Export the list of installed programs to CSV with PowerShell

Windows keeps the entries behind Settings, Apps, Installed apps in three places in the registry: machine-wide 64-bit programs, machine-wide 32-bit programs and programs installed just for the current user. This script reads all three, drops the hidden system components and writes a clean CSV you can open in Excel, attach to a ticket or compare between two machines.

The script

[CmdletBinding()]
param(
    [string]$OutFile = (Join-Path ([Environment]::GetFolderPath('Desktop')) 'installed-programs.csv')
)

$keys = @(
    'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*',
    'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*',
    'HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*'
)

$programs = Get-ItemProperty -Path $keys -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
    Where-Object { $_.DisplayName -and -not $_.SystemComponent } |
    Select-Object `
        @{ Name = 'Name';        Expression = { $_.DisplayName.Trim() } },
        @{ Name = 'Version';     Expression = { $_.DisplayVersion } },
        @{ Name = 'Publisher';   Expression = { $_.Publisher } },
        @{ Name = 'InstallDate'; Expression = { $_.InstallDate } },
        @{ Name = 'Scope';       Expression = { if ($_.PSPath -like '*HKEY_CURRENT_USER*') { 'User' } else { 'Machine' } } },
        @{ Name = 'Architecture'; Expression = { if ($_.PSPath -like '*WOW6432Node*') { 'x86' } else { 'x64' } } } |
    Sort-Object Name, Version -Unique

$programs | Export-Csv -LiteralPath $OutFile -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8

Write-Host "$(@($programs).Count) programs written to $OutFile"

How to run it

.\Export-InstalledPrograms.ps1
.\Export-InstalledPrograms.ps1 -OutFile C:\Temp\laptop-ana.csv
Import-Csv C:\Temp\laptop-ana.csv | Where-Object Publisher -like '*Oracle*'

No administrator rights are needed; the uninstall keys are readable by every user. If PowerShell refuses to run the file, see the entry on execution policy.

How it works

• Get-ItemProperty on a registry path with \* returns one object per subkey, with the key’s values as properties. The three paths cover 64-bit, 32-bit (WOW6432Node) and per-user installs.
• Entries without a DisplayName or with SystemComponent = 1 are hidden in the Settings app too, so the script skips them.
• The Scope and Architecture columns come from the registry path each entry was read from.
• Sort-Object -Unique on name and version removes the duplicate rows that some installers create.
• Export-Csv -NoTypeInformation writes plain CSV; in PowerShell 7 that is already the default but the switch keeps Windows PowerShell 5.1 from adding a #TYPE header line. -Encoding UTF8 keeps accented names intact in Excel.

What it does not list

Microsoft Store and other packaged apps do not use the uninstall keys. Add them with Get-AppxPackage, which lists the current user’s packages, or use winget which sees both worlds:

Get-AppxPackage | Select-Object Name, Version, Publisher | Export-Csv store-apps.csv -NoTypeInformation
winget list
winget export -o apps.json

Compare two machines

$old = Import-Csv .\old-pc.csv
$new = Import-Csv .\new-pc.csv
Compare-Object $old $new -Property Name | Where-Object SideIndicator -eq '<=' | Select-Object Name

Rows marked <= exist only in the first file: the programs still missing on the new machine.