How to create and run a PowerShell script

file on Windows 10 or 11
Are you getting started with PowerShell? If so, this guide will help
you to create and run your first script on Windows.

On Windows 10 (or 11), PowerShell is a command-line interface (CLI) that allows you to run
commands and scripts to automate tasks and change settings on your computer, similar to
Command Prompt. However, PowerShell is a more powerful CLI that offers a more extensive set
of tools and more flexibility. In addition, unlike Command Prompt, PowerShell is available
across platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Regardless of the platform, a script is a collection of instructions written to a text file (using the
particular ".ps1" extension) that PowerShell understands and executes in sequence to run
different actions.
The only problem is that the default security protocol prevents scripts from running on your
device. This means that when double-clicking a ".ps1" file, Windows 10 won't do anything, and
if you try to run the script within PowerShell, you will see the "cannot be loaded because
running scripts is disabled on this system" error message. However, running scripts on your
computer is not impossible. You only need to enable the correct execution policy.
This how-to guide will walk you through the steps to write and run your first script
file on PowerShell using Visual Studio Code, Notepad, and the PowerShell
Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) console, whether you use Windows 10 or the
newer Windows 11.
It's possible to create PowerShell script files using any text editor or the legacy ISE
application. However, the Visual Studio Code editor is the preferred option for
writing scripts (whenever possible).

Create a script with VS Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a free and extensible cross-platform code editor to
edit virtually any programming language. And when adding the PowerShell
extension, you get an interactive scripting editing experience, which even comes
with IntelliSense (code-completion) support.

You can still use PowerShell ISE, but Visual Studio Code with the PowerShell
extension is meant to be the new default experience. Also, consider that the legacy
experience won't get any new features and doesn't support PowerShell 7 or higher
releases.

Install VS Code
To install Visual Basic Code on Windows 10 (or 11), use these steps:
 1. Open the Visual Studio Download page.
2. Click the Windows button to download the installation file.

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3. Double-click the installer to begin the process.
4. Select the "I accept the agreement" option.
5. Click the Next button.
6. Confirm additional tasks as necessary.
7. Click the Next button again.

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 8. Click the Install button.
9. Click the Finish button.
Once you complete the steps, you can continue installing the PowerShell extension
for VS Code.

Install PowerShell extension

To install the PowerShell extension on VS Code, use these steps:

1. Open VS Code.
2. Click the Extensions tab ("Ctrl + Shift + X" keyboard shortcut) from the left pane.
3. Search for PowerShell and select the top result.
4. Click the Install button.

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5. Click the "Trust Workspace & Install" button.
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After you complete the steps, you can start writing PowerShell scripts from Visual
Studio Code.

Create PowerShell script with Visual Studio Code

To create a script with Visual Basic Code on Windows 10 (or 11), use these steps:

1. Open VS Code.
2. Click the File menu and select the "New Text File" option.
3. Click the File menu and select the Save As option.
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4. In the "File name" field, specify a name for the file with the ".ps1" extension — for
example, first_script.ps1.
5. Click the Save button.
6. Write a new or paste the script you want to run — for example, Write-Host
"Congratulations! Your first script executed successfully"
 Quick note: The above script will output on the screen that says: "Congratulations! Your
first script executed successfully."
7. (Optional) Open the Run menu, select the Start Debugging option from the command
bar, or press the F5 key) to run the script.
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8. Click the File menu.
9. Click the Save option.
Create PowerShell script with Notepad
To create a PowerShell script with Notepad, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Notepad, and click the top result to open the app.
3. Write a new or paste your script in the text file — for example, Write-Host
"Congratulations! Your first script executed successfully"
Quick note: Although the Notepad app looks a little different on Windows 11, the
instructions will also apply.

4. Click the File menu.

5. Select the Save As option.
6. Confirm a descriptive name for the script — for example, first_script.ps1.
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7. Click the Save button.
Create PowerShell script with Integrated Scripting Environment
You can also use the built-in PowerShell ISE app to code your scripts on Windows
10 (or 11).

The Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) is a complex tool, but you can get
started using these easy steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Windows PowerShell ISE, right-click the top result, and select the Run as
administrator option.
3. Click the File menu.
4. Select the New option to create a new empty ".ps1" file.
5. Write a new, or paste the script you want to run — for example, Write-Host
"Congratulations! Your first script executed successfully"
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6. Click the File menu.
7. Click the Save option.
8. Type a name for the script — for example, first_script.ps1.
9. Select the folder to save the script file.
10. Click the Save button.
11. (Optional) Click the Run button on the top-right side (or press the F5 key) to run the
script.
Once you complete the steps using Notepad, Visual Studio Code, or PowerShell ISE,
the script will be ready but fail using the default system settings. The reason is that
the default PowerShell settings are configured to block the execution of any script.
(The only exception is if you run the script's contents within Visual Studio Code or
PowerShell ISE.)

HOW TO RUN POWERSHELL SCRIPT FILE ON WINDOWS 10

Regardless of the version of Windows, you must change the execution policy to run
a script with PowerShell.

To change the execution policy to run PowerShell scripts on Windows 10, use these
steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as
administrator option.
 3. Type the following command to allow scripts to run and press Enter: Set-
ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
4. Type "A" and press Enter (if applicable).
5. Type the following command to run the script and press Enter: & "C:\PATH\TO\
SCRIPT\first_script.ps1"
In the above command, change "PATH\TO\SCRIPT" to the location of your script.
For example, this command runs a script stored in the "Downloads" folder: & "C:\
Users\username\Downloads\first_script.ps1"

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After you complete the steps, the script will run, and if it was written correctly, you
should see its output on the screen without issues.

PowerShell includes four execution policies that apply to Windows 10:

 Restricted — Prevents any script from running.

 RemoteSigned — Allows scripts created on the computer, but scripts created on another
device won't run unless they include a trusted publisher's signature.
 AllSigned — All the scripts will run, but only if a trusted publisher has signed them.
 Unrestricted — Runs any script without any restrictions.
It's recommended only to allow local scripts to run a script from a trusted source. If
you don't plan to run scripts regularly, it's best to restore the default settings to
block untrusted scripts using the same instructions outlined above, but in step 4,
use the Set-ExecutionPolicy Restricted command.