Module not found with Import-Module -UseWindowsPowerShell

[dsolodow]

Prerequisites

• I have written a descriptive issue title.
• I have searched all open and closed issues to ensure it has not already been reported.
• I have read the troubleshooting guide.
• I am sure this issue is with the extension itself and does not reproduce in a standalone PowerShell instance.
• I have verified that I am using the latest version of Visual Studio Code and the PowerShell extension.
• If this is a security issue, I have read the security issue reporting guidance.

Summary

When attempting to do an import-module with the -UseWindowsPowerShell parameter, it fails with a module not found error. The same command works fine with Windows Terminal

PowerShell Version

Name                           Value
----                           -----
PSVersion                      7.6.0
PSEdition                      Core
GitCommitId                    7.6.0
OS                             Microsoft Windows 10.0.26200
Platform                       Win32NT
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0…}
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.4
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1
WSManStackVersion              3.0

Name             : Visual Studio Code Host
Version          : 2025.4.0
InstanceId       : 6ff8a005-e54f-4fc3-85f7-6d9d2c6b153b
UI               : System.Management.Automation.Internal.Host.InternalHostUserInterface
CurrentCulture   : en-US
CurrentUICulture : en-US
PrivateData      : Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleHost+ConsoleColorProxy
DebuggerEnabled  : True
IsRunspacePushed : False
Runspace         : System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.LocalRunspace

Visual Studio Code Version

1.113.0
cfbea10c5ffb233ea9177d34726e6056e89913dc
x64

Extension Version

ms-vscode.powershell@2025.4.0
tylerleonhardt.vscode-inline-values-powershell@0.0.7

Steps to Reproduce

1. Launch VSCode
2. Open extension terminal
3. attempt to import module:

import-module Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -UseWindowsPowerShell

Visuals

Logs

StartEditorServices-44892.log
PowerShell Trace LSP.log
PowerShell.log

[JustinGrote]

Thanks for your submission! Probably something with the PS you are remoting not having the module in the same PSRemotePath, or otherwise PSES loads windows powershell with different PSModulePath so it can't find it.

Can you try loading it with the explicit absolute path to the module?

[dsolodow]

Yes, using the explicit absolute path to the module manifest worked.
The module was installed in the user scope; once I moved the module to the c:\program files\windowsPowershell\modules folder it imported normally in VSCode.

That definitely points to a PSModulePath issue from PSES

[dsolodow]

Yep, the per-user WindowsPowerShell module folder isn't in the PSModulePath in PSES:

[chirag127]

Docs gap: user-scope Windows PowerShell modules not in PSES PSModulePath

The root cause has been identified in the comments above (per-user WindowsPowerShell module folder missing from PSES's $env:PSModulePath). Worth noting this isn't covered in the current troubleshooting guide.

Environment where reproduced:

• Windows 11 Enterprise 10.0.26200
• PowerShell 7.6.0
• VS Code 1.122+, PowerShell ext 2025.4+
• Module installed to user scope ($HOME\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules)

Workaround (until PSES is fixed):

Add the user-scope WPS modules path to $env:PSModulePath in your VS Code PowerShell profile ($PROFILE.CurrentUserCurrentHost):

# Add user-scope Windows PowerShell module path for -UseWindowsPowerShell compat
$userWpsModules = Join-Path $HOME "Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules"
if ($env:PSModulePath -notlike "*$userWpsModules*") {
    $env:PSModulePath += ";$userWpsModules"
}

Or move the affected module to C:\Program Files\WindowsPowerShell\Modules (system-scope) as confirmed in the comments above.

Suggested docs addition: a note in the troubleshooting guide under "Module Import Errors" explaining that Import-Module -UseWindowsPowerShell runs in a Windows PowerShell 5.1 compatibility session whose PSModulePath is constructed by PSES and does not include the per-user Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules path. User-scoped modules must either be added manually to $env:PSModulePath in the PS profile, or installed system-wide.