{"id":3157,"date":"2025-07-24T02:34:55","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T02:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devopssupport.in\/blog\/?p=3157"},"modified":"2025-07-24T02:34:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T02:34:55","slug":"how-to-fix-the-npm-ps1-cannot-be-loaded-error-on-windows-when-running-npm-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devopssupport.in\/blog\/how-to-fix-the-npm-ps1-cannot-be-loaded-error-on-windows-when-running-npm-start\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Fix the “npm.ps1 cannot be loaded” Error on Windows When Running npm start"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you’re a developer working with React or any Node.js-based projects, you may have encountered the following error when trying to run npm start<\/code> in PowerShell on Windows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This error occurs because PowerShell’s execution policy<\/strong> restricts the running of unsigned scripts for security reasons. While this is a protective measure, it can hinder your development workflow, especially when you’re trying to run a React project with the popular npm<\/code> command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog, we will walk you through how to fix the issue and get your React development environment up and running smoothly again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Understanding the Issue<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The error occurs when you try to run the npm start<\/code> command, which executes a script located at npm.ps1<\/code>. PowerShell, by default, restricts the execution of scripts that are not digitally signed to protect your system from potentially harmful scripts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, the npm.ps1<\/strong> script is not signed, and PowerShell blocks it from running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Solution: Change the PowerShell Execution Policy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To resolve this issue, you need to modify the PowerShell execution policy<\/strong>. The most common solution is to set the execution policy to RemoteSigned<\/code>, which allows local scripts (like npm.ps1<\/code>) to run while still ensuring downloaded scripts are signed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how you can change the execution policy in PowerShell:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Step-by-Step Fix:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Open PowerShell as Administrator<\/strong>\n
      \n
    • Press Win + X<\/code> and select Windows PowerShell (Admin)<\/strong> or Terminal (Admin)<\/strong>. This opens PowerShell with administrator privileges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Check the Current Execution Policy<\/strong> To see the current execution policy, run the following command:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      Get-ExecutionPolicy\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
      If it returns Restricted<\/code>, this is the reason why you are facing the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Change the Execution Policy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      To allow unsigned scripts to run, run the following command:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
      This command changes the execution policy for the current user, allowing local scripts to run without a signature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Confirm the Change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      PowerShell will prompt you for confirmation. Type Y<\/code> and hit Enter<\/code> to confirm the change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Try Running npm start<\/code> Again<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Once you\u2019ve set the execution policy, navigate to your React project directory and try running npm start<\/code> again:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      npm start\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
      Your React project should now start without the script loading error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Why This Works<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      The RemoteSigned<\/strong> execution policy allows local scripts to run without being signed, while scripts downloaded from the internet must be signed by a trusted publisher. This ensures that your development environment is not compromised, while still giving you the flexibility to run your development commands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      Alternative: Use Command Prompt Instead of PowerShell<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      If you prefer not to change the execution policy, you can always use Command Prompt<\/strong> (CMD) to run npm start<\/code> instead of PowerShell. To do this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Open Command Prompt<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Navigate to your React project directory.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Run:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        npm start\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
        This should bypass the execution policy issue entirely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
        If you’re a developer working with React or any Node.js-based projects, you may have encountered the following error when trying to run npm start in PowerShell on… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2726,718,2721,2720,2731,2718,2722,2719,2725,2727,2730,2732,2717,2723,2728,2733,2724,2734,675,1233,2729],"class_list":["post-3157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-command-prompt","tag-development-environment","tag-execution-policy","tag-node-js","tag-npm-issue","tag-npm-start","tag-npm-ps1","tag-powershell","tag-powershell-error","tag-powershell-execution-policy","tag-powershell-scripts","tag-programming-error","tag-react","tag-react-development","tag-react-error-fix","tag-react-setup","tag-script-security","tag-troubleshoot-npm","tag-web-development","tag-windows","tag-windows-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopssupport.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopssupport.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopssupport.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopssupport.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopssupport.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3157"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopssupport.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3159,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopssupport.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3157\/revisions\/3159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopssupport.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopssupport.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopssupport.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}