Microsoft releases PowerShell Core 6.0 for Windows, macOS and Linux

Microsoft is making the stable version of its cross-platform version of PowerShell widely available. PowerShell Core 6.0, as the version is called, is open source software that can be used not only on Windows, but also on macOS and Linux.

If you did not receive the latest version of PowerShell Core as an update, you can download it manually for Windows and for macOS and Linux. Microsoft warns that there is an issue on Linux where the tool will not update because package managers believe that powershell-6.0.0 is an earlier version than powershell-6.0.0-rc2. The company is working to resolve this.

PowerShell Core 6.0 is a further development of PowerShell, which was only available for Windows and whose release cycle ends at version 5.1. The tool will only receive fixes for critical bugs. PowerShell is based on .Net, while PowerShell Core is based on .Net Core and can therefore run cross platform.

It does mean that some features, such as Workflows and Snap-ins, are missing in the new version. According to Microsoft, some features may return, but many will not. Microsoft supports PowerShell Core on Windows 7, 8.1 and 10, Windows Server 2008 R2, 2012 R2 and 2016, Ubuntu 14.04, 16.04 and 17.04, Debian 8.7+ and 9, CentOS 7, RHEL 7, OpenSuse 42.2, Fedora 25 and 26, and macOS 10.12 and later versions. The tool also works on Arch Linux, Kali Linux and AppImage, Windows on ARM and Raspbian, but there is no official support on these platforms yet.