Setting $HOME in PowerShell

Question

How do I change my default home directory to "C:\Users\khornsby" for every time I open powershell?

I am running Windows 7. Below is info about the state of my environment.

Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

PS P:\> cd ~
PS P:\> echo $HOME
P:\
PS P:\> HOME="C:\Users\khornsby"
The term 'HOME=C:\Users\khornsby' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet,
function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or
if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:25
+ HOME="C:\Users\khornsby" 

PS P:\> Set-Variable HOME "C:\Users\khornsby"
Set-Variable : Cannot overwrite variable HOME because it is read-only or
constant.
At line:1 char:13
+ Set-Variable 

PS P:\> dir env:home*

Name                           Value
----                           -----
HOMEPATH                       \
HOMEDRIVE                      P:
HOMESHARE                      \\fileserv\khornsby$


PS P:\>

Answer 1

The variable is read only by default, but can be removed with the -Force switch to Remove-Variable. To make your change persistent across sessions, you can make a profile file which is much like a .bashrc (For bash on Linux) except for Powershell.

In your Documents directory (normally C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME_HERE\documents) for your user account, create a WindowsPowerShell folder (named exactly like that) if one does not already exist. Inside the folder, create a text file called profile.ps1 (ensure it's not profile.ps1.txt).

Inside the file, place anything you want executed when you open Powershell.

example:

Write-Host "Hi John, welcome back!"
Remove-Variable -Force HOME
Set-Variable HOME "C:\Users\khornsby"

result:

Answer 2

To address @Weeble 's concern about the ~ shortcut:

$HOMEDRIVE = "C:\"
$HOMEPATH = "Users\" + $env:username

# Set and force overwrite of the $HOME variable
Set-Variable HOME "$HOMEDRIVE$HOMEPATH" -Force

# Set the "~" shortcut value for the FileSystem provider
(get-psprovider 'FileSystem').Home = $HOMEDRIVE + $HOMEPATH

See here for the distinction between ~ and $HOME

Answer 3

Even easier ... open up advanced system settings ...

 C:\> systempropertiesadvanced

Add a new system variable named HOME with the path to your profile

Restart explorer or log out and back in ...

PS C:\> $Env:home 
--- 

Answer 4

To change from within Windows, try the following:

• Pin PowerShell to the taskbar.

• Right click the PowerShell icon on the taskbar.

• Right click 'Windows PowerShell' and select 'Properties'.

• Within the 'Properties' window, go to the 'Shortcut' tab and change the 'Start in:' field to your desired starting directory. (Example: C:\Users\username\Desktop).

• Click 'OK'.

• Launch PowerShell from the taskbar.

  

  

Answer 5

You can use help about_profiles to see more details about this. Do not forget to sign your script.