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How to use Windows Package Manager to easily install and update programs
If you’ve never used a package manager before, you should. They’re a useful piece of software that allows you to install and manage different software (called “packages”) in one unified interface. Microsoft now has its own Windows Package Manager, which lets you install thousands of different packages. Read on to learn how—and why—you should use Windows Package Manager.
Install Windows Package Manager
winget (pronounced “win get”) is a command-line tool for finding, installing, and uninstalling packages from the Windows Package Manager. If you have Windows 11 , winget is already installed for you.
You can install winget by downloading the “App Installer” from the Microsoft Store . If you don’t see the “Get” button, you may already have winget installed.
Use Windows Package Manager to install applications
You will need to open a command line interface before you can use winget. Press the Win key, type “terminal” and click on the Terminal application.
The search feature in Windows Package Manager is powerful. Here's how to use it to find and install a package.
1. Type winget search firefox and press Enter.
2. You will see a list of packages containing the search term, in this case “firefox”. Select and copy the text under the “ID” column – “Mozilla.Firefox” in this case.
3. To get more details about the package, type winget show Mozilla.Firefox , making sure that the text after “show” is exactly the text you copied in the previous step. From the information displayed, you can verify whether the package you want is from a legitimate source. For example, check that the “Download URL” is the official website of the developer.
4. Type winget install Mozilla.Firefox to download the package and start the installation process. If you see the Firefox installer appear, you're done!
Batch install multiple applications
winget can create a .JSON file with a list of applications called a "manifest", then use that manifest to install the same applications on another computer. This is Ninite functionality without the need for a third-party installer!
1. Type winget export -o , replacing the path to the new .JSON file. For example, winget export -o C:\Users\Brandon\Desktop\packages.json .
2. Share the .JSON file with another computer.
3. On the other computer, simply type winget import using the manifest file path. This will immediately start installing each of the listed applications one by one.
Upgrade packages in Windows Package Manager
One great feat of winget is that it can update multiple programs from a single interface.
1. Type winget upgrade to display all applications that need to be upgraded.
2. You can upgrade an application by copying the ID and using it in a command. For example:
winget upgrade Microsoft.WindowsTerminal
3. Better yet, you can type winget upgrade --all to upgrade every application that has a new version. This will run each installation process in turn.
Uninstall packages in Winget
With winget you can easily find installed applications on your computer and remove them.
1. Type winget list to display all applications on your PC that are managed by winget, including programs you didn't originally install with winget.
2. To narrow down the list, you can add an option and type winget list --name fire to include only applications named “fire”. Alternatively, try winget list --tag browser to list all packages with the tag “browser”.
3. You can uninstall a program using the ID of one of the listed packages. For example, enter winget uninstall Google.Chrome to uninstall Google Chrome.
Improved search in Winget
Here are some useful ways to find Windows Package Manager:
- Enter the command winget search --query "" to display all winget packages available for download. Don't forget to include your search query between quotation marks, such as “browser”.
- winget search --tag browser --count 10 to display a limited list of 10 packages with the tag “browser”.
- winget.run is a website with an intuitive interface that allows you to search and browse all winget packages.
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