---
title: "Run Windows PowerShell from SQL Server Management Studio | Microsoft Docs"
ms.custom: ""
ms.date: "03/14/2017"
ms.prod: "sql-server-2016"
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ms.suite: ""
ms.technology: 
  - "database-engine"
ms.tgt_pltfrm: ""
ms.topic: "article"
ms.assetid: 1f841825-da1f-4062-9a81-3cdbab03845b
caps.latest.revision: 11
author: "JennieHubbard"
ms.author: "jhubbard"
manager: "jhubbard"
---
# Run Windows PowerShell from SQL Server Management Studio
  You can start Windows PowerShell sessions from **Object Explorer** in [!INCLUDE[ssManStudioFull](../../includes/ssmanstudiofull-md.md)]. [!INCLUDE[ssManStudio](../../includes/ssmanstudio-md.md)] launches Windows PowerShell, loads the **sqlps** module, and sets the path context to the associated node in the **Object Explorer** tree.  
  
## Before You Begin  
 When you specify running PowerShell for an object in **Object Explorer**, [!INCLUDE[ssManStudioFull](../../includes/ssmanstudiofull-md.md)] starts a Windows PowerShell session in which the [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] PowerShell snap-ins have been loaded and registered. The path for the session is preset to the location of the object you right clicked in Object Explorer. For example, if you right-click the [!INCLUDE[ssSampleDBobject](../../includes/sssampledbobject-md.md)] database object in Object Explorer and select **Start PowerShell**, the Windows PowerShell path is set to the following:  
  
```  
SQLSERVER:\SQL\MyComputer\MyInstance\Databases\AdventureWorks2012>  
```  
  
## Run PowerShell  
 **To run PowerShell from SQL Server Management Studio**  
  
1.  Open **Object Explorer**.  
  
2.  Navigate to the node for the object to be worked on.  
  
3.  Right-click the object and select **Start PowerShell**.  
  
## Permissions  
 When opened from [!INCLUDE[ssManStudio](../../includes/ssmanstudio-md.md)], PowerShell does not run with Administrator privileges which may prevent some activities such as calls to WMI.  
  
## See Also  
 [SQL Server PowerShell](../../relational-databases/scripting/sql-server-powershell.md)