The command-line client for Windows Package Manager is winget. It is the command users type in Windows Terminal, Command Prompt, or PowerShell to search for, install, upgrade, and remove applications.
Microsoft announced Windows Package Manager at its Build developer conference in May 2020, and version 1.0 arrived in May 2021. The project is open source, with its client code hosted on GitHub. Its community repository stores package manifests describing software, installers, versions, hashes, and installation behavior.
Winget is often confused with Chocolatey or Scoop, which are separate package-management projects. NuGet is also different: it primarily distributes software packages for the .NET development ecosystem, whereas winget targets applications installed on Windows computers. The command can handle several installer formats, including EXE, MSI, and MSIX.
A neighbouring fact many users discover next is that winget is a client, not merely a repository. It connects commands such as “winget search,” “winget install,” and “winget upgrade” to package sources and validation services, including hash checking and Microsoft security analysis.