winget

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| style="padding: 8px 12px; text-align: center; background-color: #7ad3ff;" darkstyle="background-color: color-mix(in srgb, #7ad3ff 25%, #161617);" | <div style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #004578;" darkstyle="color: color-mix(in srgb, #004578 55%, #f5f5f7);">This page covers the command itself. For the catalog, the manifests, and the project's history, see [[Windows Package Manager]].</div>
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'''winget''' is the command-line client for [[Windows Package Manager]], Microsoft's package manager for Windows. It is the part of the system a person actually types. Everything else — the catalog of applications, the review process behind it, and the servers that hold it — sits on the other side of the command.

The client arrives on the machine inside App Installer, a system component that Windows keeps updated on its own. Nothing has to be downloaded first on a supported version of Windows, and the command works from Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Windows Terminal alike.

= The name =

Microsoft writes the product name as '''WinGet''', with a capital G, in its documentation and release notes. The command typed at a prompt is always lowercase, because that is the name of the executable. Both spellings refer to the same tool, and older Microsoft material used the lowercase form throughout.

= Running the command =

Typing <code>winget</code> on its own prints the list of available commands, and adding <code>--help</code> to any of them explains that command in more detail. Two options are worth knowing early. <code>winget --version</code> reports which build is installed, and <code>winget --info</code> prints the same version alongside license links and any policies an administrator has applied.

The command is unavailable until someone has signed in to the machine at least once, because Windows registers it in the background after first sign-in. On older installations it occasionally fails to appear on the search path, which produces a "not recognized" error even though the tool is present.

= Administrator rights =

Installer behavior changes depending on how the prompt was opened. From an ordinary prompt, any package that needs elevation triggers a Windows consent dialog, and declining it stops the installation. From a prompt already running as administrator, no dialog appears at all, so an installer does whatever it likes without a further question. That convenience is worth using carefully, and only for software from a publisher you trust.

= Other ways to reach the same tool =

The command line is not the only door. The Microsoft.WinGet.Client module on the PowerShell Gallery exposes the same operations as PowerShell commands, so a script can search, install, and update packages without shelling out to the executable. A COM programming interface lets other applications drive the client directly, and Windows Package Manager also ships a server that exposes package operations to AI agent tools.

= See also =

* [[Windows Package Manager]]
* [[PowerShell]]
* [[Windows Terminal]]
* [[Package manager]]

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{| style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid #004578;" |- | style="padding: 8px 12px; text-align: center; background-color: #7ad3ff;" darkstyle="background-color: color-mix(in srgb, #7ad3ff 25%, #161617);" | <div style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #004578;" darkstyle="color: color-mix(in srgb, #004578 55%, #f5f5f7);">This page covers the command itself. For the catalog, the manifests, and the project's history, see [[Windows Package Manager]].</div> |} '''winget''' is the command-line client for [[Windows Package Manager]], Microsoft's package manager for Windows. It is the part of the system a person actually types. Everything else — the catalog of applications, the review process behind it, and the servers that hold it — sits on the other side of the command. The client arrives on the machine inside App Installer, a system component that Windows keeps updated on its own. Nothing has to be downloaded first on a supported version of Windows, and the command works from Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Windows Terminal alike. = The name = Microsoft writes the product name as '''WinGet''', with a capital G, in its documentation and release notes. The command typed at a prompt is always lowercase, because that is the name of the executable. Both spellings refer to the same tool, and older Microsoft material used the lowercase form throughout. = Running the command = Typing <code>winget</code> on its own prints the list of available commands, and adding <code>--help</code> to any of them explains that command in more detail. Two options are worth knowing early. <code>winget --version</code> reports which build is installed, and <code>winget --info</code> prints the same version alongside license links and any policies an administrator has applied. The command is unavailable until someone has signed in to the machine at least once, because Windows registers it in the background after first sign-in. On older installations it occasionally fails to appear on the search path, which produces a "not recognized" error even though the tool is present. = Administrator rights = Installer behavior changes depending on how the prompt was opened. From an ordinary prompt, any package that needs elevation triggers a Windows consent dialog, and declining it stops the installation. From a prompt already running as administrator, no dialog appears at all, so an installer does whatever it likes without a further question. That convenience is worth using carefully, and only for software from a publisher you trust. = Other ways to reach the same tool = The command line is not the only door. The Microsoft.WinGet.Client module on the PowerShell Gallery exposes the same operations as PowerShell commands, so a script can search, install, and update packages without shelling out to the executable. A COM programming interface lets other applications drive the client directly, and Windows Package Manager also ships a server that exposes package operations to AI agent tools. = See also = * [[Windows Package Manager]] * [[PowerShell]] * [[Windows Terminal]] * [[Package manager]]