I dont have permissions to use SharePoint PowerShell, what to do?

Question

I am a developer and would like to deploy a wsp to a server (win2k8r2) from my customer. I log in with some user created special for me. When I start SharePoint PowerShell I got this error:

The local farm is not accessible. Cmdlets with FeatureDependencyId are not registered.

I have look around google and it tels me that I dont have permissions.

What does my customer need to do to give me permissions to use SharePoint PowerShell on this machine with my user account? the reason why I am asking this, because I would like to tell me customer what to do to get a solution.

Answer 1

The least level of privilege that you would need to use PowerShell is that you need to be:

• in the WSS_ADMIN_WGP group (Windows)
• assigned the SharePoint_Shell_Access role on the configuration database (SQL)

If an administrator at the other company already has shell privileges, they can grant you these permissions by using the Add-SPShellAdmin cmdlet.

For more information see SharePoint 2010 PowerShell Permissions Explained or Plan Windows PowerShell permissions.

Answer 2

We have had this Q a couple of times before. As i write in this answer you need three permissions to add a WSP to the farm, and if UAC is enabled you need to run the shell "As Administrator":

1. To access file system and grab WSP you need to me local admin
2. To access farm you need to me Farm Admin (you can do this in PowerShell too, but since you dont have access get an admin to add you using Central Administration | Security | Manage Farm Administrators
3. Shell Access for Config db and relevant content databases (this can only be added using PowerShell and only by an existing Shell Admin). More on adding a shell admin on my blog here.