Windows Has a Hidden Package Manager

Installing a bunch of applications at once on Windows can be annoying. You need to find the installer packages, download them, then run them all, one after another. It requires spending a bunch of time clicking though menus and checking boxes. But you don't have to live this way.

Linux users have long used package managers to accomplish this with far greater ease—as have some Mac users. Using a package manager, you can type a single command to install as many different applications as you want. And, it turns out, Windows comes with a package manager. It's called Winget.

You can try it right now—just open PowerShell, which you can find in the start menu or by right-clicking the Windows logo and clicking "Terminal." Type winget search followed by the application you want to install. In most cases, you should be delivered a list of options.

Credit: Justin Pot

In the above example I wanted to install Steam, so I ran the command winget search steam. I got a long list of results, mostly because there are a bunch of applications that include the word "steam." The second column, labeled ID, tells me the exact name I need in order to install the package in question. After finding the application I want, I can install it with a command. In this case, I type winget install Valve.Steam and hit enter, and Winget will take it from there.

Credit: Justin Pot

After I type that command, Winget downloads Steam and automatically runs the installer for me. Note that if you're not using an administrator PowerShell, you will be prompted by to give installation permissions. You can launch PowerShell as an administrator by right-clicking the Windows logo on the taskbar and clicking "Terminal (Admin)". Alternatively, you can use sudo for Windows.

That caveat aside, you can use these commands to install any of almost 8,000 applications. And it gets even better, because you're not limited to installing one application at a time—your command can include as many apps as you want, and winget will install them all.

Credit: Justin Pot

Bulk install a bunch of programs with hep from winstall.app

You could look up the ID name for every application you want to install as described above, but there's a website that makes the process a lot easier for you—winstall.app. It's basically a directory for Winget that allows you to select as many applications as you want and copy a single command you can use to install them all in one go.

Credit: Justin Pot

Winget can also run updates, delete programs, and more

Winget can do more than just install applications. You can also use it to update all of the software you've installed using it. First, type winget update to see a list of all the applications that need updates. Next, type winget update --all to install all the listed updates.

You can also remove applications using Winget too: type winget remove followed by the package name of the application you want to remove—for example, winget remove Valve.Steam.

There's a bit more Winget can do, including downloading installers without running them (winget download) and exporting your current list of packages so you can reuse it on another devices (winget export). Learn more by checking out the official Winget documentation from Microsoft.

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