Install All Your Apps at the Same Time Using the New Windows 10 Package Manager
Nothing is sexy, like I’m using a package manager to install apps instead of double clicking on boring executables . It just rolls off the tongue. But there is something fun about installing and updating applications using PowerShell command line tools, technically. Once you get the hang of it, the experience is even better than dealing with a regular Windows Store app ( at least that’s what I was told ).
Good news: Windows 10 has a brand new package manager – or at least there will be one. Microsoft is testing the Windows Package Manager right now, and you can already use it to install a pretty good set of applications. However, you need to overcome several obstacles to gain access to the Package Manager.
How to register to test Windows Package Manager
As Microsoft describes , you have several options for testing Windows Package Manager. If you’re registered with the Windows Insider program (because you like living on the edge), you already have access. Otherwise, you can subscribe to a specific Windows Package Manager Insider program, or install it yourself from GitHub, although you won’t get automatic updates if you choose the second path.
I chose option number two and received an email informing me of my agreement with the preview program almost immediately after submitting the application:
Whichever route you take, you need to open the Windows Store and download the app installer. Microsoft has a link to this on their blog, but it didn’t work for me. Luckily, there is also a second trick you can use: mix Windows Key + R, copy and paste it:
ms-windows-store://pdp/?productid=9nblggh4nns1
This made me download the app installer and I quickly reinstalled it (just in case):
At this point, I tried to invoke the command line and execute the winget command to test the package manager, but something strange happened.
HM. I’m not the only one with this problem as there seems to be something buggy during the installation process. No amount of fixes suggested on the GitHub branch could get winget to work for me, and I ended up resorting to a simple install of the GitHub version of the package manager so I could at least play with it. When I did this, everything worked fine:
I have installed Windows Package Manager. Now what?
Let’s have some fun. To get started, you probably want to know everything that can be installed using the Windows Package Manager. It’s simple. Just type wget search into command line and let’s copy. Here’s a small example of what you’ll see:
To install the application, simply enter winget install [app name] . If you need more information about the app, enter winget show [app name] before doing anything else. You can also create a simple script to install multiple applications at the same time, for example:
@echo off Echo Install a bunch of appswinget install winrarif %ERRORLEVEL% EQU 0 Echo WinRAR installed successfully. winget install thunderbirdif %ERRORLEVEL% EQU 0 Echo Thunderbird installed successfully.pause
Copy and paste this into a text file, add as many other applications as you like (by copying and pasting lines 3 and 4, and then changing the application names), and save it as a .BAT file. Whenever you need to reinstall your favorite apps on your PC, launch .BAT – just as if you were using Ninite or another bulk install management app .
What if my app didn’t install correctly? How do I update my apps?
Since this is a preview of the Windows Package Manager, there will inevitably be a few quirks. When I, for example, tried to install GIMP, I was constantly asked to choose one of two versions. Obviously I would like the newest, but this is another variable that I will have to tinker with when creating the script – and something that you will probably only notice if you are trying to install the application and it does not work. Great.
BTW, I apparently installed WhatsApp, but it actually isn’t on my computer. I’m not sure where it was, and if it is installed at all, but that’s it.
And since this is a pre-build build, the package manager is missing important features that you would probably want from a more reliable program. This includes the ability to uninstall an app (which you need to do now through the Windows Control Panel), as well as the even more important ability to update apps that you’ve already installed. Don’t worry, this functionality is coming soon – it just isn’t there yet. If that doesn’t suit you, well , there is always Scoop .