Complete WinGet Commands List for Windows 11

WinGet Commands : Winget is Microsoft’s official Package Manager which is conceptually similar to APT packages in Debian-based Linux Distributions. With simple commands, you can install apps in seconds, upgrade all your software at once, even export and import entire app lists to set up a new PC Quickly. The functionality is very similar to the APT packages in Debian-based Linux Distribution. In this article, let’s check out essential Winget Commands and how to use WinGet Commands on Windows 11. Let’s get started.

How Winget works on Windows 11?

Compared to the traditional Windows GUI process, where we have to search software online, download an installer, agreeing to licenses, ads, etc., WinGet streamlines everything into a single reliable command. It is faster, and relatively safer making it far more efficient than the GUI Installations on Windows 11.

Example

Let’s install one of the popular open source media players in the market for decades. Instead of visiting their website, and downloading the bundle, and going through all the installation process, we will use WinGet via the Command Line Interface (CLI), and install VLC on Windows 11.

We can either use the Command Prompt, or Windows PowerShell. For simple, and quick installations, we can use the CMD, whereas, for script friendly, and advanced automation processes, we can prefer Windows PowerShell. Here, we will use the Command Prompt.

• Go to the Run Command using the keyboard combination WinKey + R.
• In the Run, type the command cmd, and press Enter Key.
• This will open Command Prompt on your Windows 11. In the CMD, execute the following command. winget install VideoLan.VLC
• This command will install VLC Media Player on your Windows 11 automatically.

WinGet Command Syntax

Before getting to know about the commands, it is crucial to get to know about the WinGet command syntax. The syntax is simple, and easy to use.

General Syntax

winget <command> [options]

The command can be install, search, show, list, and more.

Complete WinGet Commands List for Windows 11

| Usage | Syntax & Commands |
| Install | winget install |
| Search | winget search |
| Show Details | winget show |
| List Installed Applications | winget list |
| Uninstall Applications | winget uninstall |
| Upgrade a Application | winget upgrade |
| Upgrade all Applications | winget upgrade –all |
| Export Applications List | winget export -o apps.json |
| Import Applications List | winget import -i apps.json |
| Source Management | winget source list |
| Check WinGet Version | winget –version |
| WinGet General Information | winget –info |
| WinGet Hash File | winget hash [-f] [] |
| Microsoft Community Package (MCP) | winget mcp |
| Desired State Configuration v3 [PowerShell DSC] | winget dscv3 |
| Open WinGet Settings File | winget settings |
| Manage Package Pins | winget pin |
| Download Packages | winget download |
| Validate a Manifest | winget validate [–manifest] [] |
| Set Proxy Usage for Network Operations | winget [options] –proxy |
| WinGet Help | winget –help |
| Repair a Package | winget –repair |

How to Download and Install an Application using WinGet on Windows 11?

In this section, we will check out how to download and install applications using WinGet command. We can segregate this into three processes.

1. Searching for an Application.
2. Downloading the Application.
3. Installing the Application on Windows 11.

Search for an Application using WinGet on Windows 11?

While I was writing out the above example of installing VLC Player, this kept pondering my mind, alright, there is a alternate way to install applications on Windows 11 other than the typical GUI installations, but, how will I be able to find the Applications IDs so that I can install that on my Windows 11? Well, here is the answer for that question. We can use the Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell.

Here, for explanatory purpose, we will use the Command Prompt.

• Open Command Prompt on your Windows 11.
• Now, let’s install Google Chrome Web Browser, however, we don’t know the Application ID. To find the Application ID, kindly execute the following command in the CMD. winget search chrome

Search for Chrome Browser using WinGet Command

• WinGet will now search for all the IDs related to Google Chrome in the Microsoft Store , and the Microsoft Community Package Repository and will list all.
• From the list, we can choose the official stable version ID. Once, we have the ID, we can directly install it, or we can download it using WinGet for portability.

Get the Application ID

• Alright, in a similar way, you can search for your desired applications and get the IDs. By this way, you don’t have to remember the IDs, rather you can search and get them instantly. Let’s move to the next section, Downloading the Application.

Note : While searching for applications, you must use (.) in the place of space, for example, instead of searching for Mozilla Firefox, kindly search for Mozilla.Firefox, otherwise WinGet will throw the following error “ Found a positional argument when none was expected: ‘app name’ “

Downloading an Application using WinGet Command on Windows 11

Once, we have the ID, then we can either install the application directly, or we can download it and save it to our computer. By default, the downloaded file will be saved in the Downloads Folder. To download an application .exe file, kindly execute the following command in the terminal.

• From the above search, we got to know that the stable and official build ID of Google Chrome is Google.Chrome. Let’s download this using the following command. winget download google.chrome

WinGet Command to Download Google chrome Web Browser

• This command will start downloading the latest and the stable Google Chrome Web Browser.

Downloading Google Chrome

• Once the download is completed, you can find it in the Downloads Folder.

Google Chrome Executable File

• Now, you can manually install the application to your computer by running the executable file on your Windows 11.

Installing an Application using WinGet Command on Windows 11

When we have the version ID, instead of downloading it using the WinGet, we can actually install it directly to our system. If you are looking to install an application directly to your Computer using the WinGet Command, then, here are the steps.

• Let’s Install Sumatra PDF Reader on Windows 11 using WinGet Command. Search for Sumatra PDF Reader in the Terminal using the WinGet Command. It is very similar to searching in a browser, however it is recommended to keep it simple, and straight-forward with lesser words. winget search sumatra

Search for Sumatra PDF using WinGet

• WinGet will now search the Microsoft Community Package Repository and list out all available applications.
• The stable and the official builds will always have even number versions. From the search, we have the Sumatra PDF ID now.
• In this step, instead of downloading it, let’s install it directly to our system using the following command. winget install sumatrapdf.sumatrapdf

Command to Install Sumatra PDF

• WinGet will now install SumatraPDF on our Windows 11 Rig.

SumatraPDF Successfully installed on your Windows 11

How to Uninstall a Application using WinGet Command On Windows 11?

To uninstall a application using WinGet, kindly follow the below steps.

• For Example, Let’s uninstall the above installed Sumatra PDF Reader. Kindly execute the following command in the terminal. winget uninstall sumatrapdf.sumatrapdf
• This command will uninstall the application from our Windows 11 Rig.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to Install WinGet separately on Windows 11?

On Windows 11, WinGet comes pre-installed as part of the App Installer package, and hence, we don’t have to install it separately.

Where does WinGet get its apps from?

By default, WinGet uses Microsoft Community Package Repository Git-hub based (Windows Package Manager Repository).

What are Names, ID, Monicker, and Source in WinGet?

Name is human readable app name. ID is nothing but a unique package identifier. Monicker is nickname, and source is where WinGet gets the apps from.

Is WinGet safe to use?

The packages in the official sources are verified by the Microsoft or the respective community. However, for third-party packages, you should check the pubisher, and the authenicity before installing, especially if multiple versions exist.

Where are WinGet Logs gets stored?

Thy are stored in the following path. %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\DiagOutputDir

How do I Enable Verbose Logging?

You can add verbose logs using the following command. winget install Git.Git –verbose-logs

How do I configure a machine with YAML?

You can configure a machine with YAML using the following command. winget configure –file config.yaml

Take Away

WinGet Commands on Windows 11 paves a way for effective software management resulting in a faster, cleaner, and smarter implementations. We hope you are satisfied with our article on WinGet, and if you have any queries , kindly let us know in the comments. For more interesting articles, stay tuned to Winsides.com. Happy Computing! Peace out!