---
title: "Run Windows PowerShell from SQL Server Management Studio | Microsoft Docs"
ms.custom: ""
ms.date: "03/14/2017"
ms.prod: sql
ms.reviewer: ""
ms.technology: scripting
ms.topic: conceptual
ms.assetid: 1f841825-da1f-4062-9a81-3cdbab03845b
author: markingmyname
ms.author: maghan
---
# Run Windows PowerShell from SQL Server Management Studio
[!INCLUDE[appliesto-ss-asdb-asdw-pdw-md](../includes/appliesto-ss-asdb-asdw-pdw-md.md)]

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 **SqlServer** module, and sets the path context to the associated node in the **Object Explorer** tree.  
  

> [!NOTE]
> There are two SQL Server PowerShell modules; **SqlServer** and **SQLPS**. The **SQLPS** module is included with the SQL Server installation (for backwards compatibility), but is no longer being updated. The most up-to-date PowerShell module is the **SqlServer** module. The **SqlServer** module contains updated versions of the cmdlets in **SQLPS**, and also includes new cmdlets to support the latest SQL features.  
> Previous versions of the **SqlServer** module *were* included with SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), but only with the 16.x versions of SSMS. To use PowerShell with SSMS 17.0 and later, the **SqlServer** module must be installed from the PowerShell Gallery.
> To install the **SqlServer** module, see [Install SQL Server PowerShell](download-sql-server-ps-module.md).



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](sql-server-powershell.md)