PowerShell: "&& is not a valid statement separator in this version"

You pasted a command that works in bash or in Command Prompt — something like <code>npm install && npm test</code> — and Windows PowerShell answers: <i>The token '&&' is not a valid statement separator in this version.</i> That is a version difference, not a broken install.

What the error looks like

PS C:\code\app> npm install && npm test
At line:1 char:13
+ npm install && npm test
+             ~~
The token '&&' is not a valid statement separator in this version.
    + CategoryInfo          : ParserError: (:) [], ParentContainsErrorRecordException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : InvalidEndOfLine

The same message appears for ||. You are almost certainly in Windows PowerShell 5.1 (powershell.exe), not PowerShell 7 (pwsh.exe).

Check which PowerShell you have

$PSVersionTable.PSVersion
# 5.1.x… → Windows PowerShell (no && / ||)
# 7.x…   → PowerShell 7 (pipeline chain operators work)

Get-Command powershell, pwsh -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
  Select-Object Name, Source, Version

Fixes that work in 5.1

# Separate lines (clearest for scripts)
npm install
if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw "install failed" }
npm test

# One-liner that stops on failure
npm install; if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { npm test }

Semicolon vs &&: ; always continues. Bash-style && continues only on success. Copying ; into a place that needs “stop on error” will hide a failed install and still run the tests.

PowerShell 7 has real && and ||

Install PowerShell 7 (winget: winget install Microsoft.PowerShell), then open pwsh instead of Windows PowerShell:

pwsh
npm install && npm test   # works on 7+
git status || echo "not a repo"

VS Code / Windows Terminal: set the default profile to PowerShell 7 so new terminals get pwsh. CI images often still ship 5.1 as powershell; pin pwsh explicitly if your scripts use chain operators.

When to use cmd /c

• A README or Docker snippet is written for CMD / bash and you only need it once.
• A tool’s own docs show foo && bar and rewriting every line is not worth it.
• You are inside a .ps1 that must stay 5.1-compatible but one step needs classic chaining.

cmd /c "cd /d C:\code\app && npm ci && npm run build"

Escape carefully: the string is parsed by cmd.exe, not by PowerShell. Prefer rewriting to native PowerShell for anything you will maintain.

Do not confuse with the call operator

A single & is the call operator — it runs a command whose name or path is in a string. That has worked since early PowerShell and is unrelated to this error:

& "C:\Program Files\Git\bin\git.exe" status
$npm = "npm.cmd"; & $npm install

Two ampersands (&&) are the pipeline chain operator — 7+ only.

Related Windows gotchas

• Scripts blocked with running scripts is disabled? See execution policy.
• curl doing something weird? On Windows PowerShell it is often an alias — see curl is Invoke-WebRequest.
• node / npm “not recognized”? See The term 'node' is not recognized.

Related

Running scripts is disabled in PowerShell · curl alias → Invoke-WebRequest · The term 'node' is not recognized · npm ERR! code ENOENT · Permission denied running script · Text diff

Questions

Published 7 November 2026.