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Open-Source PowerShell Now Available on Mac and Linux

Mac users can also look forward to a new version of Parallels Desktop with full support for Windows 10.

Tom Brant
 & Tom Brant Managing Editor

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Automating server tasks just got a lot easier for Mac and Linux users, thanks to Microsoft's decision to open source its PowerShell automation platform and scripting language for Windows and Windows Server.

PowerShell is a task-based, command-line scripting language built on the .NET Framework, which helps IT professionals control and automate the administration of servers. .NET itself completed a gradual open-source transition earlier this year, following Microsoft's acquisition of Xamarin.

Mac and Linux users can now download PowerShell from Github. There are versions available for Windows 10, Windows 10 Server, Windows 8, Mac OS X 10.11, Ubuntu, and CentOS.

Microsoft said that it took great care to make sure that PowerShell runs equally as well on Linux as it does on Windows. "We fit in well with the architecture, idioms and existing tools," Microsoft technical fellow Jeffrey Snover wrote in a blog post.

The two major differences between the Windows and Linux versions of PowerShell are in editing code and pushing those edits to servers. Linux users will have a choice of code editors, initially including VS Code and Sublime, with others to follow. They'll also have the option of using OpenSSH to communicate securely with servers.

Microsoft said the PowerShell version currently on Github is an alpha build, and it will continue to make "official" versions of PowerShell based on the new open-source code available for Windows users.

Besides gaining the ability to run PowerShell, Mac users now also have a new Parallels Desktop release to look forward to. Parallels 12, currently only available for existing customers, includes full support for Windows 10 and macOS Sierra, which the company says will make folder performance 25 times faster than the current version.

Parallels 12 also includes 500GB of online backup storage, free for one year, as well as the ability to record on-screen videos from Mac and Windows. Customers who purchased Parallels 11 on or after Aug. 1 will get a free upgrade; other current Parallels users will pay $49.99.

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Tom Brant

Tom Brant

Managing Editor

I’m a managing editor at PCMag.com focused on PC hardware. Reading this during the day? Then you've caught me testing gear and editing reviews of Wi-Fi routers, printers, laptops, and tons of other personal tech. (Reading this at night? Then I’m probably dreaming about all those cool products.) I’ve covered the consumer tech world as an editor, reporter, and analyst since 2015.

I've covered most major consumer tech events, including CES, Computex, Google I/O, and IFA. I've also appeared on CBS News, in USA Today, and at many other outlets to offer analysis on breaking technology news.

Before I joined the tech-journalism ranks, I wrote on topics as diverse as Borneo's rainforests, Middle Eastern airlines, and Big Data's role in presidential elections. A graduate of Middlebury College, I also have a master's degree in journalism and French Studies from New York University.

The Technology I Use

While most people buy a phone or laptop and stick with it for years, I’m lucky enough to use devices based on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows daily as part of my job. As a result, I cycle through lots of tech in addition to my IT-issue work laptop. (Yes, that's a ThinkPad.) Personally, I’ve also owned a lot of tech products both cutting-edge and cringeworthy, from the Nintendo GameCube and the original MacBook to the Palm m105 and the CueCat.

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