How to Open PowerShell in a Folder (Windows 11 and 10)

To open PowerShell in a folder, open the folder in File Explorer, click the address bar, type pwsh (or powershell for Windows PowerShell 5.1) and press Enter. PowerShell starts with that folder as its location.

In Windows 11 you can also right-click inside the folder and choose Open in Terminal. Below I cover shortcuts, command-line options, admin windows and changing folders once PowerShell is open.

Open PowerShell from File Explorer

Method	Steps	Opens
Address bar	Alt+D, type pwsh or powershell, Enter	PowerShell 7 or 5.1 in that folder
Right-click menu	Right-click empty space > Open in Terminal	Your default Terminal profile
Shift+right-click	Shift+right-click > Open PowerShell window here	Windows PowerShell 5.1
PowerShell 7 menu	Right-click > Open here (PowerShell 7)	Only if chosen during PowerShell 7 setup

None of these open an admin window. Elevated windows always need a separate step, which I cover below.

Start PowerShell in a folder from a command

PowerShell 7 has -WorkingDirectory. For Windows PowerShell 5.1, run Set-Location as the first command. Both work from Run (Win+R), a shortcut or another shell:

$seven = pwsh -NoProfile -WorkingDirectory 'C:\psfaqs\Client Projects' -Command '(Get-Location).Path'
$five = powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "Set-Location 'C:\psfaqs\Client Projects'; (Get-Location).Path"

"pwsh started in:           $seven"
"powershell.exe started in: $five"

Output:

pwsh started in:           C:\psfaqs\Client Projects
powershell.exe started in: C:\psfaqs\Client Projects

Add -NoExit to keep the window open, for example pwsh -NoExit -WorkingDirectory 'C:\Projects'. Microsoft lists every switch in about_Pwsh.

Windows Terminal

wt -d "C:\Projects" opens Windows Terminal in a folder, and wt -d . uses the current one. See the Windows Terminal command-line arguments.

Open an admin PowerShell in a folder

Elevated windows often start in C:\Windows\System32, even when you ask for another folder. The reliable fix is to pass the folder to pwsh itself:

Start-Process pwsh -Verb RunAs -ArgumentList '-NoExit', '-WorkingDirectory', "`"$PWD`""

The escaped quotes keep folder names with spaces in one piece. Windows asks for approval before the window opens.

Change folders inside PowerShell

Once PowerShell is open, Set-Location (cd) moves you around. Push-Location saves your spot, and Pop-Location returns to it:

Set-Location -Path 'C:\psfaqs\Client Projects'
"Now in:      $PWD"
Push-Location -Path '.\Contoso Austin'
"Pushed to:   $PWD"
Pop-Location
"Popped back: $PWD"

Output:

Now in:      C:\psfaqs\Client Projects
Pushed to:   C:\psfaqs\Client Projects\Contoso Austin
Popped back: C:\psfaqs\Client Projects

Put quotes around paths with spaces. The Set-Location reference covers other drives, like HKCU: and Cert:.

Current folder vs. script folder

A script runs in whatever folder you’re in, not the folder it’s saved in. $PSScriptRoot gives you the script’s own folder. Here’s a small script saved as C:\psfaqs\Tools\report.ps1:

"Current folder (`$PWD):         $PWD"
"Script folder (`$PSScriptRoot): $PSScriptRoot"

I run it from a different folder:

Set-Location -Path 'C:\psfaqs\Client Projects'
& 'C:\psfaqs\Tools\report.ps1'

Output:

Current folder ($PWD):         C:\psfaqs\Client Projects
Script folder ($PSScriptRoot): C:\psfaqs\Tools

Build file paths from $PSScriptRoot so a script finds its own files from any folder. Running scripts from the command line covers the rest.

Open File Explorer from PowerShell

Going the other way, Invoke-Item . (or ii .) opens the current folder in File Explorer. explorer.exe . does the same.

Frequently Asked Questions

Next steps for working in PowerShell:

• Run a script from the command line
• Run PowerShell as a different user
• List directories and files
• Find an executable’s location