Install-OSDeploySoftware

List, preview, download, or install the software components used by OSDeploy.

Install-OSDeploySoftware is the entry point for preparing an OSDeploy workstation. Use it to list supported components, inspect current module metadata, download supported installers, or run one or more component installers.

Requirements

Run the command from an elevated PowerShell session on a workstation that meets all of these requirements:

• Windows 11; hosts earlier than Windows 11 26H2 build 26300 warn and continue during preview
• PowerShell 7.6 or later installed from the MSI package
• Current OSDeploy module
• curl.exe available in PATH
• Internet access for downloads and installations

Components installed through WinGet also require winget.exe, supplied by App Installer. MDT additionally requires msiexec.exe; Hyper-V requires the Windows optional-feature cmdlets.

The command checks Windows, the Windows build, PowerShell, the PowerShell installation type, curl.exe, and administrator access before it lists or previews components.

Components

Use one or more of these exact values with -Name:

Name	Component	Installer or action	Architecture behavior
adk-26h2	Windows ADK 26H2 10.1.26100.9457 and Windows PE add-on	Microsoft setup programs	Uses the setup URLs in current module metadata.
adk-26h1	Windows ADK 26H1 10.1.28000.1 and Windows PE add-on	Microsoft setup programs	Uses the setup URLs in current module metadata.
mdt	Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 6.3.8456.1000	x64 MSI	Downloads MicrosoftDeploymentToolkit_x64.msi.
git	Git for Windows	WinGet package Git.Git	The helper does not pass an architecture argument to WinGet.
code	Visual Studio Code	WinGet package Microsoft.VisualStudioCode	The helper does not pass an architecture argument to WinGet.
code-insiders	Visual Studio Code Insiders	WinGet package Microsoft.VisualStudioCode.Insiders	The helper does not pass an architecture argument to WinGet.
hyperv	Microsoft Hyper-V	Windows optional feature Microsoft-Hyper-V-All	Uses the feature available in the running Windows installation.
7zip	7-Zip	WinGet package 7zip.7zip	Downloads both x64 and arm64 installers for the OSDeploy cache.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Accepted values and behavior
-Name	String[]	None	Accepts the eight component names above and the alias -Component. Omit it to list every component. A supplied name previews by default. This parameter does not accept pipeline input.
-Force	Switch	Not enabled	Runs the selected installers or enables the selected feature. Without -Force or -DownloadOnly, the command returns preview metadata.
-DownloadOnly	Switch	Not enabled	Downloads supported ADK, MDT, or 7-Zip content without installing it. When combined with -Force, download-only behavior takes precedence. Returns NotSupported for git, code, code-insiders, and hyperv.
-WhatIf	Common parameter	Not enabled	Runs the shared requirement checks and reports each requested download or installation action without invoking its component helper.
-Confirm	Common parameter	Not enabled	Prompts separately for each requested download or installation action. The command uses ConfirmImpact Medium.

Examples

List available components

Return every accepted name and its preview command without selecting a component:

Install-OSDeploySoftware

Preview multiple components

Return module metadata and install commands for Windows ADK 26H2 and 7-Zip without downloading or installing them:

Install-OSDeploySoftware -Name 'adk-26h2', '7zip'

Install multiple components

Install Git for Windows and both Visual Studio Code channels in the supplied order:

Install-OSDeploySoftware -Name 'git', 'code', 'code-insiders' -Force

Git installation can prompt for the current user's global Git name and email address when those values are missing.

Download supported installers

Download and verify the MDT MSI without installing MDT:

Install-OSDeploySoftware -Name 'mdt' -DownloadOnly

Preview an installation action with WhatIf

Run requirement checks and show the Hyper-V action without enabling the feature:

Install-OSDeploySoftware -Name 'hyperv' -Force -WhatIf

Capture action results

Install Windows ADK 26H2 and 7-Zip, then inspect the parent command's component status objects:

$result = Install-OSDeploySoftware -Name 'adk-26h2', '7zip' -Force
$result | Format-Table

Action Behavior

The command selects its mode from the supplied parameters:

1. With no -Name, it lists all supported components.
2. With -Name but without -Force or -DownloadOnly, it returns preview metadata from the current OSDeploy module data.
3. With -DownloadOnly, it downloads supported component content. This mode takes precedence when -Force is also present.
4. With -Force, it invokes each selected installer or feature action in the order supplied to -Name.

The command stops on a terminating component error. Changes completed by earlier components are not rolled back. An action result with Status set to Installed means the component helper completed; it does not distinguish a new installation from an already-present component.

Component Behavior

• ADK setup downloads the ADK and matching Windows PE bootstrapper. Installation adds Deployment Tools, Imaging and Configuration Designer, and Windows Preinstallation Environment. Any detected ADK version causes the requested ADK installation to be skipped.
• MDT downloads an x64 MSI, validates its SHA256 hash, and installs it silently with no automatic restart. An existing MDT installation is not replaced.
• Git, Visual Studio Code, and Visual Studio Code Insiders install through WinGet only when their command is not found. Git can also prompt for missing global identity values.
• Hyper-V enables Microsoft-Hyper-V-All with all parent features and no automatic restart. The command returns NotSupported instead of invoking the helper when it detects a virtual machine.
• 7-Zip downloads x64 and arm64 installers, installs the host application when needed, and prepares the versioned 7-Zip WinPE app cache.

See the child component guides for cache paths, verification commands, and component-specific restrictions.

WhatIf and Confirmation

Install-OSDeploySoftware calls ShouldProcess once for each selected component immediately before invoking its helper. -WhatIf still runs the shared requirement checks and writes the OSDeploy banner, but it does not download, install, enable, or cache component content. Because no helper runs, the command returns no action result for that component.

-Confirm prompts at the same boundary. Declining one component omits its result and continues to the next selected component. After accepting the parent prompt, components that implement their own ShouldProcess checks can display additional confirmation prompts for their internal changes.

Listing and preview modes do not call ShouldProcess; -WhatIf does not change their returned data.

Output

The command returns System.Management.Automation.PSCustomObject instances. The properties depend on the selected mode.

Component list

Property	Description
Name	Exact value accepted by -Name.
FullName	Display name of the component.
Action	Install.
Command	Preview command for the component.

Preview

Property	Description
Name	Selected -Name value.
Component	Display name of the component.
Action	Preview.
Source	Package ID, feature name, or download URL from current module metadata.
Docs	Primary documentation URL.
Details	Additional release, retirement, or component information URL.
Note	Explains how to install or download the component.
Command	Installation command using -Force.

Download and installation actions

Successful ADK, MDT, Git, Visual Studio Code, and 7-Zip actions return Component and Status. Status is Downloaded for download-only actions and Installed for installation actions. Hyper-V also returns RestartNeeded.

Unsupported download-only requests and Hyper-V requests inside a virtual machine return Name, Component, Action, Status, and Note; Status is NotSupported.

Start with Install Required Software for the standard workstation setup, or use the Install-OSDeploySoftware command reference for compact syntax.