windows-itpro-docs/windows/configuration/shell-launcher/configure-wmi.md

title, description, ms.date, ms.topic

title	description	ms.date	ms.topic
Configure Shell Launcher with the WMI provider	Learn how to configure a Windows kiosk using the WMI provider for Shell Launcher.	3/7/2025	reference

Configure Shell Launcher with the WMI provider

This article provides a guide on configuring Shell Launcher using the WMI provider, which consists of a set of classes for managing Shell Launcher settings.

Included in this article is a PowerShell script that demonstrates how to utilize the WMI provider for configuring Shell Launcher. The script offers examples on setting the default shell, assigning a custom shell to a user, and removing a custom shell. Additionally, the WMI provider can be used to enable or disable Shell Launcher.

Important

The script is not intended to be run as-is. You must modify the script to match your environment and requirements. For example, you must change the user name in the script to match an existing user on your system. The script is provided as a reference only.

# Verify Shell Launcher license

function Check-ShellLauncherLicenseEnabled
{
    [string]$source = @"
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

static class CheckShellLauncherLicense
{
    const int S_OK = 0;

    public static bool IsShellLauncherLicenseEnabled()
    {
        int enabled = 0;

        if (NativeMethods.SLGetWindowsInformationDWORD("EmbeddedFeature-ShellLauncher-Enabled", out enabled) != S_OK) {
            enabled = 0;
        }
        return (enabled != 0);
    }

    static class NativeMethods
    {
        [DllImport("Slc.dll")]
        internal static extern int SLGetWindowsInformationDWORD([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)]string valueName, out int value);
    }

}
"@

    $type = Add-Type -TypeDefinition $source -PassThru

    return $type[0]::IsShellLauncherLicenseEnabled()
}

[bool]$result = $false

$result = Check-ShellLauncherLicenseEnabled
"`nShell Launcher license enabled is set to " + $result
if (-not($result))
{
    "`nThis device doesn't have required license to use Shell Launcher"
    exit
}

$COMPUTER = "localhost"
$NAMESPACE = "root\standardcimv2\embedded"

# Create a handle to the class instance so we can call the static methods.
try {
    $ShellLauncherClass = [wmiclass]"\\$COMPUTER\${NAMESPACE}:WESL_UserSetting"
    } catch [Exception] {
    write-host $_.Exception.Message;
    write-host "Make sure Shell Launcher feature is enabled"
    exit
    }


# This well-known security identifier (SID) corresponds to the BUILTIN\Administrators group.

$Admins_SID = "S-1-5-32-544"

# Create a function to retrieve the SID for a user account on a machine.

function Get-UsernameSID($AccountName) {

    $NTUserObject = New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount($AccountName)
    $NTUserSID = $NTUserObject.Translate([System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier])

    return $NTUserSID.Value
}

# Get the SID for a user account named "Cashier". Rename "Cashier" to an existing account on your system to test this script.

$Cashier_SID = Get-UsernameSID("Cashier")

# Define actions to take when the shell program exits.

$restart_shell = 0
$restart_device = 1
$shutdown_device = 2
$do_nothing = 3

# Examples. You can change these examples to use the program that you want to use as the shell.

# This example sets the command prompt as the default shell, and restarts the device if the command prompt is closed.

$ShellLauncherClass.SetDefaultShell("cmd.exe", $restart_device)

# Display the default shell to verify that it was added correctly.

$DefaultShellObject = $ShellLauncherClass.GetDefaultShell()

"`nDefault Shell is set to " + $DefaultShellObject.Shell + " and the default action is set to " + $DefaultShellObject.defaultaction

# Set Internet Explorer as the shell for "Cashier", and restart the machine if Internet Explorer is closed.

$ShellLauncherClass.SetCustomShell($Cashier_SID, "c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe www.microsoft.com", ($null), ($null), $restart_shell)

# Set Explorer as the shell for administrators.

$ShellLauncherClass.SetCustomShell($Admins_SID, "explorer.exe")

# View all the custom shells defined.

"`nCurrent settings for custom shells:"
Get-WmiObject -namespace $NAMESPACE -computer $COMPUTER -class WESL_UserSetting | Select Sid, Shell, DefaultAction

# Enable Shell Launcher

$ShellLauncherClass.SetEnabled($TRUE)
$IsShellLauncherEnabled = $ShellLauncherClass.IsEnabled()
"`nEnabled is set to " + $IsShellLauncherEnabled.Enabled

# Remove the new custom shells.

$ShellLauncherClass.RemoveCustomShell($Admins_SID)
$ShellLauncherClass.RemoveCustomShell($Cashier_SID)

# Disable Shell Launcher

$ShellLauncherClass.SetEnabled($FALSE)
$IsShellLauncherEnabled = $ShellLauncherClass.IsEnabled()
"`nEnabled is set to " + $IsShellLauncherEnabled.Enabled