PowerShell 7 hits general availability with new features, better backwards compatibility

Microsoft calls PowerShell 7 the “one, true PowerShell going forward.”

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What you need to know

Microsoft today launchedPowerShell 7, the latest major revision of its cross-platform PowerShell Core automation tool and configuration framework. The update comes with some significant changes, new features, and improved backwards compatibility. Going forward, PowerShell 7 will be the “one, true PowerShell” as well, supplanting the previous stratification between Windows PowerShell and PowerShell Core.

One of the biggest changes in this release is the move from .NET Core 2.x to version 3.1. “.NET Core 3.1 brings back a host of .NET Framework APIs (especially on Windows), enabling significantly more backwards compatibility with existing Windows PowerShell modules,” Microsoft said in a blog post announcing the release. “This includes many modules on Windows that require GUI functionality like Out-GridView and Show-Command, as well as many role management modules that ship as part of Windows.”

Here’s a rundown of some of the new features included in PowerShell 7:

You can check out PowerShell 7 by snagging thelatest releaseat GitHub. PowerShell 7 is cross-platform, and it supports Windows, macOS, and various Linux releases.

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Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter@DthorpLand Instagram@heyitsdtl.