How to Install PowerShell on Ubuntu 26.04 – Setup & Update Guide

Configure Microsoft’s cross-platform scripting shell on your Ubuntu system. Compare native APT package configurations, snapd isolation, and direct release packages, then run verified installation commands.

Quick CLI Setup Cheatsheet

If you are an experienced user looking for the fastest terminal commands, copy and paste the scripts below for your preferred setup method:

sudo snap install powershell --classic

sudo curl -fsSL https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/powershell.gpg > /dev/null
ubuntu_version=$(lsb_release -rs)
ubuntu_codename=$(lsb_release -cs)
echo -e "Types: deb\nURIs: https://packages.microsoft.com/ubuntu/${ubuntu_version}/prod\nSuites: ${ubuntu_codename}\nComponents: main\nArchitectures: amd64\nSigned-By: /usr/share/keyrings/powershell.gpg" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/powershell.sources
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y powershell

PowerShell Installation Methods Compared

Use the table below to compare how each installation method functions across different active Ubuntu LTS releases:

Before registering the repository, update your package cache and install the necessary system utilities to manage secure downloads and keyrings:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg lsb-release

Download Microsoft’s public security key and import it into a dedicated keyring. This key is used by APT to cryptographically verify that the packages you download are genuine and untampered:

sudo curl -fsSL https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/powershell.gpg > /dev/null

Create the sources list file using a structured layout. The script below reads your local Ubuntu version and codename dynamically, ensuring that the correct repository path is registered:

# Retrieve Ubuntu version details dynamically
ubuntu_version=$(lsb_release -rs)
ubuntu_codename=$(lsb_release -cs)

# Write the DEB822 configuration file
sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/powershell.sources <<EOF
Types: deb
URIs: https://packages.microsoft.com/ubuntu/$ubuntu_version/prod
Suites: $ubuntu_codename
Components: main
Architectures: amd64
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/powershell.gpg
EOF

Update your local system package cache to detect the newly registered Microsoft source, then install the PowerShell package:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y powershell

Run the installation command in your terminal. We use the classic confinement flag to allow PowerShell to access system directories and commands outside the standard snap sandbox:

sudo snap install powershell --classic

Fetch the desired PowerShell release package (such as version 7.6.2) and the corresponding verification manifest from the official repository. We dynamically detect the system architecture to download the correct package (`amd64` or `arm64`):

# Set target version and detect architecture
VERSION="7.6.2"
ARCH=$(dpkg --print-architecture)

# Download the correct deb package file
curl -L -O "https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v${VERSION}/powershell_${VERSION}-1.deb_${ARCH}.deb"

# Download the checksum verification file
curl -L -O "https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v${VERSION}/hashes.sha256"

Microsoft saves the checksum file in UTF-16LE encoding, which cannot be processed by standard Linux verification tools directly. Convert the file encoding to UTF-8 using iconv, extract the line matching the package, and pass it to sha256sum to verify:

iconv -f utf-16le -t utf-8 hashes.sha256 | grep "powershell_${VERSION}-1.deb_${ARCH}.deb" | sha256sum -c -

If the check is successful, the terminal will print the package name followed by OK. If it prints a mismatch warning, delete the downloaded file and repeat the step.

Install the package using APT, which automatically resolves and retrieves any missing dependencies required by PowerShell:

sudo apt install -y "./powershell_${VERSION}-1.deb_${ARCH}.deb"

Create a new file at `/usr/local/bin/update-powershell` and add the script code below:

#!/bin/bash
# PowerShell on Linux Automated Update Script
set -e

# Retrieve latest version from GitHub API using grep and sed
latest_version=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/latest | grep '"tag_name":' | sed -E 's/.*"tag_name"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"v?([^"]+)".*/\1/')

if [ -z "$latest_version" ]; then
    echo "Error: Could not retrieve latest version from GitHub API."
    exit 1
fi

# Retrieve installed version
if command -v pwsh >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    current_version=$(pwsh -Version | sed 's/PowerShell //')
else
    current_version="none"
fi

echo "Installed PowerShell version: $current_version"
echo "Latest PowerShell version:    $latest_version"

if [ "$current_version" = "$latest_version" ]; then
    echo "PowerShell is already up-to-date."
    exit 0
fi

# Detect system architecture dynamically
arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture)
if [ "$arch" != "amd64" ] && [ "$arch" != "arm64" ]; then
    echo "Error: Architecture $arch is not supported by PowerShell official DEB packages."
    exit 1
fi

echo "Updating PowerShell to v$latest_version ($arch)..."
tmp_dir=$(mktemp -d)
cd "$tmp_dir"

deb_file="powershell_${latest_version}-1.deb_${arch}.deb"
deb_url="https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v${latest_version}/${deb_file}"
hashes_file="hashes.sha256"
hashes_url="https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v${latest_version}/${hashes_file}"

echo "Downloading $deb_file..."
curl -sSL -O "$deb_url"
echo "Downloading $hashes_file..."
curl -sSL -O "$hashes_url"

echo "Verifying SHA256 integrity..."
iconv -f utf-16le -t utf-8 "$hashes_file" | grep "$deb_file" | sha256sum -c -

echo "Installing package..."
sudo apt install -y "./$deb_file"

cd /
rm -rf "$tmp_dir"
echo "PowerShell update successfully completed."

Make the helper script executable so it can be run as a system command:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/update-powershell

For local development or isolated testing environments, you can configure NTLM authentication by installing the GSS-NTLM security service provider package from the official Ubuntu repositories:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y gss-ntlmssp

Once installed, launch PowerShell (`pwsh`) and establish a remote session using NTLM. You can authenticate using an IP address or hostname:

# Launch PowerShell
pwsh

# Inside pwsh: request credentials and connect to target server
$cred = Get-Credential
New-PSSession -ComputerName "192.168.1.50" -Credential $cred -Authentication NTLM

For secure Active Directory domain environments, Kerberos is the mandatory authentication protocol. First, install the Kerberos client utility package on your Ubuntu machine:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y krb5-user

During installation, you will be prompted to enter your default domain realm (which must be capitalized, e.g. YOURDOMAIN.COM). Next, acquire a Kerberos ticket-granting ticket (TGT) for your AD user account:

kinit [email protected]

Once authenticated, launch PowerShell (`pwsh`) and open a remote session. When using Kerberos, you must connect using the target server’s Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) that matches your Kerberos realm, not a raw IP address:

# Launch PowerShell
pwsh

# Inside pwsh: connect to target Windows server using Kerberos
New-PSSession -ComputerName "server01.yourdomain.com" -Authentication Kerberos

Launch PowerShell (`pwsh`) and run the script below to check for an existing profile. If none is found, the script creates the directory structure and a blank profile file:

if (!(Test-Path $PROFILE)) {
    New-Item -Type File -Path $PROFILE -Force
}

The profile file is saved under your home directory at `~/.config/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1`. Open this file with nano or a text editor and add your custom shell shortcuts:

# Add custom aliases
Set-Alias -Name ll -Value Get-ChildItem

# Custom shell prompt function
function prompt {
    $host.ui.Write("PS ", [ConsoleColor]::Cyan)
    $host.ui.Write($pwd.Path, [ConsoleColor]::DarkCyan)
    return "> "
}

Save the file and restart PowerShell. Your new profile shortcuts and prompt will load automatically.

If PowerShell crashes on startup, fails to load system modules, or reports corrupt configuration files, you can perform a clean reset of your user configuration and reinstall the system packages:

1. Reset User Configurations and Session Profiles:

rm -rf ~/.config/powershell ~/.local/share/powershell

2. Force-Reinstall the PowerShell Package via APT:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --reinstall powershell

1. Clean Up Microsoft APT Repository Installation:

Remove the package, delete the sources list, GPG keyring, and .NET repository pinning files, then refresh your package database:

sudo apt purge -y powershell
sudo rm -f /etc/apt/sources.list.d/powershell.sources
sudo rm -f /usr/share/keyrings/powershell.gpg
sudo rm -f /etc/apt/preferences.d/99-microsoft-dotnet.pref
sudo apt update

2. Clean Up Snap Store Installation:

Remove the snap package from your machine:

sudo snap remove powershell

3. Clean Up GitHub Direct DEB Installation:

Remove the system package and delete the automated update helper script:

sudo apt purge -y powershell
sudo rm -f /usr/local/bin/update-powershell

4. Optional: Delete User Settings, History, and Profiles:

The uninstall steps above do not delete your profile configurations or console history. Run the command below to delete remaining user settings directories:

rm -rf ~/.config/powershell ~/.local/share/powershell

Helpful Resources & Support

For further reading and community assistance with PowerShell on Linux, check these resources:

• PowerShell GitHub Releases Page – Download direct packages and view official release notes.
• Microsoft PowerShell Documentation – Official guides, command references, and cmdlet documentation.
• UbuntuFree Contact Support Page – Get in touch with our team directly for troubleshooting help.