winget: install and update software from the command line

Windows Package Manager, run as winget, does for Windows what apt does for Debian or brew for macOS: you name a program and it downloads and installs the official installer silently. It is part of Windows 11 and of Windows 10 (version 1709 and newer) through the App Installer package from the Microsoft Store. The client is open source at microsoft/winget-cli (about 26,500 stars) and the catalog of packages is maintained by the community at microsoft/winget-pkgs.

Check it is there

winget --version
winget source list

If winget is not recognized, install or update App Installer from the Microsoft Store, or download the latest release from the winget-cli GitHub page. The first run asks you to accept the source agreement.

Find a package

winget search firefox
winget search --id Git.Git
winget show Microsoft.PowerShell

Search results have a Name, an Id and a Source. Two sources exist by default: winget (the community repository, classic installers) and msstore (the Microsoft Store). Always install by Id: names are not unique and a search for “python” returns dozens of hits.

Install

winget install --id Git.Git -e --source winget
winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell -e
winget install --id Microsoft.VisualStudioCode -e
winget install --id 7zip.7zip -e --silent

-e (--exact) matches the id exactly instead of as a substring. --silent (or -h) hides the installer’s own windows. Installers that need administrator rights trigger the normal User Account Control prompt; run the terminal as administrator to install several in one go without being asked each time.

Scripted installs often add --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements so nothing waits for a keypress. Only do that for packages you have already looked at.

Update

winget upgrade                 # what has a newer version?
winget upgrade --id Git.Git -e
winget upgrade --all           # update everything winget knows about

Careful: --all updates every recognized program in one pass, including ones you installed without winget, as long as it can match them to a package. Programs that update themselves (browsers, Teams) may show up too. There is no automatic rollback; to go back to an older version use winget install --id <Id> --version <version> with a version from winget show --id <Id> --versions.

Some entries show version unknown or refuse to upgrade because the installed program does not report its version in a way winget can read. winget pin add --id <Id> excludes a package from upgrade --all if you want to manage it by hand.

List and remove

winget list
winget list --id Git.Git
winget uninstall --id 7zip.7zip -e

Move your setup to another machine

export writes every installed package that exists in a source to a JSON file; import installs them on a fresh system. It is the quickest way to set up a new laptop.

winget export -o apps.json
winget import -i apps.json --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements

Open apps.json in an editor before importing and delete anything you do not want on the new machine.

Useful settings

winget settings           # opens settings.json in your editor
winget settings --enable InstallerHashOverride

The settings file controls things like progress bar style and whether winget may install from the local manifest files you write yourself. Most people never need to touch it.

Official documentation

• Use the winget tool to install and manage applications
• winget install
• microsoft/winget-cli on GitHub