winget

The Windows Package Manager (winget) is Microsoft’s built-in command-line installer for Windows 10 (1809+) and 11. It is delivered with the App Installer package. Run it from PowerShell (PowerShell Cheat-Sheet) or Windows Terminal. Use it for per-user and Store-style software; see Chocolatey for the older machine-level manager.

Documentation: winget docs

Search and Install #

List, Upgrade, Uninstall #

Export and Import #

Rebuild a machine from a JSON list of packages.

winget export -o .\apps.json --include-versions
winget import -i .\apps.json --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements --ignore-unavailable

Keep the JSON in git and re-run it after a Windows reinstall. Only packages found in a configured source are exported.

Configuration (DSC) #

Newer winget versions can apply a declarative configuration file (YAML, based on Desired State Configuration) to set up a whole dev machine.

Sources #

Settings #

winget settings            # opens settings.json in your editor
winget settings export     # print current settings

The file lives under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\settings.json. Example:

{
  "$schema": "https://aka.ms/winget-settings.schema.json",
  "installBehavior": {
    "preferences": { "scope": "user" }
  },
  "visual": { "progressBar": "rainbow" },
  "source": { "autoUpdateIntervalInMinutes": 240 }
}

Other commands: winget --info (version, paths, links), winget features (experimental features), winget validate <MANIFEST>, winget hash <FILE> (SHA-256 for a manifest).

winget vs Chocolatey #

They coexist. Pick one as the primary and avoid installing the same app from both.

Scripting Tips #

# Check winget exists, then install a list unattended
if (-not (Get-Command winget -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) { throw "winget not found" }
$apps = 'Git.Git','Microsoft.VisualStudioCode','7zip.7zip','Microsoft.PowerShell'
foreach ($id in $apps) {
    winget install -e --id $id --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements
}

• Use IDs, not names, in scripts (names are ambiguous).
• Check $LASTEXITCODE after a call; many failures return non-zero without a PowerShell error.
• winget cannot run as SYSTEM easily (service accounts, some Intune deployments); use the Microsoft.WinGet.Client PowerShell module (Install-Module Microsoft.WinGet.Client, then Find-WinGetPackage, Install-WinGetPackage) for those cases.
• winget upgrade shows “Unknown” version for apps that do not report one; use --include-unknown.

Troubleshooting #

Not Verified #

Commands were written from the Microsoft documentation and not executed. Some options (configure, --purge, pinning ranges) depend on the installed winget version: check with winget --info and winget <COMMAND> --help.