Command "where python" does not return anything in PowerShell

Question

As the title implies, when I am trying to where python from PowerShell it returns nothing. No errors or something... it just goes to a new line (as if I pressed "Enter")

On the other hand, CMD Prompt successfully returns the following:

C:\Users\User>where python
C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python38\python.exe
C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\python.exe

python --version successfully returns the version in both pwsh and cmd. Can someone figure how to fix where in powershell ?

Answer 1

In PowerShell, where is an alias for the Where-Object cmdlet.

To explicitly invoke where.exe, include the .exe extension:

PS ~> where.exe python
C:\Users\mathias\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\python.exe

---

If you want to figure out why a certain command name doesn't resolve as expected, use Get-Command:

PS ~> Get-Command where

CommandType     Name                                               Version    Source
-----------     ----                                               -------    ------
Alias           where -> Where-Object


PS ~> Get-Command where*

CommandType Name                  Version      Source
----------- ----                  -------      ------
Alias       where -> Where-Object
Cmdlet      Where-Object          3.0.0.0      Microsoft.PowerShell.Core
Application where.exe             10.0.19041.1 C:\WINDOWS\system32\where.exe

---

As an amusing bonus, your newfound knowledge of Get-Command might prove where.exe obsolete - as Get-Command evidently has the ability to locate executables as well :)

PS ~> Get-Command python
    
CommandType Name       Version Source
----------- ----       ------- ------
Application python.exe 0.0.0.0 C:\Users\mail\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\python.exe