, refer to thepaths section in this document and removethe paths usingsudo rm.

Paths

• $PSHOME is/usr/local/microsoft/powershell/7
  • The macOS install package creates a symbolic link,/usr/local/bin/pwsh that points topwshin the$PSHOME location.
• User profiles are read from~/.config/powershell/profile.ps1
• Default profiles are read from$PSHOME/profile.ps1
• User modules are read from~/.local/share/powershell/Modules
• Shared modules are read from/usr/local/share/powershell/Modules
• Default modules are read from$PSHOME/Modules
• PSReadLine history is recorded to~/.local/share/powershell/PSReadLine/ConsoleHost_history.txt

PowerShell respects theXDG Base Directory Specification on macOS.

Supported versions

Microsoft supports PowerShell untilPowerShell reaches end-of-support or the version ofmacOS reaches end-of-support.

• macOS 15 (Sequoia) x64 and Arm64
• macOS 14 (Sonoma) x64 and Arm64
• macOS 13 (Ventura) x64 and Arm64

Apple determines the support lifecycle of macOS. For more information, see the following:

• macOS release notes
• Apple Security Updates

Installation support

Microsoft supports the installation methods in this document. There might be other methods ofinstallation available from other sources. While those tools and methods might work, Microsoft can'tsupport those methods.

Additional resources

• Homebrew Web
• Homebrew GitHub Repository
• Homebrew-Cask