Overview of Winget Package Manager in Windows

Introduction to Winget

• Winget is the built-in package manager for Windows.
• Accessed via PowerShell or Terminal (Run as Admin).

Basic Commands

1. Launching Winget

   • Open PowerShell or Terminal.
   • Run winget to view available commands.

2. Searching for Applications

   • Command: winget search <application name>
   • Example: winget search Google Chrome
   • Displays results for the application along with versions (e.g., standard, beta, dev, canary).

3. Getting Application Details

   • Command: winget show <application name>
   • Provides the manifest file with version, publisher, description, installer URL, and hash.

4. Installing Applications

   • Command: winget install <application name>
   • Example: winget install Google Chrome
   • Automatically downloads and installs the application.

Managing Installed Applications

1. Listing Installed Applications

   • Command: winget list
   • Displays all applications installed via Winget.

2. Checking for Upgrades

   • Command: winget upgrade
   • Lists applications with updates available.
   • To upgrade a specific application: winget upgrade <application ID>.
   • To upgrade all applications: winget upgrade --all.

Exporting and Importing Application Lists

1. Exporting Installed Applications

   • Command: winget export -o <file path>.json
   • Saves a list of all installed packages in JSON format.

2. Uninstalling Applications

   • Command: winget uninstall <application name>
   • Example: winget uninstall Google Chrome
   • Verifying uninstallation via winget list.

3. Importing Applications from JSON

   • Command: winget import -i <file path>.json
   • Automates the installation of previously exported applications.

Use Cases

• Useful for setting up new computers or creating a template of installed applications.
• Streamlines the process of maintaining application versions.