Why does profile creation fail? #28304

Mr Beedell, Roke Julian Lockhart (beedell-roke) · 2026-11-03T14:55:46Z

Mr Beedell, Roke Julian Lockhart (beedell-roke)
Nov 3, 2026

Relevant Context

superuser.com/posts/1090171/timeline#comment_2491353 states, paraphrased:

On Linux, the folder is '$HOME/.config/powershell'. The file name is the same.

…and #comment_2475973 warns:

Seems risky to recommend -Force, since people could wipe out an existing $profile without warning.

What The Problem Is

However, when I invoke New-Item $Profile -Type File, I observe:

<Objs Version="1.1.0.1" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/powershell/2004/04">
  <Obj RefId="0">
    <TN RefId="0">
      <T>System.Management.Automation.ErrorRecord#PSExtendedError</T>
      <T>System.Object</T>
    </TN>
    <ToString>Could not find a part of the path '/home/RokeJulianLockhart/.config/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1'.</ToString>
    <MS>
      <Obj N="Exception" RefId="1">
        <TN RefId="1">
          <T>System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException</T>
          <T>System.IO.IOException</T>
          <T>System.SystemException</T>
          <T>System.Exception</T>
          <T>System.Object</T>
        </TN>
        <ToString>System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException: Could not find a part of the path '/home/RokeJulianLockhart/.config/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1'._x000A_   at Interop.ThrowExceptionForIoErrno(ErrorInfo errorInfo, String path, Boolean isDirError)_x000A_   at Microsoft.Win32.SafeHandles.SafeFileHandle.Open(String path, OpenFlags flags, Int32 mode, Boolean failForSymlink, Boolean&amp; wasSymlink, Func`4 createOpenException)_x000A_   at Microsoft.Win32.SafeHandles.SafeFileHandle.Open(String fullPath, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, FileOptions options, Int64 preallocationSize, UnixFileMode openPermissions, Int64&amp; fileLength, UnixFileMode&amp; filePermissions, Boolean failForSymlink, Boolean&amp; wasSymlink, Func`4 createOpenException)_x000A_   at System.IO.Strategies.OSFileStreamStrategy..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, FileOptions options, Int64 preallocationSize, Nullable`1 unixCreateMode)_x000A_   at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, Int64 preallocationSize)_x000A_   at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share)_x000A_   at Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.FileSystemProvider.NewItem(String path, String type, Object value) in /github/home/rpmbuild/BUILD/powershell-7.6.3-build/PowerShell/src/System.Management.Automation/namespaces/FileSystemProvider.cs:line 2219</ToString>
        <Props>
          <S N="TargetSite">Void ThrowExceptionForIoErrno(ErrorInfo, System.String, Boolean)</S>
          <S N="Message">Could not find a part of the path '/home/RokeJulianLockhart/.config/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1'.</S>
          <Obj N="Data" RefId="2">
            <TN RefId="2">
              <T>System.Collections.ListDictionaryInternal</T>
              <T>System.Object</T>
            </TN>
            <DCT />
          </Obj>
          <Nil N="InnerException" />
          <Nil N="HelpLink" />
          <S N="Source">System.Private.CoreLib</S>
          <I32 N="HResult">-2147024893</I32>
          <S N="StackTrace">   at Interop.ThrowExceptionForIoErrno(ErrorInfo errorInfo, String path, Boolean isDirError)_x000A_   at Microsoft.Win32.SafeHandles.SafeFileHandle.Open(String path, OpenFlags flags, Int32 mode, Boolean failForSymlink, Boolean&amp; wasSymlink, Func`4 createOpenException)_x000A_   at Microsoft.Win32.SafeHandles.SafeFileHandle.Open(String fullPath, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, FileOptions options, Int64 preallocationSize, UnixFileMode openPermissions, Int64&amp; fileLength, UnixFileMode&amp; filePermissions, Boolean failForSymlink, Boolean&amp; wasSymlink, Func`4 createOpenException)_x000A_   at System.IO.Strategies.OSFileStreamStrategy..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, FileOptions options, Int64 preallocationSize, Nullable`1 unixCreateMode)_x000A_   at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, Int64 preallocationSize)_x000A_   at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share)_x000A_   at Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.FileSystemProvider.NewItem(String path, String type, Object value) in /github/home/rpmbuild/BUILD/powershell-7.6.3-build/PowerShell/src/System.Management.Automation/namespaces/FileSystemProvider.cs:line 2219</S>
        </Props>
      </Obj>
      <S N="TargetObject">/home/RokeJulianLockhart/.config/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1</S>
      <S N="FullyQualifiedErrorId">NewItemIOError,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.NewItemCommand</S>
      <Obj N="InvocationInfo" RefId="3">
        <TN RefId="3">
          <T>System.Management.Automation.InvocationInfo</T>
          <T>System.Object</T>
        </TN>
        <ToString>System.Management.Automation.InvocationInfo</ToString>
        <Props>
          <Obj N="MyCommand" RefId="4">
            <TN RefId="4">
              <T>System.Management.Automation.CmdletInfo</T>
              <T>System.Management.Automation.CommandInfo</T>
              <T>System.Object</T>
            </TN>
            <ToString>New-Item</ToString>
            <Props>
              <S N="Verb">New</S>
              <S N="Noun">Item</S>
              <S N="HelpFile">Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Management.dll-Help.xml</S>
              <Nil N="PSSnapIn" />
              <Version N="Version">7.0.0.0</Version>
              <S N="ImplementingType">Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.NewItemCommand</S>
              <S N="Definition">_x000A_New-Item [-Path] &lt;string[]&gt; [-ItemType &lt;string&gt;] [-Value &lt;Object&gt;] [-Force] [-Credential &lt;pscredential&gt;] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [&lt;CommonParameters&gt;]_x000A__x000A_New-Item [[-Path] &lt;string[]&gt;] -Name &lt;string&gt; [-ItemType &lt;string&gt;] [-Value &lt;Object&gt;] [-Force] [-Credential &lt;pscredential&gt;] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [&lt;CommonParameters&gt;]_x000A_</S>
              <S N="DefaultParameterSet">pathSet</S>
              <Obj N="OutputType" RefId="5">
                <TN RefId="5">
                  <T>System.Collections.ObjectModel.ReadOnlyCollection`1[[System.Management.Automation.PSTypeName, System.Management.Automation, Version=7.6.3.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35]]</T>
                  <T>System.Object</T>
                </TN>
                <LST>
                  <S>System.String</S>
                  <S>System.IO.FileInfo</S>
                  <S>System.IO.DirectoryInfo</S>
                </LST>
              </Obj>
              <S N="Options">ReadOnly</S>
              <S N="Name">New-Item</S>
              <S N="CommandType">Cmdlet</S>
              <S N="Source">Microsoft.PowerShell.Management</S>
              <S N="Visibility">Public</S>
              <S N="ModuleName">Microsoft.PowerShell.Management</S>
              <S N="Module">Microsoft.PowerShell.Management</S>
              <S N="RemotingCapability">PowerShell</S>
              <Obj N="Parameters" RefId="6">
                <TN RefId="6">
                  <T>System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2[[System.String, System.Private.CoreLib, Version=10.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=7cec85d7bea7798e],[System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata, System.Management.Automation, Version=7.6.3.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35]]</T>
                  <T>System.Object</T>
                </TN>
                <DCT>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">Path</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">Name</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">ItemType</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">Value</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">Force</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">Credential</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">Verbose</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">Debug</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">ErrorAction</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">WarningAction</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">InformationAction</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">ProgressAction</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">ErrorVariable</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">WarningVariable</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">InformationVariable</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">OutVariable</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">OutBuffer</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">PipelineVariable</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">WhatIf</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                  <En>
                    <S N="Key">Confirm</S>
                    <S N="Value">System.Management.Automation.ParameterMetadata</S>
                  </En>
                </DCT>
              </Obj>
              <Obj N="ParameterSets" RefId="7">
                <TN RefId="7">
                  <T>System.Collections.ObjectModel.ReadOnlyCollection`1[[System.Management.Automation.CommandParameterSetInfo, System.Management.Automation, Version=7.6.3.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35]]</T>
                  <T>System.Object</T>
                </TN>
                <LST>
                  <S>[-Path] &lt;string[]&gt; [-ItemType &lt;string&gt;] [-Value &lt;Object&gt;] [-Force] [-Credential &lt;pscredential&gt;] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [&lt;CommonParameters&gt;]</S>
                  <S>[[-Path] &lt;string[]&gt;] -Name &lt;string&gt; [-ItemType &lt;string&gt;] [-Value &lt;Object&gt;] [-Force] [-Credential &lt;pscredential&gt;] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [&lt;CommonParameters&gt;]</S>
                </LST>
              </Obj>
            </Props>
            <MS>
              <S N="Namespace">Microsoft.PowerShell.Management</S>
              <S N="HelpUri">https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=2096592</S>
              <S N="DLL">/usr/lib64/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Management.dll</S>
            </MS>
          </Obj>
          <Obj N="BoundParameters" RefId="8">
            <TN RefId="8">
              <T>System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2[[System.String, System.Private.CoreLib, Version=10.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=7cec85d7bea7798e],[System.Object, System.Private.CoreLib, Version=10.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=7cec85d7bea7798e]]</T>
              <T>System.Object</T>
            </TN>
            <DCT />
          </Obj>
          <Obj N="UnboundArguments" RefId="9">
            <TN RefId="9">
              <T>System.Collections.Generic.List`1[[System.Object, System.Private.CoreLib, Version=10.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=7cec85d7bea7798e]]</T>
              <T>System.Object</T>
            </TN>
            <LST />
          </Obj>
          <I32 N="ScriptLineNumber">1</I32>
          <I32 N="OffsetInLine">1</I32>
          <I64 N="HistoryId">4</I64>
          <S N="ScriptName"></S>
          <S N="Line">New-Item $Profile -Type File</S>
          <S N="Statement">New-Item $Profile -Type File</S>
          <S N="PositionMessage">At line:1 char:1_x000A_+ New-Item $Profile -Type File_x000A_+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</S>
          <S N="PSScriptRoot"></S>
          <Nil N="PSCommandPath" />
          <S N="InvocationName">New-Item</S>
          <I32 N="PipelineLength">0</I32>
          <I32 N="PipelinePosition">0</I32>
          <B N="ExpectingInput">false</B>
          <Obj N="CommandOrigin" RefId="10">
            <TN RefId="10">
              <T>System.Management.Automation.CommandOrigin</T>
              <T>System.Enum</T>
              <T>System.ValueType</T>
              <T>System.Object</T>
            </TN>
            <ToString>Internal</ToString>
            <I32>1</I32>
          </Obj>
          <Nil N="DisplayScriptPosition" />
        </Props>
      </Obj>
      <I32 N="ErrorCategory_Category">23</I32>
      <S N="ErrorCategory_Activity">New-Item</S>
      <S N="ErrorCategory_Reason">DirectoryNotFoundException</S>
      <S N="ErrorCategory_TargetName">/home/RokeJulianLockhart/.config/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1</S>
      <S N="ErrorCategory_TargetType">String</S>
      <S N="ErrorCategory_Message">WriteError: (/home/RokeJulianLoc…erShell_profile.ps1:String) [New-Item], DirectoryNotFoundException</S>
      <B N="SerializeExtendedInfo">false</B>
      <S N="ErrorDetails_ScriptStackTrace">at &lt;ScriptBlock&gt;, &lt;No file&gt;: line 1</S>
    </MS>
  </Obj>
</Objs>

What My Environment Is

<Objs Version="1.1.0.1" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/powershell/2004/04">
  <Obj RefId="0">
    <TN RefId="0">
      <T>System.Management.Automation.PSVersionHashTable</T>
      <T>System.Collections.Hashtable</T>
      <T>System.Object</T>
    </TN>
    <DCT>
      <En>
        <S N="Key">PSRemotingProtocolVersion</S>
        <Version N="Value">2.4</Version>
      </En>
      <En>
        <S N="Key">GitCommitId</S>
        <S N="Value">7.6.3-0-ga1994c19a0badf524d714cacffe7986c5c8613c6</S>
      </En>
      <En>
        <S N="Key">PSVersion</S>
        <Obj N="Value" RefId="1">
          <TN RefId="1">
            <T>System.Management.Automation.SemanticVersion</T>
            <T>System.Object</T>
          </TN>
          <ToString>7.6.3</ToString>
          <Props>
            <I32 N="Major">7</I32>
            <I32 N="Minor">6</I32>
            <I32 N="Patch">3</I32>
            <Nil N="PreReleaseLabel" />
            <Nil N="BuildLabel" />
          </Props>
        </Obj>
      </En>
      <En>
        <S N="Key">Platform</S>
        <S N="Value">Unix</S>
      </En>
      <En>
        <S N="Key">PSCompatibleVersions</S>
        <Obj N="Value" RefId="2">
          <TN RefId="2">
            <T>System.Version[]</T>
            <T>System.Array</T>
            <T>System.Object</T>
          </TN>
          <LST>
            <Version>1.0</Version>
            <Version>2.0</Version>
            <Version>3.0</Version>
            <Version>4.0</Version>
            <Version>5.0</Version>
            <Version>5.1</Version>
            <Version>6.0</Version>
            <Version>7.0</Version>
          </LST>
        </Obj>
      </En>
      <En>
        <S N="Key">WSManStackVersion</S>
        <Version N="Value">3.0</Version>
      </En>
      <En>
        <S N="Key">OS</S>
        <S N="Value">Fedora Linux 44 (KDE Plasma Desktop Edition)</S>
      </En>
      <En>
        <S N="Key">SerializationVersion</S>
        <Version N="Value">1.1.0.1</Version>
      </En>
      <En>
        <S N="Key">PSEdition</S>
        <S N="Value">Core</S>
      </En>
    </DCT>
  </Obj>
</Objs>

Answered by kilasuit

Nov 3, 2026

New-Item $Profile -Type File will fail on systems where PowerShell hasn't already been installed because the folder powershell that will contain the profile script, doesn't yet exist & is why you are getting

System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException: Could not find a part of the path '/home/RokeJulianLockhart/.config/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1

You can confirm this with
Test-Path $PROFILE - FALSE - this tests the full path to the profile
Test-Path $PROFILE\..\ - FALSE - this tests the parent directory, which hasn't been created
test-path $PROFILE\..\.. - TRUE - this tests the grandparent directory, which should exist.

If you don't feel comfortable with recommending New-Item $Pr…

View full answer

Ryan Yates (kilasuit) · 2026-11-03T15:20:56Z

Ryan Yates (kilasuit)
Nov 3, 2026
Collaborator

New-Item $Profile -Type File will fail on systems where PowerShell hasn't already been installed because the folder powershell that will contain the profile script, doesn't yet exist & is why you are getting

System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException: Could not find a part of the path '/home/RokeJulianLockhart/.config/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1

You can confirm this with
Test-Path $PROFILE - FALSE - this tests the full path to the profile
Test-Path $PROFILE\..\ - FALSE - this tests the parent directory, which hasn't been created
test-path $PROFILE\..\.. - TRUE - this tests the grandparent directory, which should exist.

If you don't feel comfortable with recommending New-Item $Profile -Type File -Force then you can always wrap it like so, which will ensure that you don't blow a previously existing profile away.

if (-not Test-Path $profile) { New-Item $Profile -Type File -Force } else { Write-Warning 'Existing Profile found - Skipping' }

1 reply

Mr Beedell, Roke Julian Lockhart (beedell-roke) Nov 3, 2026
Author

Ryan Yates (@kilasuit), thanks. There's a slight bug in that, but it works well:

#!/usr/bin/env -S pwsh -File
If (-Not (Test-Path -Path $Profile)) { New-Item -Path $Profile -Type File -Force } Else { Write-Warning -Message $? }

Guilherme Viana (guiviana128) · 2026-11-04T19:53:21Z

Guilherme Viana (guiviana128)
Nov 4, 2026

The error occurs because the parent directory of $PROFILE does not exist.

On Linux, PowerShell typically stores the current user's profile under ~/.config/powershell/. Creating the profile file directly fails if that directory hasn't been created yet.

You can safely create the directory first, then create the profile file only if it doesn't already exist:

$profileDirectory = Split-Path -Parent $PROFILE

if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $profileDirectory)) {
    New-Item -Path $profileDirectory -ItemType Directory -Force
}

if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $PROFILE)) {
    New-Item -Path $PROFILE -ItemType File
}

This avoids using -Force on the profile file itself and preserves any existing profile content.

You can verify the result with:

Test-Path -LiteralPath $PROFILE

The command should return True once the profile file exists.

1 reply

Mr Beedell, Roke Julian Lockhart (beedell-roke) Nov 4, 2026
Author

Guilherme Viana (@guiviana128), as aforestated, -Force already does that. One merely needs to confirm that the directory does not exist beforehand.

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Why does profile creation fail? #28304

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Mr Beedell, Roke Julian Lockhart (beedell-roke) Nov 3, 2026

Relevant Context

What The Problem Is

What My Environment Is

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Ryan Yates (kilasuit) Nov 3, 2026 Collaborator

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Mr Beedell, Roke Julian Lockhart (beedell-roke) Nov 3, 2026 Author

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Mr Beedell, Roke Julian Lockhart (beedell-roke) Nov 4, 2026 Author

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Nov 3, 2026

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Ryan Yates (kilasuit)
Nov 3, 2026
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Mr Beedell, Roke Julian Lockhart (beedell-roke) Nov 3, 2026
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Guilherme Viana (guiviana128)
Nov 4, 2026

Mr Beedell, Roke Julian Lockhart (beedell-roke) Nov 4, 2026
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