Windows Package Management

Windows Package Management

Installing and managing software with winget, Chocolatey, and Scoop.

winget (Built-in, Win 10+)

# Search
winget search docker
winget search vscode

# Install
winget install -e --id Docker.DockerDesktop
winget install -e --id Microsoft.VisualStudioCode
winget install -e --id Microsoft.VisualStudio.2022.BuildTools

# List installed
winget list

# Upgrade
winget upgrade --all

# Uninstall
winget uninstall --id Docker.DockerDesktop

# Export/Import
winget export -o packages.json
winget import -i packages.json

Chocolatey

# Install choco
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072
iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))

# Search
choco search docker

# Install
choco install docker-desktop -y
choco install vscode -y
choco install cmake --installargs '"ADD_CMAKE_TO_PATH=User"' -y

# Upgrade all
choco upgrade all -y

# Uninstall
choco uninstall docker-desktop -y

# List
choco list --local-only

Scoop (Portable, no admin)

# Install scoop
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
iex "& {$(irm get.scoop.sh)} -RunAsAdmin"

# Add buckets
scoop bucket add extras
scoop bucket add versions

# Search
scoop search docker

# Install
scoop install docker
scoop install vscode
scoop install cmake

# Update all
scoop update *
scoop update --all

# List installed
scoop list

# Uninstall
scoop uninstall docker

Comparison

Pitfalls

• winget sometimes has outdated versions -- use --exact or --id for specificity
• Chocolatey installs to Program Files -- needs admin by default
• Scoop installs to ~\scoop\apps -- no admin needed, not in PATH by default
• Mixing managers can cause conflicts -- stick to one per tool