Windows 11 has a nice feature, WinGet. The Windows Package Manager. This is an easier way to install software from the Internet. A very useful way to manage installed software on Windows 11. All installed software may be managed by the package manager, which is fun to use. Linux has had various package managers for a long time. Even Macintosh OSX has the brew package manager to install programs from source and then manage the software quickly, as well as take care of any updates. But on Windows, this is a novelty, but a very good one.
PS C:\Users\Intel i5> winget Windows Package Manager v1.4.10173 Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. The winget command line utility enables installing applications and other packages from the command line. usage: winget [<command>] [<options>] The following commands are available: install Installs the given package show Shows information about a package source Manage sources of packages search Find and show basic info of packages list Display installed packages upgrade Shows and performs available upgrades uninstall Uninstalls the given package hash Helper to hash installer files validate Validates a manifest file settings Open settings or set administrator settings features Shows the status of experimental features export Exports a list of the installed packages import Installs all the packages in a file For more details on a specific command, pass it the help argument. [-?] The following options are available: -v,--version Display the version of the tool --info Display general info of the tool -?,--help Shows help about the selected command --wait Prompts the user to press any key before exiting --verbose,--verbose-logs Enables verbose logging for WinGet --disable-interactivity Disable interactive prompts More help can be found at: https://aka.ms/winget-command-help |
Beneficial usage information.
Show information about a package this way. Having to put the name in quotes is very annoying.
PS C:\Users\Intel i5> winget show "Opera GX" Found Opera GX [XPDBZ4MPRKNN30] Version: Unknown Publisher: Opera Norway AS Publisher Url: https://www.opera.com/gx Publisher Support Url: https://opera.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/18 Description: Opera GX is a browser built specifically for gamers. The browser includes unique features like CPU, RAM and Network limiters to help you get the most out of both gaming and browsing. License: https://www.opera.com/eula/computers Privacy Url: https://www.opera.com/privacy Copyright: (C) Copyright Opera Norway AS 2021 Tags: gaming browser browser for gamers free vpn vpn service web browser private browser browser Agreements: Category: Entertainment Pricing: Free Free Trial: No Terms of Transaction: https://aka.ms/microsoft-store-terms-of-transaction Seizure Warning: https://aka.ms/microsoft-store-seizure-warning Store License Terms: https://aka.ms/microsoft-store-license Installer: Installer Type: exe Installer Locale: en Installer Url: https://get.geo.opera.com/pub/.custom/partners/microsoftstore/Opera_GX_82.0.4227.44_microsoftstore_Setup_x64.exe Installer SHA256: ea5b34513eb83abfde336e77daacae421df446f84ca929fd9e14a08c0715922c |
To uninstall a program from Windows 11, use this command.
PS C:\Users\Intel i5> winget remove "Sublime Text_is1" Found Sublime Text [Sublime Text_is1] Starting package uninstall... Successfully uninstalled |
Get a list of all pending upgrades.
PS C:\Users\Intel i5> winget upgrade Name Id Version Available Source -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7-Zip 19.00 (x64) 7zip.7zip 19.00 22.01 winget AIMP AIMP.AIMP v5.00.2344, 09.11.2021 5.10.2418 winget Audacity 3.2.3 Audacity.Audacity 3.2.3 3.2.4 winget Bitvise SSH Client 9.16 (remove only) Bitvise.SSH.Client 9.16 9.26 winget Windows Terminal Microsoft.WindowsTerminal 1.15.3466.0 1.16.10261.0 winget Oh My Posh version 6.38.1 JanDeDobbeleer.OhMyPosh 6.38.1 14.0.1 winget Ubisoft Connect Ubisoft.Connect 50.0 137.0.10799 winget Wireshark 3.6.2 64-bit WiresharkFoundation.Wireshark 3.6.2 4.0.3.0 winget Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (x64) - 12.0.30501 Microsoft.VCRedist.2013.x64 12.0.30501.0 12.0.40664.0 winget Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x64) - 14.31.31103 Microsoft.VCRedist.2015+.x64 14.31.31103.0 14.34.31931.0 winget Samsung DeX Samsung.DeX 2.4.0.29 2.4.1.11 winget Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x86) - 14.31.31103 Microsoft.VCRedist.2015+.x86 14.31.31103.0 14.34.31931.0 winget Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Microsoft.VCRedist.2005.x86 8.0.56336 8.0.61001 winget NVIDIA GeForce Experience 3.25.1.27 Nvidia.GeForceExperience 3.25.1.27 3.26.0.160 winget paint.net dotPDNLLC.paintdotnet 4.3.12 5.0.1 winget Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (x86) - 12.0.30501 Microsoft.VCRedist.2013.x86 12.0.30501.0 12.0.40664.0 winget 16 upgrades available. 1 package(s) have version numbers that cannot be determined. Use --include-unknown to see all results. |
And, just like with Linux package managers, you may easily upgrade an installed Windows application with one simple command.
PS C:\Users\Intel i5> winget upgrade paint.net Found paint.net [dotPDNLLC.paintdotnet] Version 5.0.1 This application is licensed to you by its owner. Microsoft is not responsible for, nor does it grant any licenses to, third-party packages. Downloading https://github.com/paintdotnet/release/releases/download/v5.0.1/paint.net.5.0.1.winmsi.x64.zip ██████████████████████████████ 69.3 MB / 69.3 MB Successfully verified installer hash Extracting archive... Successfully extracted archive Starting package install... Successfully installed |
It is very annoying that the UAC prompt pops up on your screen when you do this instead of prompting the user in the terminal itself, but this is a small thing.