Install PowerShell 7 on Windows 11 (Keep 5.1 Side-by-Side)

TL;DR

PowerShell 7 installs next to Windows PowerShell 5.1. Use pwsh for 7.x and powershell for 5.1. Fastest install:

winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell --source winget

What you’ll get

• Windows PowerShell 5.1 remains (powershell.exe) for legacy scripts.
• PowerShell 7 installs as pwsh.exe (modern engine on .NET).
• Both show up in Start and Windows Terminal.

Prerequisites

• Windows 11 with internet access
• Run your terminal as Administrator (recommended for machine-wide install)
• Optional: Windows Terminal (better tabs, profiles)

Install

• Open Windows Terminal / PowerShell as Administrator.
• Install

winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell --source winget

Update later

winget upgrade --id Microsoft.PowerShell

Verify the installation

pwsh
$PSVersionTable.PSVersion   # expect 7.x
(Get-Command pwsh).Path     # expect C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe

Make PowerShell 7 the default in Windows Terminal

• Open Windows Terminal → Settings (Ctrl+,).
• Go to Startup.
• Default profile → choose PowerShell (the one that runs C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe).
• Click Save, then open a new tab.

Using both versions (side-by-side)

• Windows PowerShell 5.1
  • Launch: powershell
  • Path: C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
• PowerShell 7
  • Launch: pwsh
  • Path: C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe