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⭐ You should NOT set $root or $PSScriptRoot in your profile

Your profile runs in contexts where:

• There is no script file
• There is no script root
• There is no module root
• There is no predictable working directory
• You might be in ISE, pwsh, Windows PowerShell, or a remote session
• You might be in OneDrive or not
• You might be in a server/DC environment where $HOME is restricted

If you set a $root variable in your profile, you would be lying to your scripts about where they live.

❌ Example of what goes wrong

If your profile sets:

$root = "C:\PowerShell"

Then you run a script from:

D:\PowerShell\Scripts\MyScript.ps1

Your script will think its root is:

C:\PowerShell

That breaks:

• Script‑local module loading
• Relative paths
• Logging paths
• Config file paths
• Any script that uses $root
• Any script that uses your hybrid module loader

This is why $PSScriptRoot exists — it is context‑aware, and the profile is not.

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⭐ Why $PSScriptRoot is NOT set in your profile

Because:

$PSScriptRoot only exists when PowerShell is executing a .ps1 or .psm1 file.`

Your profile is not a script being executed — it is a script being dot‑sourced into the session.

Dot‑sourced files do not get $PSScriptRoot.

This is by design.

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⭐ The correct pattern

Inside your function or script:

$root = if ($PSScriptRoot) { $PSScriptRoot } else { Get-Location }

This is the only correct, portable, enterprise‑safe way to determine the script root.

✔ When running a script

$PSScriptRoot is correct.

✔ When running interactively

Get-Location is correct.

✔ When dot‑sourced

Get-Location is correct.

✔ When running from a scheduled task

$PSScriptRoot is correct.

✔ When running on servers/DCs

$PSScriptRoot is correct.

✔ When running from OneDrive

$PSScriptRoot is correct.

✔ When running from C: or D:

$PSScriptRoot is correct.

This is why the fallback logic is essential.

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⭐ Final Answer:

❌ Do NOT set $root in your profile

❌ Do NOT try to set $PSScriptRoot manually

❌ Do NOT store script paths in your profile

✔ DO use this inside a function or PowerShell script:

$root = if ($PSScriptRoot) { $PSScriptRoot } else { Get-Location }

✔ DO keep your hybrid module loader inside scripts

✔ DO keep your profile clean and environment‑agnostic

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…a product of Copilot and several hours of working through the various scenarios Senior Admins experience. -Patrick