Install ISESteroids

ISESteroids is a PowerShell Module can be downloaded and installed from the PowerShell Gallery. You can also manually download it as a ZIP-File.

ISESteroids is a PowerShell Module can be downloaded and installed from the PowerShell Gallery. You can also manually download it as a ZIP-File.

Use Install-Module to conveniently download and install ISESteroids from the PowerShell Gallery:

Install-Module -Name "ISESteroids" -Scope CurrentUser -Repository PSGallery -Force

When you run Install-Module for the first time, you will be asked to download the “nuget” binaries first which drive the download process. Next, ISESteroids is automatically downloaded, unblocked, unpacked and copied to the appropriate destination (specified via -Scope). You are all set.

Should the installation fail, take a look at the error message: most likely, your company policy does not allow the Microsoft tool PSExec which is bundled with ISESteroids. Download ISESteroids without PSExec as described below.

Install-Module Does Not Work

Install-Module is super-easy to use, but these are three common reasons why you might not be able to use it:

  • Your computer is not connected to the internet, so you don’t have access to the PowerShell Gallery
  • You are using PowerShell Version 3 and do not have the command Install-Module.
  • You cannot install ISESteroids because the Microsoft tool PSExec is not allowed by your company policy.

In these scenarios, use Save-Module instead, save the module to a folder of your choice, and then copy the module to the offline computer where you want to use it. You can also manually remove unwanted bundled tools like PSExec.

Or download ISESteroids manually as a ZIP-File. There is a separate download for ISESteroids without PSExec, too.

Save-Module

If the computer where you want to use ISESteroids is not connected to the Internet, use Save-Module instead of Install-Module , and download ISESteroids on a computer that is online:

Save-Module -Name ISESteroids -Path c:\temp
explorer "/select,c:\temp\isesteroids"

Next, copy the ISESteroids module folder to the actual computer where you want to use it, and/or make manual edits to the module (i.e. remove the tool PSExec if your company policy requires this).

Copy the module folder on the target machine to one of the folders in PowerShell’s automatic module search path:

PS> $env:PSModulePath -split ';' 
C:\Users\username\OneDrive\Dokumente\WindowsPowerShell\Modules
C:\Program Files\WindowsPowerShell\Modules
C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules                                           

To load ISESteroids from a different place, i.e. from a USB-Stick, load it via Import-Module, and specify the path to the ISESteroids module folder:

Import-Module -Name D:\ISESteroids`

Troubleshooting “Save-Module”

Save-Module requires your computer to be connected to the Internet before you launch PowerShell. So if you connected to the Internet after you launched PowerShell, you may want to try and restart PowerShell, and try using Save-Module again.

If you don’t have the command Save-Module, you may be using an old PowerShell Version. Install-Module and Save-Module are part of the module PowerShellGet which ships with PowerShell Version 5.0 and better.

You can either update your PowerShell Version, install PowerShell Core side-by-side to your existing version of Windows PowerShell, or use the manual download described below.

Download ZIP-File

If all else fails, simply download ISESteroids manually. There is a separate download for ISESteroids without bundled PSExec, too.