PowerShell 7.1 Generally Available

• PowerShell 7.1 is generally available for Windows, macOS, and several Linux distributions.
• This version is built on .NET 5.0, and it provides improvements and bug fixes to PowerShell 7.
• PowerShell 7.1 will have a shorter support period than PowerShell 7 due to the associated .NET support life-cycle.

PowerShell 7.1, the latest version of Microsoft’s cross-platform administrative scripting technology previously referred to as PowerShell Core, became generally available on Nov. 11, 2020, following several previews and release candidates. PowerShell 7.1 is available for Windows, macOS, and several Linux distributions, and it is the focus of Microsoft’s scripting efforts. (Windows PowerShell [versions 5.1 and earlier] is a component of the Windows OS. While it no longer receives new features, Microsoft has not announced plans for its deprecation.)

Recent versions of PowerShell focus on backward compatibility with legacy Windows PowerShell tasks. Many Windows PowerShell scripts may work with PowerShell 7.1, but certain modules, scripts, and commands may require administrators to use Windows PowerShell for the foreseeable future. PowerShell 7.1 provides improvements and bug fixes to the previous PowerShell version and is built on .NET 5.0 (formerly called .NET Core), which became generally available on Nov. 10, 2020. PowerShell 7.1 and Windows PowerShell can run side by side, and PowerShell 7.1 on Windows can instantiate Windows PowerShell modules and run their cmdlets.