OSDeploy Boot: add PowerShell 7 to WinPE

Add an architecture-specific PowerShell 7 runtime to WinPE with Build-OSDeployBoot.

Use the pwsh build option to add PowerShell 7 to an OSDeploy WinPE image. Build-OSDeployBoot downloads the runtime that matches the boot-image architecture, caches the ZIP file, expands it into the mounted image, and configures the WinPE environment so pwsh.exe can be started by name.

Requirements

Prepare the OSDeploy workstation before starting:

• Run PowerShell 7.6 or later as an administrator.
• Install the current OSDeploy and OSDCloud modules.
• Install the Windows ADK and matching WinPE add-on.
• Update OSDeploy Core content.
• Allow internet access to GitHub for the first PowerShell runtime download.

PowerShell 7 can be added to amd64 and arm64 boot images.

Build WinPE with PowerShell 7

Start the build and include the pwsh option:

Build-OSDeployBoot -Options 'pwsh'

Select the WinRE source and shared content when prompted, then approve the build.

To build directly from the AMD64 Windows ADK WinPE image:

Build-OSDeployBoot `
    -Architecture 'amd64' `
    -UseAdkWinPE `
    -Options 'pwsh'

Use arm64 instead of amd64 when creating an ARM64 image.

What the Build Adds

OSDeploy selects the archive for the boot-image architecture:

Architecture	PowerShell archive
amd64	PowerShell-7.6.4-win-x64.zip
arm64	PowerShell-7.6.4-win-arm64.zip

The download is retained in:

C:\ProgramData\OSDeployCore\cache\winpe-apps\microsoft-powershell7

OSDeploy expands the runtime into the mounted image at:

X:\Program Files\PowerShell\7

The build also updates the offline WinPE SYSTEM registry hive:

• Adds %ProgramFiles%\PowerShell\7 to Path.
• Adds PowerShell 7 and user module locations to PSModulePath.
• Records PowerShell 7.6.4 in the build's installed-app list.

The cached ZIP is reused during later builds. Delete the cached archive only when a clean download is required.

Add PowerShell 7 and DaRT Together

Pass both accepted options to add PowerShell 7 and Microsoft DaRT in one AMD64 build:

Build-OSDeployBoot -Options 'pwsh', 'dart'

Microsoft DaRT is not supported in ARM64 boot images. See OSDeploy Boot: Add Microsoft DaRT to WinPE for its requirements.

Verify PowerShell 7 in WinPE

Boot the generated ISO and run:

Get-Command pwsh.exe
pwsh.exe -NoLogo -Command '$PSVersionTable'

Confirm that:

• pwsh.exe resolves below X:\Program Files\PowerShell\7.
• PSEdition is Core.
• PSVersion is 7.6.4.
• PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE matches the intended boot-image architecture.

If pwsh.exe is missing, review the build output for the PowerShell download and archive expansion messages. Confirm that the cached ZIP exists and that the build completed without an image-servicing failure.

See Build-OSDeployBoot for all build parameters and source-selection behavior.