diff --git a/.spelling b/.spelling
index a79de1002..59384fb1e 100644
--- a/.spelling
+++ b/.spelling
@@ -801,6 +801,10 @@ WebRequest
 win7-x86
 WindowsVersion
 XPath
+alpha.18
+behavioral
+MiaRomero
+TheFlyingCorpse
  - test/tools/CodeCoverageAutomation/README.md
 CodeCoverage.zip
 Coveralls.exe
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 56bbc619c..ef372a4d6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,42 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## v6.0.0-alpha.18 - 2017-04-05
+
+### Progress Bar
+
+We made a number of fixes to the progress bar rendering and the `ProgressRecord` object that improved cmdlet performance and fixed some rendering bugs on non-Windows platforms.
+
+- Fix a bug that caused the progress bar to drift on Unix platforms. (#3289)
+- Improve the performance of writing progress records. (#2822) (Thanks to @iSazonov!)
+- Fix the progress bar rendering on Unix platforms. (#3362) (#3453)
+- Reuse `ProgressRecord` in Web Cmdlets to reduce the GC overhead. (#3411) (Thanks to @iSazonov!)
+
+### Cmdlet updates
+
+- Use `ShellExecute` with `Start-Process`, `Invoke-Item`, and `Get-Help -Online` so that those cmdlets use standard shell associations to open a file/URI.
+  This means you `Get-Help -Online` will always use your default browser, and `Start-Process`/`Invoke-Item` can open any file or path with a handler.
+  (Note: there are still some problems with STA threads.) (#3281, partially fixes #2969)
+- Add `-Extension` and `-LeafBase` switches to `Split-Path` so that you can split paths between the filename extension and the rest of the filename. (#2721) (Thanks to @powercode!)
+- Implement `Format-Hex` in C# along with some behavioral changes to multiple parameters and the pipeline. (#3320) (Thanks to @MiaRomero!)
+- Add `-NoProxy` to web cmdlets so that they ignore the system-wide proxy setting. (#3447) (Thanks to @TheFlyingCorpse!)
+- Fix `Out-Default -Transcript` to properly revert out of the `TranscribeOnly` state, so that further output can be displayed on Console. (#3436) (Thanks to @PetSerAl!)
+- Fix `Get-Help` to not return multiple instances of the same help file. (#3410)
+
+### Interactive fixes
+
+- Enable argument auto-completion for `-ExcludeProperty` and `-ExpandProperty` of `Select-Object`. (#3443) (Thanks to @iSazonov!)
+- Fix a tab completion bug that prevented `Import-Module -n<tab>` from working. (#1345)
+
+### Cross-platform fixes
+
+- Ignore the `-ExecutionPolicy` switch when running PowerShell on non-Windows platforms because script signing is not currently supported. (#3481)
+- Standardize the casing of the `PSModulePath` environment variable. (#3255)
+
+### JEA fixes
+
+- Fix the JEA transcription to include the endpoint configuration name in the transcript header. (#2890)
+- Fix `Get-Help` in a JEA session. (#2988)
+
 ## v6.0.0-alpha.17 - 2017-03-08
 
 - Update PSRP client libraries for Linux and Mac.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 54d786779..83d9afb22 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -33,16 +33,16 @@ You can download and install a PowerShell package for any of the following platf
 | macOS 10.11                        | [.pkg][rl-macos]       | [Instructions][in-macos]      |
 | Docker                             |                        | [Instructions][in-docker]     |
 
-[rl-windows10]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.17/PowerShell_6.0.0-alpha.17-win10-win2016-x64.msi
-[rl-windows81]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.17/PowerShell_6.0.0-alpha.17-win81-win2012r2-x64.msi
-[rl-windows7-64]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.17/PowerShell_6.0.0-alpha.17-win7-win2008r2-x64.msi
-[rl-windows7-86]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.17/PowerShell_6.0.0-alpha.17-win7-x86.msi
-[rl-ubuntu16]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.17/powershell_6.0.0-alpha.17-1ubuntu1.16.04.1_amd64.deb
-[rl-ubuntu14]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.17/powershell_6.0.0-alpha.17-1ubuntu1.14.04.1_amd64.deb
-[rl-centos]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.17/powershell-6.0.0_alpha.17-1.el7.centos.x86_64.rpm
-[rl-ai]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.17/PowerShell-x86_64.AppImage
-[rl-macos]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.17/powershell-6.0.0-alpha.17.pkg
-[rl-opensuse421]: tbd
+[rl-windows10]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/PowerShell_6.0.0-alpha.18-win10-win2016-x64.msi
+[rl-windows81]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/PowerShell_6.0.0-alpha.18-win81-win2012r2-x64.msi
+[rl-windows7-64]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/PowerShell_6.0.0-alpha.18-win7-win2008r2-x64.msi
+[rl-windows7-86]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/PowerShell_6.0.0-alpha.18-win7-x86.msi
+[rl-ubuntu16]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/powershell_6.0.0-alpha.18-1ubuntu1.16.04.1_amd64.deb
+[rl-ubuntu14]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/powershell_6.0.0-alpha.18-1ubuntu1.14.04.1_amd64.deb
+[rl-centos]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/powershell-6.0.0_alpha.18-1.el7.centos.x86_64.rpm
+[rl-ai]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/PowerShell-6.0.0-alpha.18-x86_64.AppImage
+[rl-macos]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/powershell-6.0.0-alpha.18-osx.10.11-x64.pkg
+[rl-opensuse421]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/powershell-6.0.0_alpha.18-1.suse.42.1.x86_64.rpm
 
 [installation]: docs/installation
 [in-windows]: docs/installation/windows.md#msi
diff --git a/appveyor.yml b/appveyor.yml
index ca393dd65..fd66fb178 100644
--- a/appveyor.yml
+++ b/appveyor.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-version: 6.0.0-alpha.17-{build}
+version: 6.0.0-alpha.18-{build}
 
 image: Visual Studio 2015
 
diff --git a/docker/release/fedora24/Dockerfile b/docker/release/fedora24/Dockerfile
index f979a48de..4896cd8c4 100644
--- a/docker/release/fedora24/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/release/fedora24/Dockerfile
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ MAINTAINER Andrew Schwartzmeyer <andschwa@microsoft.com>
 # TODO: Until a release of PowerShell for Fedora 24 is available,
 # this Dockerfile installs the CentOS 7 version for compatibility.
 
-ARG POWERSHELL_VERSION=6.0.0-alpha.17
-ARG POWERSHELL_RELEASE=v6.0.0-alpha.17
-ARG POWERSHELL_PACKAGE=powershell-6.0.0_alpha.17-1.el7.centos.x86_64.rpm
+ARG POWERSHELL_VERSION=6.0.0-alpha.18
+ARG POWERSHELL_RELEASE=v6.0.0-alpha.18
+ARG POWERSHELL_PACKAGE=powershell-6.0.0_alpha.18-1.el7.centos.x86_64.rpm
 
 # The CentOS 7 release relies on an older version of libicu, so we'll be downloading it
 # from the University of Kent (GB) mirror service.
diff --git a/docker/release/nanoserver/Dockerfile b/docker/release/nanoserver/Dockerfile
index a55c04dc1..6604d0281 100644
--- a/docker/release/nanoserver/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/release/nanoserver/Dockerfile
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ MAINTAINER brycem@microsoft.com
 LABEL Readme.md="https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/blob/master/docker/README.md"
 LABEL Description="This Dockerfile will install the latest release of PS."
 
-ARG POWERSHELL_ZIP=https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.17/PowerShell_6.0.0-alpha.17-win10-win2016-x64.zip
+ARG POWERSHELL_ZIP=https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/PowerShell_6.0.0-alpha.18-win10-win2016-x64.zip
 ARG POWERSHELL_SHA256=3D770CF4C5744992622E043A52F9A285C695BFE8F1B94BB070C4026582CA64B0
 
 # Setup PowerShell - Log-to > C:\Docker.log
diff --git a/docker/release/opensuse13.2/Dockerfile b/docker/release/opensuse13.2/Dockerfile
index b5dedcf84..f823c0710 100644
--- a/docker/release/opensuse13.2/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/release/opensuse13.2/Dockerfile
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 FROM opensuse:harlequin
 LABEL maintainer Travis Plunk <travis.plunk@microsoft.com>
 
-ARG POWERSHELL_VERSION=6.0.0_alpha.17
-ARG POWERSHELL_RELEASE=v6.0.0-alpha.17
+ARG POWERSHELL_VERSION=6.0.0_alpha.18
+ARG POWERSHELL_RELEASE=v6.0.0-alpha.18
 ARG POWERSHELL_PACKAGE=powershell-$POWERSHELL_VERSION-1.suse.13.2.x86_64.rpm
 
 # Update, Install packages to generate localedef and CURL which is used by RPM
diff --git a/docker/release/opensuse42.1/Dockerfile b/docker/release/opensuse42.1/Dockerfile
index 202f1eee0..5c92ebe1e 100644
--- a/docker/release/opensuse42.1/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/release/opensuse42.1/Dockerfile
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 FROM opensuse:42.1
 LABEL maintainer Travis Plunk <travis.plunk@microsoft.com>
 
-ARG POWERSHELL_VERSION=6.0.0_alpha.17
-ARG POWERSHELL_RELEASE=v6.0.0-alpha.17
+ARG POWERSHELL_VERSION=6.0.0_alpha.18
+ARG POWERSHELL_RELEASE=v6.0.0-alpha.18
 ARG FORK=PowerShell
 ARG POWERSHELL_PACKAGE=powershell-$POWERSHELL_VERSION-1.suse.42.1.x86_64.rpm
 
diff --git a/docker/release/windowsservercore/Dockerfile b/docker/release/windowsservercore/Dockerfile
index d28ea05c2..bcfc40175 100644
--- a/docker/release/windowsservercore/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/release/windowsservercore/Dockerfile
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ MAINTAINER brycem@microsoft.com
 LABEL Readme.md="https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/blob/master/docker/README.md"
 LABEL Description="This Dockerfile will install the latest release of PS."
 
-ARG POWERSHELL_MSI=https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.17/PowerShell_6.0.0-alpha.17-win10-win2016-x64.msi
+ARG POWERSHELL_MSI=https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/PowerShell_6.0.0-alpha.18-win10-win2016-x64.msi
 ARG POWERSHELL_SHA256=07CAAB19CE891131AF7A64F267D59C15865B85ADB679E206389189E928C2E597
 
 # Setup PowerShell - Log-to > C:\Docker.log
diff --git a/docs/installation/linux.md b/docs/installation/linux.md
index e9915c84f..f9a4c157d 100644
--- a/docs/installation/linux.md
+++ b/docs/installation/linux.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ You should *never* run a script without reading it first!
 Please **read the [download][] script first**, and then if you want to run it, use:
 
 ```sh
-bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/v6.0.0-alpha.17/tools/download.sh)
+bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/v6.0.0-alpha.18/tools/download.sh)
 ```
 
 Once the package is installed, run `powershell` from a terminal.
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ Once the package is installed, run `powershell` from a terminal.
 [arch]: #arch-linux
 [lai]: #linux-appimage
 [mac]: #macos-1011
-[download]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/blob/v6.0.0-alpha.17/tools/download.sh
+[download]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/blob/v6.0.0-alpha.18/tools/download.sh
 
 ## Ubuntu 14.04
 
@@ -53,13 +53,13 @@ from then on, you just need to use `sudo apt-get upgrade powershell` to update i
 ### Installation via Direct Download
 
 Using [Ubuntu 14.04][], download the Debian package
-`powershell_6.0.0-alpha.17-1ubuntu1.14.04.1_amd64.deb`
+`powershell_6.0.0-alpha.18-1ubuntu1.14.04.1_amd64.deb`
 from the [releases][] page onto the Ubuntu machine.
 
 Then execute the following in the terminal:
 
 ```sh
-sudo dpkg -i powershell_6.0.0-alpha.17-1ubuntu1.14.04.1_amd64.deb
+sudo dpkg -i powershell_6.0.0-alpha.18-1ubuntu1.14.04.1_amd64.deb
 sudo apt-get install -f
 ```
 
@@ -105,13 +105,13 @@ from then on, you just need to use `sudo apt-get upgrade powershell` to update i
 ### Installation via Direct Download - Ubuntu 16.04
 
 Using [Ubuntu 16.04][], download the Debian package
-`powershell_6.0.0-alpha.17-1ubuntu1.16.04.1_amd64.deb`
+`powershell_6.0.0-alpha.18-1ubuntu1.16.04.1_amd64.deb`
 from the [releases][] page onto the Ubuntu machine.
 
 Then execute the following in the terminal:
 
 ```sh
-sudo dpkg -i powershell_6.0.0-alpha.17-1ubuntu1.16.04.1_amd64.deb
+sudo dpkg -i powershell_6.0.0-alpha.18-1ubuntu1.16.04.1_amd64.deb
 sudo apt-get install -f
 ```
 
@@ -154,19 +154,19 @@ you just need to use `sudo yum update powershell` to update PowerShell.
 ### Installation via Direct Download - CentOS 7
 
 Using [CentOS 7][], download the RPM package
-`powershell-6.0.0_alpha.17-1.el7.centos.x86_64.rpm`
+`powershell-6.0.0_alpha.18-1.el7.centos.x86_64.rpm`
 from the [releases][] page onto the CentOS machine.
 
 Then execute the following in the terminal:
 
 ```sh
-sudo yum install ./powershell-6.0.0_alpha.17-1.el7.centos.x86_64.rpm
+sudo yum install ./powershell-6.0.0_alpha.18-1.el7.centos.x86_64.rpm
 ```
 
 You can also install the RPM without the intermediate step of downloading it:
 
 ```sh
-sudo yum install https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.17/powershell-6.0.0_alpha.17-1.el7.centos.x86_64.rpm
+sudo yum install https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/powershell-6.0.0_alpha.18-1.el7.centos.x86_64.rpm
 ```
 
 ### Uninstallation
@@ -181,25 +181,24 @@ sudo yum remove powershell
 
 Installation instruction for OpenSUSE 42.1.
 
-**Note:** OpenSUSE package will be released as part of the alpha 18 release.
-@TravisEz13 Has built an unofficial package of alpha 17 which is available in the [fork's release](https://github.com/TravisEz13/PowerShell/releases/tag/v6.0.0-alpha.17).
-
 ### Installation via Direct Download - OpenSUSE 42.1
 
 Using [OpenSUSE 42.1][], download the RPM package
-`powershell-6.0.0_alpha.17-1.suse.42.1.x86_64.rpm`
+`powershell-6.0.0_alpha.18-1.suse.42.1.x86_64.rpm`
 from the [releases][] page onto the OpenSUSE machine.
 
 Then execute the following in the terminal:
 
 ```sh
-sudo zypper install ./powershell-6.0.0_alpha.17-1.suse.42.1.x86_64.rpm
+rpm --import https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc
+sudo zypper install ./powershell-6.0.0_alpha.18-1.suse.42.1.x86_64.rpm
 ```
 
 You can also install the RPM without the intermediate step of downloading it:
 
 ```sh
-sudo zypper install https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.17/powershell-6.0.0_alpha.17-1.suse.42.1.x86_64.rpm
+rpm --import https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc
+sudo zypper install https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v6.0.0-alpha.18/powershell-6.0.0_alpha.18-1.suse.42.1.x86_64.rpm
 ```
 
 ### Uninstallation - OpenSUSE 42.1
@@ -225,14 +224,14 @@ For more information on installing packages from the AUR, see the [Arch Linux wi
 ## Linux AppImage
 
 Using a recent Linux distribution,
-download the AppImage `PowerShell-x86_64.AppImage`
+download the AppImage `PowerShell-6.0.0-alpha.18-x86_64.AppImage`
 from the [releases][] page onto the Linux machine.
 
 Then execute the following in the terminal:
 
 ```bash
-chmod a+x PowerShell-x86_64.AppImage
-./PowerShell-x86_64.AppImage
+chmod a+x PowerShell-6.0.0-alpha.18-x86_64.AppImage
+./PowerShell-6.0.0-alpha.18-x86_64.AppImage
 ```
 
 The [AppImage][] lets you run PowerShell without installing it.
@@ -246,14 +245,14 @@ and is a single binary.
 ## macOS 10.11
 
 Using macOS 10.11, download the PKG package
-`powershell-6.0.0-alpha.17.pkg`
+`powershell-6.0.0-alpha.18-osx.10.11-x64.pkg`
 from the [releases][] page onto the macOS machine.
 
 Either double-click the file and follow the prompts,
 or install it from the terminal:
 
 ```sh
-sudo installer -pkg powershell-6.0.0-alpha.17.pkg -target /
+sudo installer -pkg powershell-6.0.0-alpha.18-osx.10.11-x64.pkg -target /
 ```
 
 ### Uninstallation - macOS 10.11
@@ -318,7 +317,7 @@ You *can* run this command manually if you're having trouble with .NET Core's cr
 
 ## Paths
 
-* `$PSHOME` is `/opt/microsoft/powershell/6.0.0-alpha.17/`
+* `$PSHOME` is `/opt/microsoft/powershell/6.0.0-alpha.18/`
 * User profiles will be read from `~/.config/powershell/profile.ps1`
 * Default profiles will be read from `$PSHOME/profile.ps1`
 * User modules will be read from `~/.local/share/powershell/Modules`
@@ -333,7 +332,7 @@ On Linux and macOS, the [XDG Base Directory Specification][xdg-bds] is respected
 
 Note that because macOS is a derivation of BSD,
 instead of `/opt`, the prefix used is `/usr/local`.
-Thus, `$PSHOME` is `/usr/local/microsoft/powershell/6.0.0-alpha.17/`,
+Thus, `$PSHOME` is `/usr/local/microsoft/powershell/6.0.0-alpha.18/`,
 and the symlink is placed at `/usr/local/bin/powershell`.
 
 [releases]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/latest
diff --git a/tools/download.sh b/tools/download.sh
index 7910d8c39..d572de36e 100755
--- a/tools/download.sh
+++ b/tools/download.sh
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ trap '
 
 get_url() {
     fork=$2
-    release=v6.0.0-alpha.17
+    release=v6.0.0-alpha.18
     echo "https://github.com/$fork/PowerShell/releases/download/$release/$1"
 }
 
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ case "$OSTYPE" in
                     sudo yum install -y curl
                 fi
 
-                package=powershell-6.0.0_alpha.17-1.el7.centos.x86_64.rpm
+                package=powershell-6.0.0_alpha.18-1.el7.centos.x86_64.rpm
                 ;;
             ubuntu)
                 if ! hash curl 2>/dev/null; then
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@ case "$OSTYPE" in
 
                 case "$VERSION_ID" in
                     14.04)
-                        package=powershell_6.0.0-alpha.17-1ubuntu1.14.04.1_amd64.deb
+                        package=powershell_6.0.0-alpha.18-1ubuntu1.14.04.1_amd64.deb
                         ;;
                     16.04)
-                        package=powershell_6.0.0-alpha.17-1ubuntu1.16.04.1_amd64.deb
+                        package=powershell_6.0.0-alpha.18-1ubuntu1.16.04.1_amd64.deb
                         ;;
                     *)
                         echo "Ubuntu $VERSION_ID is not supported!" >&2
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ case "$OSTYPE" in
                     42.1)
                         # TODO during next release remove fork and fix package name
                         fork=TravisEz13
-                        package=powershell-6.0.0_alpha.17_41_g8598a51-1.suse.42.1.x86_64.rpm
+                        package=powershell-6.0.0_alpha.18_41_g8598a51-1.suse.42.1.x86_64.rpm
                         ;;
                     *)
                         echo "OpenSUSE $VERSION_ID is not supported!" >&2
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ case "$OSTYPE" in
         ;;
     darwin*)
         # We don't check for curl as macOS should have a system version
-        package=powershell-6.0.0-alpha.17.pkg
+        package=powershell-6.0.0-alpha.18-osx.10.11-x64.pkg
         ;;
     *)
         echo "$OSTYPE is not supported!" >&2