Microsoft has released an updated version of PowerShell which adds support for macOS and Linux. PowerShell Core 6.0 uses .NET Core rather than the .NET framework, and this means it is able to break out of being a Windows-only tool.

The tool is described as a "new edition of PowerShell that is cross-platform (Windows, macOS, and Linux), open-source, and built for heterogeneous environments and the hybrid cloud." The arrival of the scripting tool on new platforms will be welcomed by those working in mixed environments.

For Linux users, there is official support for Ubuntu 14.04, 16.04 and 17.04, Debian 8.7+ and 9, CentOS 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, OpenSUSE 42.2, and Fedora 25 and 26. Microsoft says that while Arch Linux, Kali Linux and AppImage are not officially supported, community-built packages have been made available for these platforms. Experimental builds also exist for Windows on ARM32/ARM64 and Raspbian (Stretch).

A detailed breakdown of what's new can be found here, but highlights include an updated filesystem, support for side-by-side installations, and support for Docker containers. PowerShell Core 6.0 is backwards compatible with Windows PowerShell.

You can download PowerShell Core on Windows here, and for macOS and Linux here.

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