powershell-2025-changes

Q: How do I install powershell-2025-changes?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/josiahsiegel/claude-plugin-marketplace --skill powershell-2025-changes in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/powershell-2025-changes/ (personal) or .claude/skills/powershell-2025-changes/ (project).

by josiahsiegelCode Quality & Workflow

Critical PowerShell changes, deprecations, and migrations for 2025. PROACTIVELY activate for: (1) PowerShell 7.5 GA changes, (2) PowerShell 7.6 preview features, (3) Windows PowerShell 5.1 deprecation timeline, (4) PSReadLine 2.4+ updates, (5) Az PowerShell 14.x breaking changes, (6) Microsoft.Graph migration from AzureAD/MSOnline modules, (7) PSResourceGet replacing PowerShellGet 2.x, (8) DSC v3 and migration from DSC v1/v2, (9) ExecutionPolicy and constrained language mode updates, (10) .NET 9/.NET 10 integration impact. Provides: deprecation timeline, breaking-change checklist, migration scripts (AzureAD to Microsoft.Graph), and PSResourceGet upgrade steps.

Installs: 171
Last 24h: —
Trending rank: —
Security: Not audited

Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/josiahsiegel/claude-plugin-marketplace --skill powershell-2025-changes

01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads powershell-2025-changes automatically when relevant.
03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

PowerShell 2025 Breaking Changes & Migrations

Critical changes, deprecations, and migration paths for PowerShell in 2025.

PowerShell 2.0 Removal (August-September 2025)

What's Removed

PowerShell 2.0 has been completely removed from:

Windows 11 version 24H2 (August 2025)
Windows Server 2025 (September 2025)

Why: Security improvements, reduced attack surface, legacy code cleanup

Migration Path

# Check if PowerShell 2.0 is installed
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName MicrosoftWindowsPowerShellV2Root

# If you still need PowerShell 2.0 (NOT RECOMMENDED)
# - Use older Windows versions
# - Use Windows containers with older base images
# - Upgrade scripts to PowerShell 5.1 or 7+

# Recommended: Migrate to PowerShell 7.5+
winget install Microsoft.PowerShell

Action Required: Audit all scripts and remove -Version 2.0 parameters from any PowerShell invocations.

MSOnline & AzureAD Module Retirement

Retirement Timeline

Module	Stop Working	Retirement Complete
MSOnline	Late May 2025	May 31, 2025
AzureAD	March 30, 2025	After July 1, 2025

Critical: These modules will stop functioning - not just deprecated, but completely non-functional.

Migration Path

From MSOnline/AzureAD to Microsoft.Graph:

# OLD (MSOnline) - STOPS WORKING MAY 2025
Connect-MsolService
Get-MsolUser
Set-MsolUser -UserPrincipalName "user@domain.com" -UsageLocation "US"

# NEW (Microsoft.Graph 2.32.0)
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "User.ReadWrite.All"
Get-MgUser
Update-MgUser -UserId "user@domain.com" -UsageLocation "US"

# OLD (AzureAD) - STOPS WORKING MARCH 2025
Connect-AzureAD
Get-AzureADUser
New-AzureADUser -DisplayName "John Doe" -UserPrincipalName "john@domain.com"

# NEW (Microsoft.Graph 2.32.0)
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "User.ReadWrite.All"
Get-MgUser
New-MgUser -DisplayName "John Doe" -UserPrincipalName "john@domain.com"

Alternative: Use Microsoft Entra PowerShell module (successor to AzureAD)

Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph.Entra -Scope CurrentUser
Connect-Entra
Get-EntraUser

Common Command Mappings

MSOnline/AzureAD	Microsoft.Graph	Notes
`Get-MsolUser` / `Get-AzureADUser`	`Get-MgUser`	Requires User.Read.All scope
`Get-MsolGroup` / `Get-AzureADGroup`	`Get-MgGroup`	Requires Group.Read.All scope
`Get-MsolDevice` / `Get-AzureADDevice`	`Get-MgDevice`	Requires Device.Read.All scope
`Connect-MsolService` / `Connect-AzureAD`	`Connect-MgGraph`	Scope-based permissions

WMIC Removal (Windows 11 25H2)

What's Removed

Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC) tool removed after upgrading to Windows 11 25H2+.

Migration Path

From WMIC to PowerShell WMI/CIM:

# OLD (WMIC) - REMOVED
wmic process list brief
wmic os get caption

# NEW (PowerShell CIM)
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Process | Select-Object Name, ProcessId, CommandLine
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_OperatingSystem | Select-Object Caption, Version

# For detailed process info
Get-Process | Format-Table Name, Id, CPU, WorkingSet -AutoSize

# For system info
Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object WindowsProductName, WindowsVersion

PowerShellGet → PSResourceGet Migration

Modern Package Management (2025)

PSResourceGet is the official successor to PowerShellGet (2x faster, actively developed).

# Install PSResourceGet (ships with PowerShell 7.4+)
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.PowerShell.PSResourceGet -Force

# New commands (PSResourceGet)
Install-PSResource -Name Az -Scope CurrentUser  # Replaces Install-Module
Find-PSResource -Name "*Azure*"                 # Replaces Find-Module
Update-PSResource -Name Az                      # Replaces Update-Module
Get-InstalledPSResource                         # Replaces Get-InstalledModule

# Compatibility layer available for legacy scripts
# Your old Install-Module commands still work but call PSResourceGet internally

Performance Comparison:

PowerShellGet: 10-15 seconds to install module
PSResourceGet: 5-7 seconds to install module (2x faster)

Test-Json Schema Changes

Breaking Change (PowerShell 7.4+)

Test-Json now uses JsonSchema.NET instead of Newtonsoft.Json.Schema.

Impact: No longer supports Draft 4 JSON schemas.

# OLD (Draft 4 schema) - NO LONGER SUPPORTED
$schema = @"
{
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-04/schema#",
  "type": "object"
}
"@

Test-Json -Json $json -Schema $schema  # FAILS in PowerShell 7.4+

# NEW (Draft 6+ schema) - SUPPORTED
$schema = @"
{
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-06/schema#",
  "type": "object"
}
"@

Test-Json -Json $json -Schema $schema  # WORKS

#Requires -PSSnapin Removed

Breaking Change (PowerShell 7.4+)

All code related to #Requires -PSSnapin has been removed.

# OLD (PowerShell 5.1 and earlier)
#Requires -PSSnapin Microsoft.Exchange.Management.PowerShell.SnapIn

# NEW (Use modules instead)
#Requires -Modules ExchangeOnlineManagement

Import-Module ExchangeOnlineManagement
Connect-ExchangeOnline

Security Hardening (2025 Standards)

Just Enough Administration (JEA)

JEA is now a security requirement for production environments:

# Create JEA session configuration
New-PSSessionConfigurationFile -SessionType RestrictedRemoteServer `
    -Path "C:\JEA\RestrictedAdmin.pssc" `
    -VisibleCmdlets @{
        Name = 'Restart-Service'
        Parameters = @{ Name = 'Name'; ValidateSet = 'Spooler' }
    } `
    -LanguageMode NoLanguage

# Register JEA endpoint
Register-PSSessionConfiguration -Name RestrictedAdmin `
    -Path "C:\JEA\RestrictedAdmin.pssc" `
    -Force

# Connect with limited privileges
Enter-PSSession -ComputerName Server01 -ConfigurationName RestrictedAdmin

Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC)

WDAC replaces AppLocker for PowerShell script control:

# Create WDAC policy for PowerShell scripts
New-CIPolicy -FilePath "C:\WDAC\PowerShellPolicy.xml" `
    -ScanPath "C:\Scripts" `
    -Level FilePublisher `
    -Fallback Hash

# Convert to binary and deploy
ConvertFrom-CIPolicy -XmlFilePath "C:\WDAC\PowerShellPolicy.xml" `
    -BinaryFilePath "C:\Windows\System32\CodeIntegrity\SIPolicy.p7b"

Constrained Language Mode

Constrained Language Mode is now recommended for all users without admin privileges:

# Check current language mode
$ExecutionContext.SessionState.LanguageMode
# Output: FullLanguage (admin) or ConstrainedLanguage (standard user)

# Set system-wide constrained language mode via Group Policy or Environment Variable
# Set HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment\__PSLockdownPolicy = 4

PowerShell 7.6 Preview Features

Current Status (October 2025)

PowerShell 7.6.0 Preview 5 available (built on .NET 9.0.101)

New Features:

PSRedirectToVariable: Allow redirecting to a variable
Module Rename: ThreadJob → Microsoft.PowerShell.ThreadJob
PSResourceGet 1.1.0: Improved performance and Azure Artifacts support

# Check PowerShell version
$PSVersionTable.PSVersion
# 7.5.4 (stable) or 7.6.0-preview.5

# .NET version
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.RuntimeInformation]::FrameworkDescription
# .NET 9.0.101

Migration Checklist

Immediate Actions Required (2025)

Audit MSOnline/AzureAD usage - Migrate to Microsoft.Graph 2.32.0 before May 2025
Remove PowerShell 2.0 references - Upgrade to PowerShell 7.5+
Replace WMIC commands - Use Get-CimInstance/Get-Process
Update JSON schemas - Migrate Draft 4 to Draft 6+
Remove PSSnapin requirements - Convert to modules
Adopt PSResourceGet - Faster, modern package management
Implement JEA - Role-based access control for production
Enable WDAC - Application control for PowerShell scripts
Test Constrained Language Mode - For non-admin users

Recommended Actions

Upgrade to PowerShell 7.5.4 - Latest stable with .NET 9
Adopt Az 14.5.0 - Latest Azure module with zone redundancy
Use Microsoft.Graph 2.32.0 - Actively maintained Graph SDK
Enable Script Block Logging - Security auditing
Implement Code Signing - For production scripts
Use Azure Key Vault - For credential management

Testing Migration

# Test for deprecated module usage
Get-Module MSOnline, AzureAD -ListAvailable
# If found, plan migration immediately

# Test for PowerShell 2.0 dependencies
Get-Content "script.ps1" | Select-String -Pattern "powershell.exe -Version 2"
# If found, remove version parameter

# Test for WMIC usage
Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\Scripts" -Recurse -Filter "*.ps1" |
    Select-String -Pattern "wmic" |
    Select-Object Path, Line

# Verify PowerShell version compatibility
#Requires -Version 7.0
Test-Path $PSCommandPath  # Ensures script is PowerShell 7+

Resources

Last Updated: October 2025

FAQ

What does the powershell-2025-changes skill do?

How do I install powershell-2025-changes?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/josiahsiegel/claude-plugin-marketplace --skill powershell-2025-changes in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/powershell-2025-changes/ (personal) or .claude/skills/powershell-2025-changes/ (project).

Which AI agents can use powershell-2025-changes?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is powershell-2025-changes safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains powershell-2025-changes?

It is published by josiahsiegel in josiahsiegel/claude-plugin-marketplace. It has 171 recorded installs.