What version of PowerShell is used by Nano Server

Q. What version of PowerShell does Nano Server use?

A. Nano Server is the completely refactored Windows Server deployment option. Nano Server does not run regular .NET but instead .NET Core which has certain key capabilities. PowerShell is built on .NET which means Nano Server does not run regular PowerShell and instead runs PowerShell Core. This can be seen if you look at the $PSVersionTable of a Nano Server:

invoke-command -ComputerName nanovm -ScriptBlock {$psversiontable}

Name                           Value                                                                                                              
----                           -----                                                                                                              
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.3                                                                                                                
BuildVersion                   10.0.14393.1000                                                                                                    
PSVersion                      5.1.14393.1000                                                                                                     
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...}                                                                                            
PSEdition                      Core                                                                                                               
CLRVersion                                                                                                                                        
WSManStackVersion              3.0                                                                                                                
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1   

This compares to a non-Nano Server which runs the Desktop version of PowerShell that is built on .NET. https://technet.microsoft.com/windows-server-docs/get-started/powershell-on-nano-server lists the PowerShell features that are not available on Nano Server but in most cases the PowerShell you are used to will work on Nano Server.