OSDCloud
A PowerShell module for deploying Windows with cloud-hosted operating system and driver content, with guided deployment workflows and WinPE startup automation.
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| Author | David Segura |
| Company | Recast Software |
| Version | 26.10.16.2 |
| PS Editions | CompatiblePSEditions: Core, Desktop (manifest) |
| License | See LICENSE |
What Is OSDCloud?
Simple explanation: OSDCloud helps deploy Windows to supported devices using operating system images and drivers hosted in the cloud. Operators can configure deployments through a graphical or command-line experience, then use WinPE startup tools to prepare devices and complete deployment.
Technical explanation: OSDCloud is a PowerShell module for Windows deployment workflows across amd64 and arm64 devices, defaulting to Windows 11 26H2. It provides deployment UX options, operating system and driver catalogs, device information and Wi-Fi utilities, and WinpeStartup automation for WinPE environments.
What's New — Last 30 Days
Release highlights from the last 30 days. See CHANGELOG.md for
complete release notes and older history.
- 26.10.16.2 — October 16: Adds internet and local content totals to deployment results, summaries, exports, and analytics; corrects
ModelDrivers filename reporting.
- 26.10.16.1 — October 16: Adds deployment result summaries and CLIXML snapshots, detailed OS/driver-pack timing and transfer metrics, and a reduced terminal analytics event.
- 26.10.15.1 — October 15: Refreshes the Windows 11 26H2 catalog, adds licensed automatic OS catalog refresh and USB publication, licensed WinpeStartup environment/registry/certificate imports, licensed disk layout customization,
-Incognito license testing, and safer disk validation and partition handling.
- 26.10.13.1 — October 13: Adds
New-WinpeStartupProfile to create named profiles in existing Boot-Assets folders and writable OSDCloud USB volumes, with bundled defaults and safe replacement options.
- 26.10.10.1 — October 10: Expands device inventory and
Show-OSDCloudDeviceInfo with processor, memory, disk, and network details.
- 26.10.6.1 — October 6: Adds WinpeStartup logging, Core environment/registry/certificate imports, and folder-based startup profiles.
- 26.10.4.1 — October 4: Standardizes WinpeStartup naming while retaining compatibility aliases.
- 26.10.2.1 — October 2: Adds ModelDrivers cache deployment, WinPEDrivers inventory, and configurable post-deployment actions.
- 26.9.30.1 — September 30: Unifies operating-system catalog handling and adds parity checks against the OSD module.
- 26.9.29.1 — September 29: Adds Windows 11 26H2 deployment support and makes it the default release.
- 26.9.25.1 — September 25: Adds operating-system catalog refresh and synchronization, plus centralized Windows build metadata.
- 26.9.24.1 — September 24: Adds startup-profile environment variables and catalog discovery from ProgramData and attached OSDCloud drives.
Licensed Features
Catalog and startup automation
| Feature | Benefit | Requirement |
|---|
| Automatic OS catalog refresh | Keeps deployment OS choices current by refreshing the catalog before selection and publishing validated catalogs to the module and eligible OSDCloud USB drives. | Valid Recast license |
| WinpeStartup asset imports | Applies .env settings, registry files, and root certificates from Core and the selected folder-based profile during startup. | Valid Recast license |
Deploy-OSDCloud parameters
These parameters customize disk layout or infer the OS language for both CLI
and GUI deployments.
| Parameter | Benefit | Requirement |
|---|
-KeyboardLayout / detected keyboard layout | Automatically sets OSLanguageCode from the supplied or detected keyboard layout, reducing manual language selection and helping match Windows to the operator's regional settings. Applies only when OSLanguageCode is not explicitly supplied. | Valid Recast license |
-DiskLabelOS | Gives the Windows volume an organization-specific label so operators can identify it in deployment tools and File Explorer. Defaults to OS. | Valid Recast license |
-DiskLabelRecovery | Gives an enabled recovery volume a recognizable label, such as WinRE, for maintenance and troubleshooting. Defaults to Recovery; does not enable a skipped recovery partition. | Valid Recast license |
-DiskSizeSystem | Reserves a chosen amount of space for the system partition to meet deployment requirements. Accepts 100MB–3000MB; defaults to 500MB. | Valid Recast license |
-DiskSizeOS | Creates a fixed-size Windows partition of at least 32GB, preserving the requested recovery size and leaving excess disk space unallocated for later use. When omitted, Windows uses the remaining space after reserving recovery. | Valid Recast license |
-DiskSizeRecovery | Reserves a chosen amount of recovery space to accommodate recovery-image requirements. Accepts 350MB–80000MB; defaults to 2000MB and preserves the workflow's recovery skip/force rules. | Valid Recast license |
Without a valid license, explicitly supplied disk customization parameters produce
one warning and deployment uses the default labels and sizes, including automatic
Windows partition sizing. -DiskNumber remains available without a license.
Automatic keyboard-layout language selection falls back to en-US without a
valid license, with no warning. Explicit -OSLanguageCode selection remains
available without a license.
All features in these tables use the shared Test-OSDCoreLicense check, requiring
the selected Get-OSDCoreLicense result to have IsValid = true; registration
alone does not qualify. Startup profiles and
cached OS catalog indexing remain usable without a valid license. See
WinpeStartup documentation and
deployment customization for details.
Installation
The module source lives under the OSDCloud/ subfolder of this repository.
From source
git clone https://github.com/RecastSoftware/RecastOSDCloud.git
Import-Module .\RecastOSDCloud\OSDCloud\OSDCloud.psd1 -Force
From the PowerShell Gallery
Install the module in WinPE:
Install-Module -Name OSDCloud -SkipPublisherCheck -Force
Install for all users from an elevated Windows session:
Install-Module -Name OSDCloud -Scope AllUsers
Quick Start
Import-Module OSDCloud
# Show device hardware information
Show-OSDCloudDeviceInfo
# Launch the interactive deployment experience
Deploy-OSDCloud
Commands
All environments
| Cmdlet | Description |
|---|
Deploy-OSDCloud | Starts an OS deployment workflow (GUI or CLI mode). |
Get-OSDCloudModulePath | Returns the module installation directory. |
Get-OSDCloudModuleVersion | Returns the loaded module version. |
New-WinpeStartupProfile | Creates startup profile JSON in existing Boot-Assets and on writable OSDCloud USB volumes. |
Show-OSDCloudDeviceInfo | Displays device hardware and environment information. |
Start-OSDCloudExplorer | Opens a WinForms file browser (useful in WinPE/WinRE). |
WinPE only (SystemDrive == X:)
| Cmdlet | Alias | Description |
|---|
Invoke-WinpeStartup | — | Runs the full WinpeStartup workflow. |
Invoke-WinpeStartupManager | Invoke-OSDCloudPEStartup | Dispatches individual startup actions. |
Show-WinpeStartupDevices | Show-PEStartupHardware | Shows all PnP devices. |
Show-WinpeStartupDeviceErrors | Show-PEStartupErrors | Shows PnP devices with errors. |
Show-WinpeStartupIpconfig | Show-PEStartupIpconfig | Displays ipconfig /all. |
Show-WinpeStartupWifi | Show-PEStartupWifi | Connects to Wi-Fi and waits for DHCP. |
Update-WinpeStartupModule | Use-PEStartupUpdateModule | Updates a module from PSGallery. |
Documentation
How-to guides
Task-oriented guides for IT admins. Start at the docs index, or jump straight to a topic:
Function reference
WinpeStartup cmdlets are currently documented through in-module help. In WinPE, run Get-Help <CmdletName> -Detailed for usage details.
External links
Requirements
| Requirement | Details |
|---|
| PowerShell | 5.1 or later on Windows |
| Operating environment | Windows; PE-specific cmdlets require WinPE |
Release notes
See CHANGELOG.md for module release history.
Privacy policy
OSDCloud sends anonymous deployment analytics during and after workflow execution. See PRIVACY.md for details on what data is collected and how to opt out.
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md.
License
See LICENSE.
