Windows Package Manager Preview Released – You can WinGet apps now

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One of the better experiences I have on Linux is the way how it gets a new app installed, updated, and patched. It’s a breeze. To install an app on Ubuntu, for example, you simply run

sudo apt install app-name

And you get the app installed in no time. Uninstall the same app? Run

sudo apt remove "app-name"

Check the update for the installed apps?

sudo apt update

Then run the following to upgrade all the installed apps.

sudo apt upgrade

Simple, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. I wish Windows can do something like that, out of the box.

Well, my dream just comes true. Microsoft just released Windows Package Manager Preview in its annual Build conference, a native package manager designed for Windows. And, it’s open-source too.

image 7 600x372 - Windows Package Manager Preview Released - You can WinGet apps now

No kidding, can you imagine now that you can winget install terminal, and then winget install powershell, and then winget install powertoys? If you don’t see an app you use, just create a new manifest and submit a pull request.

How do I get it then?

If you are a Windows Insider who beta-tests every released inside builds, you already have the Package Manager but you will still need the client. Head over to the Microsoft Store and get the App Installer.

If not, you can head over to its Github’s release page for the client. Installing the package will give you the WinGet client but it will not get updates automatically from the Microsoft Store.

And if you are a developer, you might be interested in building the client yourself.

It appears that there are already a lot of apps available in the package manager. At least, most of my day-to-day tools are included, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, VS Code, Dropbox, Greenshot, 7Zip, FileZilla, etc. If you are not sure whether a tool you like is package-ready for WinGet, try it to find out.

winget search app-name

More details about the WinGet tool, check this out.

/Update on June 2, 2020/

A big shout out to my Canadian fellow, Kevian Beigi, the creator of AppGet that inspired the creation of WinGet but didn’t get enough credit for it. Apparently, the day that Microsoft released the WinGet is The Day AppGet Died.

TLDR; I’m no longer going to be developing AppGet. The client and backend services will go into maintenance mode immediately until August 1st, 2020, at which point they’ll be shut down permanently.

Great work, Kevian. It’s a shame that Microsoft didn’t give you enough credit for what you have done but your work hasn’t gone unnoticed.

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