Marc-Andre MoreauWe’re starting 2026 by removing a long-standing friction point for PowerShell Universal developers.
Today, we’re introducing the PowerShell Universal Developer edition — a no-cost license that unlocks the complete PowerShell Universal feature set for local development.
This edition is designed for developers who want to build, test, and validate PowerShell Universal applications on their own machines, using the same capabilities they’ll eventually run in production — without needing to purchase a server license just to get started.
Download the Developer edition and get started today
Full feature set, unlocked for development
The Developer edition provides access to everything PowerShell Universal offers, with no feature limitations.
- Dashboards and custom web apps
- REST APIs
- Automation and scheduling
- Authentication providers and role-based access control
- Script and module hosting
- App frameworks and UI components
You can explore the full feature list here: PowerShell Universal Features
Use case #1: Develop locally, deploy to production
A very common PowerShell Universal workflow is to develop applications locally and publish them to a remote PowerShell Universal instance that runs production workloads.
Historically, unlocking the full feature set locally often required purchasing a separate license — even though the local instance was never used in production.
With the Developer edition, you can develop PowerShell Universal apps locally with full feature parity, deploy them to a dedicated production server, and pay only for the server that actually runs production workloads.
Use case #2: Explore first, buy when you’re ready
Sometimes you simply want to explore PowerShell Universal properly before committing to a production deployment.
The Developer edition is ideal for this scenario. You get full access to the platform, can experiment at your own pace, and only purchase a Server License when you’re ready to put your PowerShell Universal app into production.
Testing external integrations during development
Some features require PowerShell Universal to be reachable externally. For development and testing, we recommend using a localhost tunneling solution like ngrok to securely expose your local instance without deploying a server, while keeping the Developer edition strictly for non-production use.
Clear boundary between development and production
The Developer edition is intentionally scoped for development and testing only.
- Runs on a single-user developer workstation or laptop
- Requires signing in with a Devolutions account
- Cannot be used to run production workloads
- Cannot host live or customer-facing services
- Cannot operate on servers, cloud infrastructure, or shared environments
When PowerShell Universal is running production workloads, a paid Server License is required.
Part of a bigger direction
Since PowerShell Universal joined Devolutions, our focus has been on reducing adoption barriers and improving the developer experience.
You can read the original announcement here: PowerShell Universal Joins Devolutions: A New Chapter in IT Automation
The Developer edition is a concrete step in that direction — enabling developers to build first, experiment freely, and license only when PowerShell Universal is delivering value in production.
Get started
- Install PowerShell Universal
- Sign in with your Devolutions account
- Start building with the full feature set at no cost
When you’re ready to go live, deploy to a licensed server and ship with confidence.