Steven Bucher from the PowerShell Team introduces AI Shell Preview 4, diving into its new features: enhanced macOS integration, Entra ID authentication, improved shell commands, a new offline AI agent, and more.

AI Shell Preview 4 Is Here: Better macOS Support, Entra ID Authentication, and More

Author: Steven Bucher (PowerShell Team)

The AI Shell Team has unveiled Preview 4 of AI Shell, bringing several key improvements and new features based on user feedback. This release continues to enhance the integration of AI-powered assistance within PowerShell by focusing on access to Azure OpenAI deployments, expanding the Invoke-AIShell command, and broadening compatibility with macOS.

Improved macOS Support

  • Enhanced Side Car Experience with iTerm2: The macOS side car experience is now more stable, enabling reliable support for the /code post command and achieving parity with the Windows experience.
  • Requirements: Users must be running PowerShell 7 within iTerm2. See installation instructions for PowerShell 7 on macOS.
  • AI Shell Preview 4 on mac

Microsoft Entra ID Authentication for Azure OpenAI

  • Secure Authentication: Support for Entra ID authentication enables secure access to Azure OpenAI resources without the need to store sensitive keys in configuration files.

  • Configuration Example:

    {
  "GPTs": [
    {
      "Name": "ps-az-entraId",
      "Description": "A GPT instance with expertise in PowerShell scripting using Entra ID authentication.",
      "Endpoint": "<Your Endpoint>",
      "Deployment": "<Your Deployment Name>",
      "ModelName": "<Your Model Name>",
      "AuthType": "EntraID",
      "SystemPrompt": "You are a helpful and friendly assistant with expertise in PowerShell scripting and command line."
    }
  ],
  "Active": "ps-az-entraId"
}
  • Credential Hierarchy: AI Shell attempts authentication using these credentials, in order:
    • EnvironmentCredential
    • WorkloadIdentityCredential
    • ManagedIdentityCredential
    • SharedTokenCacheCredential
    • VisualStudioCredential
    • AzureCliCredential
    • AzurePowerShellCredential
    • AzureDeveloperCliCredential
    • InteractiveBrowserCredential
  • Learn about DefaultAzureCredential.

Enhanced Invoke-AIShell Command

  • Additional Parameters:
    • -PostCode: Post code from the side pane directly into the PowerShell session, reducing the need to manually run the /code post command.
    • -CopyCode: Copy code from the side pane without running /code copy.
    • -Exit: Exit the side pane easily.
  • Workflow Improvements: These features help users inject AI-generated commands seamlessly and maintain an uncluttered terminal experience, supporting more efficient shell workflows.
  • Integration with PSReadLine: Pairing with Predictive IntelliSense further streamlines command entry and code generation.
  • Invoke-AIShell Demo

Introducing Phi Silica Experimental Agent

  • Offline AI Experience: Phi Silica is an experimental local agent leveraging the built-in Phi Silica model included with the latest Copilot+ PCs. This allows offline use of AI Shell.
  • Availability: Not included by default; users must clone the repository and follow local build instructions.
  • Current Status: Proof of concept—recommended only for testing, with possible breaking changes in future updates.
  • Phi Silica Agent Demo

Additional Improvements

  • Updated support for the latest OpenAI models (#368)
  • /clear command as alias for /cls (#370)
  • Installation script updated for macOS (#374)
  • Enhanced model management and integration with system prompts in OllamaAgent (#351), contributed by @cnupy
  • Changelog available here

Installation Instructions

Install the latest AI Shell with:

Invoke-Expression "& { $(Invoke-RestMethod 'https://aka.ms/install-aishell.ps1') }"

Feedback is welcomed via the GitHub repository.

Thank you,

The AI Shell Team
Steven Bucher & Dongbo Wang

This post appeared first on “Microsoft PowerShell Blog”. Read the entire article here