How can I run PowerShell with the .NET 4 runtime?

Question

I am updating a PowerShell script that manages some .NET assemblies. The script was written for assemblies built against .NET 2 (the same version of the framework that Power

Answer 1

If you don't want to modify the registry or app.config files, an alternate way is to create a simple .NET 4 console app that mimicks what PowerShell.exe does and hosts the PowerShell ConsoleShell.

See Option 2 – Hosting Windows PowerShell yourself

First, add a reference to the System.Management.Automation and Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleHost assemblies which can be found under %programfiles%\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0

Then use the following code:

using System;
using System.Management.Automation.Runspaces;
using Microsoft.PowerShell;

namespace PSHostCLRv4
{
    class Program
    {
        static int Main(string[] args)
        {
            var config = RunspaceConfiguration.Create();
                return ConsoleShell.Start(
                config,
                "Windows PowerShell - Hosted on CLR v4\nCopyright (C) 2010 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.",
                "",
                args
            );
        }
    }
}