Profiles

PowerShell · Reference cheat sheet

📋 Overview

A profile is a script that runs when a host starts. Use it for aliases, prompt customization, and module imports—keep it fast and idempotent. Different hosts (Console, VS Code, ISE) have separate profile paths.

🔧 Core concepts

Hosts: Windows PowerShell vs PowerShell 7 have different profile locations. Prefer CurrentUserAllHosts for shared settings across VS Code and terminal.

💡 Examples

Create and open:

if (-not (Test-Path -Path $PROFILE)) {
  New-Item -Path $PROFILE -ItemType File -Force
}
ise $PROFILE   # or: code $PROFILE

Lean profile sketch:

# $PROFILE.CurrentUserAllHosts
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Continue'
Set-PSReadLineOption -EditMode Windows
function prompt {
  "PS $($executionContext.SessionState.Path.CurrentLocation)> "
}
Import-Module posh-git -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Measure startup cost:

Measure-Command { pwsh -NoLogo -Command exit }
Measure-Command { . $PROFILE }

⚠️ Pitfalls

• Heavy imports in the profile slow every shell—lazy-load or use modules on demand.
• Don’t put secrets in profiles; use SecretManagement / env vars.
• Editing the wrong $PROFILE host path leads to “changes not applying”.
• -NoProfile in automation skips profiles—scripts should not rely on them.
• Syntax errors in a profile can break interactive sessions—keep a backup.
• Avoid changing global machine state from a user profile.

🔗 Related

• modules.md
• execution_policy.md
• scripting.md
• useful_commands.md
• variables.md