hashicorp/vagrant · error · VagrantPlugins::CommandPS::Errors::HostUnsupported

Your host does not support PowerShell. A remote PowerShell c

Error message

Your host does not support PowerShell. A remote PowerShell connection can only be made from a windows host.

What it means

The interactive `vagrant powershell` path requires the host to expose the ps_client host capability, which only Windows hosts implement. When @env.host.capability?(:ps_client) is false (macOS/Linux), Vagrant raises Errors::HostUnsupported. The --command branch bypasses this check by executing through the guest's winrm communicator instead.

Source

Thrown at plugins/commands/powershell/command.rb:74

            raise Vagrant::Errors::VMNotCreatedError
          end

          if options[:command]
            if machine.config.vm.communicator != :winrm
              raise VagrantPlugins::CommunicatorWinRM::Errors::WinRMNotReady
            end

            out_code = machine.communicate.execute(options[:command].dup, elevated: options[:elevated]) do |type,data|
              machine.ui.detail(data) if type == :stdout
            end
            if out_code == 0
              machine.ui.success("Command: #{options[:command]} executed successfully with output code #{out_code}.")
            end
            next
          end

          # Check if the host even supports ps remoting
          raise Errors::HostUnsupported if !@env.host.capability?(:ps_client)

          ps_info = VagrantPlugins::CommunicatorWinRM::Helper.winrm_info(machine)
          ps_info[:username] = machine.config.winrm.username
          ps_info[:password] = machine.config.winrm.password
          # Extra arguments if we have any
          ps_info[:extra_args] = options[:extra_args]

          result = ready_ps_remoting_for(machine, ps_info)

          machine.ui.detail(
            "Creating powershell session to #{ps_info[:host]}:#{ps_info[:port]}")
          machine.ui.detail("Username: #{ps_info[:username]}")

          begin
            @env.host.capability(:ps_client, ps_info)
          ensure
            if result["PreviousTrustedHosts"]
              reset_ps_remoting_for(machine, ps_info)

View on GitHub (pinned to 35f3160f4a)

Solutions

1. Run the command from a Windows host for interactive sessions.
2. On non-Windows hosts, use command mode with the winrm communicator: set `config.vm.communicator = "winrm"` in the Vagrantfile, then `vagrant powershell --command "whoami"`.
3. Or manage the guest over SSH where an OpenSSH server is available.

Example fix

# before (on macOS/Linux)
vagrant powershell                    # HostUnsupported
# after
# Vagrantfile: config.vm.communicator = "winrm"
vagrant powershell --command "whoami"

require 'rbconfig'
abort 'interactive vagrant powershell requires a Windows host; use --command with the winrm communicator instead' unless RbConfig::CONFIG['host_os'] =~ /mswin|mingw|cygwin/
system('vagrant', 'powershell')

begin
  Vagrant::Environment.new.cli(['powershell'])
rescue VagrantPlugins::CommandPowershell::Errors::HostUnsupported => e
  warn e.message # fall back: --command via winrm, or vagrant ssh
  exit 1
end

When it happens

Trigger: Running `vagrant powershell` (no --command) on macOS or Linux; the check fires before any session is attempted, after winrm_info resolution is prepared.

Common situations: Developers on Mac/Linux managing Windows guests; following Windows-host-oriented docs; forgetting that only the interactive remote session is host-restricted.

Related errors

• A command must be provided when the --elevated flag is provi
• The Hyper-V cmdlets for PowerShell are not available! Vagran
• Vagrant cannot create an iso due to the host capability for
• Failed to locate the powershell executable on the available
• The version of powershell currently installed on this host i

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/vagrant@35f3160f4a (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bdb1945a0dd31037. Report an issue: GitHub.