winget package manager

Windows now have its own Linux-like package manager and it is really good.

If you are comfortable with a Linux-based machine you probably know what a package manager is and you probably do miss it when using a Windows machine. 

For those who don’t know what a package manager is, well it is usually a command-line program that automates the process of downloading, installing, configuring, upgrading, or removing applications from your OS. 

Most Linux distros have a package manager built-in and it makes the process of installing apps super easy. 

On Windows, you had the option to install some third-party package managers like Chocolatey, but Microsoft has its own Windows Package Manager. 

Although this does not come out of the box with Windows, but is ready to be used. 

How to install the Windows Package Manager.

If you run a Windows Insider build you probably already have the Winget client installed. For those who don’t you can get the winget client with App Installer from Microsoft Store. Details about the process can be found in the documentation provided by Microsoft

How to find and install apps using the Windows Package Manager.

To use the WPM you need to remember a few super important commands that include 

winget search app_name
winget install app_name
winget upgrade app_name
winget uninstall app_name

These are pretty obvious and won’t take long to get used to. 

The winget search command searches the app you input in the Microsoft Community Repository and shows you related results. 

You can then type in the winget install app_name command to install the required app.

The winget upgrade command is used to upgrade to the latest version of a specific package while winget upgrade—all can be used to upgrade all the packages.

The winget uninstall app_name as the command suggests it uninstalls the specific app. 

Summary

This is just the beginning of what the windows package manager could do. We also expect Microsoft to bring a GUI for the tool which is currently command-line only and to also ship it out of the box with the upcoming Windows 11 operating system.

Also Read

Tags: No tags

370 Responses

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *