Pyenv-Win Installation Error and Solution in PowerShell 7.5.0

Pyenv-Win Installation Error and Solution in PowerShell 7.5.0 🎯#

Pyenv-Win, used to manage Python versions, may give installation errors for some users in PowerShell 7.5.0 version. Especially when the Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive module is missing, you may encounter the following error:

Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing -Uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pyenv-win/pyenv-win/master/pyenv-win/install-pyenv-win.ps1" -OutFile "./install-pyenv-win.ps1"; &"./install-pyenv-win.ps1"

        Directory: C:\Users\yucel


Mode                LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                -------------         ------ ----
d----        28.03.2025     17:10                  .pyenv
Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive\Expand-Archive : The module 'Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive' could not be loaded. For more information, run 'Import-Module Microsoft.PowerShell
.Archive'.
At line:1 char:1
+ Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive\Expand-Archive -Path "C:\Users\yucel\.py ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (Microsoft.Power...\Expand-Archive:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CouldNotAutoLoadModule

Move-Item: C:\Users\yucel\install-pyenv-win.ps1:126
Line |
 126 |      Move-Item -Path "$PyEnvDir\pyenv-win-master\*" -Destination "$PyE …
     |      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     | Cannot find path 'C:\Users\yucel\.pyenv\pyenv-win-master' because it does not exist.
Remove-Item: C:\Users\yucel\install-pyenv-win.ps1:127
Line |
 127 |      Remove-Item -Path "$PyEnvDir\pyenv-win-master" -Recurse
     |      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     | Cannot find path 'C:\Users\yucel\.pyenv\pyenv-win-master' because it does not exist.
pyenv-win is successfully installed. You may need to close and reopen your terminal before using it.

Because of this error, Expand-Archive is not working, so Pyenv-Win is not installed properly. Fortunately, there is a simple solution for this problem! 🚀

Cause of the Error 🤔#

PowerShell 7.5.0, on some systems, cannot automatically load the Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive module. Since the Pyenv-Win installation script (install-pyenv-win.ps1) calls the Expand-Archive command, you get an error.

Solution: Edit the Installation Script 🛠️#

To fix this error, open your install-pyenv-win.ps1 file and find the following line:

Start-Process -FilePath "powershell.exe" -ArgumentList @(
        "-NoProfile",
        "-Command `"Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive\Expand-Archive -Path \`"$DownloadPath\`" -DestinationPath \`"$PyEnvDir\`"`""
    ) -NoNewWindow -Wait

Change it to the following:

Start-Process -FilePath "pwsh.exe" -ArgumentList @(
    "-NoProfile",
    "-Command \"Expand-Archive -Path \`"$DownloadPath\`" -DestinationPath \`"$PyEnvDir\`"\""
) -NoNewWindow -Wait

What Does This Change Do?#

It bypasses the module deficiency by running the Expand-Archive command in a new PowerShell process (pwsh.exe).
Thus, the archive extraction process is completed without problems and Pyenv-Win can be installed. 🎉

Alternative Solution 🏗️#

If the above method seems complicated to you, you can also solve the problem by manually loading the PowerShell module:

Open PowerShell as administrator and run the following command:

  Install-Module -Name Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive -Force -Scope CurrentUser

Import the module:

  Import-Module Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive

Try Pyenv-Win installation again.

Conclusion ✅#

If you're getting an Expand-Archive error during Pyenv-Win installation in PowerShell 7.5.0, you can fix the problem using one of the above solution methods. Don't forget to restart your terminal after installation! 🔄

You can leave a comment if you have other errors or questions. Happy coding! 🚀

Microsoft-PowerShell-Archive

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Pyenv-Win Installation Error and Solution in PowerShell 7.5.0