Downgrade

In some scenarios it may be required to roll back the version of PowerShell Universal. This could be due to a feature change or bug that affects the system in a way too impactful to continue with the version. We always recommend validating a version in a development or quality assurance environment before upgrading in production to avoid having to perform a downgrade.

Downgrading can be complicated and error prone. We recommend restoring from a backup or snapshot instead of downgrading.

Configuration Files

Downgrading the configuration files will require removing or altering the .universal repository files to remove or rename new parameters. New cmdlets will be ignored by PowerShell Universal. If a cmdlet was renamed, it may have to be updated as well. You will need to refer to the release notes to see which cmdlets have changed in each version.

Major versions may include breaking changes. Minor versions may have additional cmdlets or parameters but will not have any breaking changes.

You can find information about each configuration file in the Repository page.

It is much easier to restore from a backup of the configuration files before the upgrade rather than manually updating files.

Database

Database schema upgrades are additive but may make changes to data content during the schema migration. We do not support database schema downgrades.

Local Account Passwords

Starting with PowerShell Universal 2026.3.0, local account passwords are stored as one-way hashes instead of encrypted values. Earlier versions cannot use these hashes to authenticate local accounts. As a result, downgrading from 2026.3.0 or later to an earlier version requires resetting the local account passwords.

After installing or extracting the target version, keep the PowerShell Universal service stopped and use the psu command line tool included with that version to reset an administrator password. You can also use another password recovery method supported by the target version.

.\psu.exe admin reset --connection-string 'Data Source=C:\ProgramData\UniversalAutomation\database.db'

The default command resets the admin account password to admin. Specify the database type and vault encryption options when required for your installation. After starting the downgraded server, sign in with the reset administrator account, change its password immediately, and reset the passwords for all remaining local accounts.

Application Files

Downgrading the application files is typically a simple process and depends on how you installed the product. You will need to perform the configuration file and database downgrades before performing the application downgrade.

MSI

To downgrade an MSI installation, you will need to first uninstall the current version. PowerShell Universal will not allow you to run a downgrade. After the uninstall is complete, perform an installation of the target version.

If you have configured a service account, you will need to set the service account again after install. This will require the service account credentials.

ZIP

To downgrade a ZIP installation, simply delete the PowerShell Universal application files. Once the directory is clear unzip the target version's ZIP into the installation directory. Ensure that you run Get-ChildItem -Recurse | Unblock-File after doing so.

IIS

Similar to the ZIP installation, remove the old version's files and unzip and unblock the target version's files. Ensure that the web site and App Pool are stopped before attempting so.