Using Windows Package Manager

Published — 1 minute read

I hadn’t used the Windows Package Manager since it launched in 2020 (amidst some controversy), but I’m impressed with the way it is now. Running winget upgrade matched apps that I didn’t install with WPM, and I was able to update them without a hitch.

Screenshot of a terminal readout showing a list of application names

The package name matching may yield some unexpected results if you’re used to other package managers though:

Screenshot of a terminal readout where the command typed is winget install go, and the output is a “free books” app

I finally dumped Chocolatey after 10 years. No more installing packages with PowerShell running as Administrator and hoping for the best.

I also discovered Scoop, which covers some of the gaps of WPM, such as Hugo. Ideally I’d install Hugo, Go, and Git inside WSL, but this PC is primarily for games these days, and anti-cheat software doesn’t like seeing Hyper-V enabled.

Some resources for WPM: