Open Powershell in a specific directory from shortcut

Question

How can one make a windows short-cut that opens Powershell into a specific directory?

Such as the target:

%SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe 
    -noexit -command {cd c:/path/to/open}

But that just spits out the command as text. How?

Answer 1

Use this command.

powershell.exe -noexit -command "cd c:\temp"

-NoExit: Do not exit after running startup commands.

Answer 2

You can also set the "Start in" shortcut field to your desired location.

Answer 3

Ok - you need to use the & parameter to specify it's a powershell comand & the syntax is slightly different:

%SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe 
-noexit -command "& {cd c:\path\to\open}"

Answer 4

If you want powershell to start as admin and run in a specific directory, even on a different drive, it is better to use the Set-Location command. Follow these steps

1. Create a ShortCutLink with the target being the powershellcommand exe.
2. Leave Start in: blank. (Normally this starts in current working directory when blank; but we do not care.)
3. Change Target to this with your targets for powershell and locations:

C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -noexit -command "Set-Location D:\_DCode\Main"

4. Click Advanced... and select Run as administrator.
5. Click OKs out.

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Don't forget the handy trick to change the colors of the shortcut from the Colors tab. That way if you have two or more links which open powershell windows, seeing a different color can visually let you know which shell one is working in.

Answer 5

Define a Shortcut for Powershell, and Open the properties of that, and finally in "Start" type the folder target to be opened when Powershell Shortcut is triggered

Answer 6

try:

%SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe 
-noexit -command "cd c:/path/to/open"

Answer 7

If one wants a explorer right click options run this script:

New-PSDrive -Name HKCR -PSProvider Registry -Root HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
if(-not (Test-Path -Path "HKCR:\Directory\shell\$KeyName"))
{
    Try
    {
        New-Item -itemType String "HKCR:\Directory\shell\$KeyName" -value "Open PowerShell in this Folder" -ErrorAction Stop
        New-Item -itemType String "HKCR:\Directory\shell\$KeyName\command" -value "$env:SystemRoot\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -noexit -command Set-Location '%V'" -ErrorAction Stop
        Write-Host "Successfully!"
     }
     Catch
     {
         Write-Error $_.Exception.Message
     }
}
else
{
    Write-Warning "The specified key name already exists. Type another name and try again."
}

This is what is shown now:

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Note that you can download a detailed script from how to start PowerShell from Windows Explorer.

Answer 8

I use a .ps1 script file to open a PowerShell terminal at a specific path from a shortcut in the taskbar. The script:

cd 'directory path'
powershell

Running "powershell.exe" from a PowerShell terminal will start a new PowerShell session, preventing the terminal window from closing.

Answer 9

Copy this code into notepad and save with a reg extension. Double click the resulting file.If you get a message about importing to the registry click on yes and then ok. Navigate to any folder in explorer and bring up the context menu. This is typically done by clicking the right mouse button.

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Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\PShell]
"MUIVerb"="Open in Powershell Window"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\PShell\command]
@="c:\\windows\\system32\\WindowsPowerShell\\v1.0\\powershell.exe -NoExit -Command Set-Location -LiteralPath '%V'"

Answer 10

If you prefer to launch Windows Terminal with your prefered command line shell, you can use:

wt.exe -d "c:\temp"

Answer 11

I just wanted to add my Developer Powershell link ... for the records.

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -noe -c "&{Import-Module """C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Professional\Common7\Tools\Microsoft.VisualStudio.DevShell.dll"""; Enter-VsDevShell d998f19b; cd c:\dev\}"

This will start the Developer Powershell (VS 2019) in c:\dev\.

Answer 12

If you are using Powershell 7 (pwsh), simply use the -WorkingDirectory flag like this:

pwsh -WorkingDirectory "C:\path\to\your\directory"

Answer 13

If you are on a folder (File Explorer), you can write powershell on the address bar. This will open powershell that already moved to your current folder. The shortcut:

ctrl+L (move keybord to address bar)
powershell