Windows Package Manager
Official open-source package manager for Windows 10/11
The Windows Package Manager (also known as winget) is a free and open-source package manager designed by Microsoft for Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2025 with Desktop Experience. It consists of a command-line utility and a set of services for installing applications. Independent software vendors can use it as a distribution channel for their software packages.
01History
Windows Package Manager was first announced at the Microsoft Build developer conference in May 2020.
Before deciding to develop Windows Package Manager, the team behind it explored Chocolatey, Scoop, Ninite, AppGet, Npackd and the PowerShell-based OneGet. After the announcement of winget, the developer of AppGet, Keivan Beigi, claimed that Microsoft interviewed him in December 2019 under the pretense of employment and acquiring AppGet. After talking with Beigi, Microsoft allegedly ceased communication with him until confirming one day before the launch of winget that they would not be hiring him. Beigi was dismayed at Microsoft's lack of attribution of AppGet. The release of winget led Beigi to announce that AppGet would be discontinued in August 2020. Microsoft responded with a blog post crediting a number of winget's features to AppGet.
Microsoft released version 1.0 of Windows Package Manager on May 27, 2021. The Microsoft Community Repository included over 1,400 packages at that date. By May 2026 it had reached 12,850 packages.
The ARM32 client was discontinued after version 1.10.390 in April 2025.
02Overview
The winget tool supports installers based on EXE, MSIX, and MSI. The public Windows Package Manager Community repository hosts manifest files for supported applications in YAML format. In September 2020, Microsoft added the ability to install applications from the Microsoft Store and a command auto-completion feature.
To reduce the likelihood of non-Microsoft-approved software, including malicious software, making its way into the repository and onto the target machine, Windows Package Manager uses Microsoft SmartScreen, static analysis, SHA256 hash validation and other processes.
Various limitations apply to which packages that are added to the winget manifest repository. Among them as of 1.10 is that the software must support silent installations (unless it is a fully portable software), cannot be a .tar.gz, .7z, or .rar compressed folder, cannot wholly require hardwares (e.g. NVIDIA drivers), cannot be a self-extracting archive, cannot solely support ARM32, and the software host cannot return HTTP 403 or time out when downloading through winget.
The winget client source code and the community manifest repository are licensed under MIT License and hosted on GitHub.
It does not support automatic package updates on timed schedules. Various third-party tools like Winget-AutoUpdate are designed to fill those gaps. Winget also does not support building from programs' source codes.
Commands
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| configure | Configures the system into a desired state |
| export | Exports a list of the installed applications |
| features | Show status of experimental features |
| hash | Hash installer files |
| import | Install all the applications in a file |
| install | Install the given application |
| list | Display installed applications |
| pin | Manage package upgrade pins |
| show | Show information about the given application |
| search | Search and show basic information of applications |
| settings | Open winget configuration settings |
| source | Manage application sources |
| upgrade | Upgrades the given application |
| uninstall | Uninstall the given application |
| validate | Validate a manifest file |
03Examples
Search for and installs variable $PKG_ID:
winget install --id=$PKG_ID -eList all installed packages:
winget listUpdate all packages:
winget upgrade --allSearch for all available packages:
winget search .Package ID examples
- Visual Studio Code, a code editor from Microsoft: Microsoft.VisualStudioCode
- Google Chrome: Google.Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox: Mozilla.Firefox
- Brave: BraveSoftware.BraveBrowser
- Vivaldi: VivaldiTechnologies.Vivaldi
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Windows Package Manager”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Windows Package Manager v0.1.41331 Preview 1115x624.png by Ghettoblaster, Public domain
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.
