If you are looking to manage applications from the command line in Windows, then Winget is the right tool for you. It can let you install, uninstall, upgrade and search for different apps using Windows PowerShell. It is a command-line client interface to the Windows Package Manager Service and is easy to use.
Linux command-line fans will feel right at home when using Winget to install, upgrade and remove Windows apps. 🙂
It is available by default in Windows 10 version 1709 and later and comes by default with Windows 11.
Here is how to use it:
It is better to open Windows PowerShell as an administrator as managing apps can require elevated privileges. Search for PowerShell from the Windows search box and click Run as Administrator.
From the PowerShell command line, type in winget to get a feel of what it has to offer.
Search for different apps:
To search for an application in the Microsoft Store, use the search parameter:
It displays all the available versions of the app that can be installed.
Get app details:
To find the details of an application, use the show parameter:
This shows different details of the app like version, type, pricing, and more.
List, upgrade and uninstall apps:
Where winget becomes really useful is in updating the installed apps on the PC. To find the list of installed apps, use the list parameter:
This will show the list of apps installed alphabetically.
For upgrading all the installed apps, use the upgrade command:
It will automatically uninstall the older version and upgrade it to a newer one.
To uninstall apps, use the uninstall command followed by the app name:
This is a useful PowerShell-based tool that can make managing apps easier and quicker just by typing in a few commands.
All done.