How to easily install and update PowerShell on Windows 11

If you check your PowerShell version and realize it’s out of date, you may want to update it or PowerShell itself might remind you it’s time for an update too. But how do you update PowerShell on Windows 11?

Thankfully, Microsoft makes it easier to update PowerShell or any app you want on Windows 11 and Windows 10 1709 (build 16299) or later. Here’s what you need to do.

Update PowerShell on Windows 11 and Windows 10

The easiest way to update PowerShell is by using the command line tool Winget. Winget is the Windows Packager Manager, a command-line tool that allows you to find, install, update, and configure applications on your PC.

Unlike installing PowerShell on Windows 10, the winget command-line tool is bundled with Windows 11 and modern versions of Windows 10 by default as the App Installer in the Microsoft Store. App Installer includes a version of the winget command line tool.

Instead of relying on third-party applications like winstall.app to do the grunt work for you, you can just as easily search for and install applications with winget. Here’s how to update PowerShell on Windows 11 using winget.

Update PowerShell or any app with winget

There are a couple of things to point out first:

• When running winget without administrator privileges, some apps may require elevated privileges to install. When the installer runs, Windows will prompt you for elevated privileges. If you chose not to elevate privileges, the app will not install.
• When running winget with administrator privileges, you will not see any elevated privileges prompts if the app requires it. With that in mind, always be careful when running a command as an administrator and only install apps you trust.

1. In order to install PowerShell, or any app for that matter, you can use the following command:

winget search <app-name>. In this example, we use winget search PowerShell to find the correct PowerShell app to install. As you can see there are multiple “PowerShell” apps available. I want to install the first entry that appears at the top.

2. Type (or copy and paste) the following command and press Enter:

winget install 9MZ1SNWT0N5D

3. Once you press Enter, winget will install the app ID you indicate. Keep in mind, you may need to confirm a prompt or two to continue with the app installation.

Once the app is installed, you can close the PowerShell window when you are finished. Otherwise, you can use winget to search for and install more apps.