Unable to install a package that requires PowerShell 6.2.0 min version as Choco uses an older PowerShell Version (5.x) about choco

[laura-rodriguez]

@pauby I've made the changes you suggested, and the installation works as expected. Thanks a lot!

[TheCakeIsNaOH]

I'm unsure if --use-system-powershell will use PowerShell Core if it's installed.

It will not use PowerShell Core, it will only use Windows PowerShell (via powershell.exe) when using system powershell.

Is there a way to force choco use a specific PowerShell version?

In this case, I think the best option would be to call pwsh.exe in chocolateyInstall.ps1 for any specific commands that need to be run in PowerShell Core. Use Start-ChocolateyProcessAsAdmin if the command needs administrator privileges.

[pauby]

The issue with the package appears to be this line:

if ($PSVersionTable.PSVersion -lt [version]$minPSVersion) {
  throw "$moduleName module requires a minimum of PowerShell v$minPSVersion."
}

You're trying to detect the version of the PowerShell host and if it doesn't meet your minimum requirements, throwing an error. However, PowerShell (Core) is an optional install, on the majority of operating systems. But that doesn't stop your package from being installed. Your package doesn't need PowerShell Core. The module Okta.PowerShell does. But you're not running the module in the package. The package is simply the deployment method, so it doesn't matter what version of PowerShell it uses.

I do something like this for packages I maintain that require Java. I don't detect the Java version, but I do say 'This package requires Java' (the reason for this is that there are so many flavours and versions, it would be impossible to get it right all the time). . So I'd suggest the following:

# check PowerShell Core is available
if (Get-Command -Name 'pwsh.exe' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
    # we've confirmed PowerShell Core is available, retrieve the version of it
    $hostVersion = [Version]((pwsh.exe -Command { $PSVersionTable }).PSVersion)

    # does the version of PowerShell Core installed meet the minimum version we need?
    if ([Version]$hostVersion -lt [version]$minPSVersion) {
        # better to use 'Write-Warning' here
        throw "$moduleName module requires a minimum of PowerShell v$minPSVersion."
    }
}
else {
      # better to use 'Write-Warning' here
      throw "$moduleName module requires a minimum of PowerShell v$minPSVersion."
}

(I've briefly tested this code, and it works, but check it). (note that I wrote this to make it readable rather than concise - you can combine both if statements into one line)

What this does it check that PowerShell Core is installed. If not, it throws the exception. If it is installed, it runs the host and grabs the PSVersion from $PSVersionTable and then compares it to what you need.

A suggestion would be not to throw, but to use Write-Warning. The package can be installed without PowerShell Core installed and you should therefore allow the install, to take place with a warning that the module can't be run without them installing PowerShell Core. You could even help by providing them the command to install PowerShell Core: choco install powershell-core.

Or, the better way, is to simply add a dependency on a minimum version, 6.2.0, of powershell-core as a package dependency. That way you don't need any of the above as it will be taken care of for you.

[laura-rodriguez]

Thanks for all the suggestions here! They're super helpful.
I'll give adding powershell-core as a dependency and Pauby's script a try.

[pauby]

Chocolatey CLI only supports Windows PowerShell as an internal host. I'm unsure if --use-system-powershell will use PowerShell Core if it's installed. @gep13 @AdmiringWorm may have the answer to that.