Install winget from PowerShell

winget, a command line package manager, doesn't have a command line installer? 🤣 Now it does! 😊

[!NOTE] Microsoft released some new short URLs that work well for installing winget. This is the new script that is smaller and faster at installing winget!

Table of Contents

• Requirements
• Features
• Script Functionality
• Setup
  • Method 1 - PowerShell Gallery
  • Usage
  • Method 2 - One Line Command (Runs Immediately)
  • Option A: asheroto.com short URL
  • Option B: winget.pro short URL
  • Option C: direct release URL
  • Method 3 - Download Locally and Run
• Parameters
  • Example Parameters Usage
• Global Variables
  • Example Global Variables Usage
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing

Requirements

[!NOTE] Server 2019 is now supported thanks to MatthiasGuelck in PR #43.

• Requires PowerShell running with Administrator rights
  • winget does not officially support installation or use of the SYSTEM account
• Compatible with:
  • Windows 10 (Version 1809 or higher)
  • Windows 11
  • Server 2019/2022
  • Windows Sandbox
• Not compatible with:
  • Server 2016 or lower (winget not supported)

Features

• Installs winget-cli directly from PowerShell
• Always fetches the latest winget version
• Automatically verifies OS compatibility
• Determines and installs the appropriate prerequisites based on OS version
• Supports x86/x64 and arm/arm64 architectures
• Allows bypassing of existing winget installation verification through -Force parameter or $Force session variable
• Supports irm/iex one-line command using short URL
• Supports automatically relaunching in conhost and ending active processes associated with winget that could interfere with the installation
• Code is hosted on PowerShell Gallery

Script Functionality

• Identifies processor architecture to decide which prerequisites are needed (x86/x64 or arm/arm64)
• Checks Windows OS version for compatibility (Windows 10, Windows 11, Server 2019/2022)
• If Windows 10, verifies release ID for compatibility (must be 1809 or newer)
• Uses the UI.Xaml and VCLibs as recommended by Microsoft
• The winget-cli license is downloaded using the latest version from GitHub
• winget-cli is then installed using the latest version from GitHub
• Server 2019 only
  • Installs Visual C++ Redistributable if version 14 or higher is not already installed
  • Adjust access rights & PATH environment variable
• Runs command registration if the winget command is not detected at the end of installation

Setup

Method 1 - PowerShell Gallery

[!TIP] If you want to trust PSGallery so you aren't prompted each time you run this command, or if you're scripting this and want to ensure the script isn't interrupted the first time it runs...

Install-PackageProvider -Name "NuGet" -Force
Set-PSRepository -Name "PSGallery" -InstallationPolicy Trusted

This is the recommended method, because it always gets the public release that has been tested, it's easy to remember, and supports all parameters.

Open PowerShell as Administrator and type

Install-Script winget-install -Force

Follow the prompts to complete the installation (you can tap A to accept all prompts or Y to select them individually.

Note: -Force is optional but recommended, as it will force the script to update if it is outdated. If you do not use -Force, it will not overwrite the script if outdated.

Usage

winget-install

If winget is already installed, you can use the -Force parameter to force the script to run anyway.

The script is published on PowerShell Gallery under winget-install.

Method 2 - One Line Command (Runs Immediately)

The URL asheroto.com/winget always redirects to the latest code-signed release of the script.

If you just need to run the basic script without any parameters, you can use the following one-line command:

Option A: asheroto.com short URL

irm asheroto.com/winget | iex

Due to the nature of how PowerShell works, you won't be able to use any parameters like -Force with this command line. You can set the global variable $Force to $true and the script should pick up on it (more info), but if for some reason that doesn't work or you absolutely need to use a one-line command with parameters, you can use the following:

&([ScriptBlock]::Create((irm asheroto.com/winget))) -Force

Option B: winget.pro short URL

To make it easier to remember, you can also use the URL winget.pro which redirects to the same URL. This URL is provided courtesy of Omaha Consulting.

irm winget.pro | iex

Due to the nature of how PowerShell works, you won't be able to use any parameters like -Force with this command line. You can set the global variable $Force to $true and the script should pick up on it (more info), but if for some reason that doesn't work or you absolutely need to use a one-line command with parameters, you can use the following:

&([ScriptBlock]::Create((irm winget.pro))) -Force

Option C: direct release URL

Alternatively, you can of course use the latest code-signed release URL directly:

irm https://github.com/asheroto/winget-install/releases/latest/download/winget-install.ps1 | iex

Method 3 - Download Locally and Run

As a more conventional approach, download the latest winget-install.ps1 from Releases, then run the script as follows:

.\winget-install.ps1

You can use the -Force or -ForceClose parameters if needed, or use $Force = $true and $ForceClose = $true global session variables if preferred.

[!TIP] If for some reason your PowerShell window closes at the end of the script and you don't want it to, or don't want your other scripts to be interrupted, you can wrap the command in a powershell "COMMAND HERE". For example, powershell "irm asheroto.com/winget | iex".

Parameters

No parameters are required to run the script, but there are some optional parameters to use if needed.

Example Parameters Usage

winget-install -Force

Global Variables

Global variables are optional and are only needed if you don't want to use parameters. They can be set before running the script, or you can set them in your PowerShell profile to always use them.

Example Global Variables Usage

$Force = $true
winget-install

Troubleshooting

• Before releasing a new version, the script is tested on a clean install of Windows 10 22H2, Server 2022 21H2, and Windows 11 22H2.
• If you run into an issue, please ensure your system is compatible & fully updated.
• Sometimes PowerShell accidentally closes the window before you can read the output, so you can use the -Wait parameter to pause the script for a few seconds before exiting if this is happening on your system.
• Try running winget-install again, sometimes the script will fail due to a temporary issue with the prerequisite server URLs.
• Try using the -Debug parameters to see if it provides any additional information.
• If you're getting a resource in use error message, run the script again with the -ForceClose parameter.
• Try installing winget manually to see if the issue exists with winget itself.
• If the issue occurs when installing winget manually, please open an issue on the winget-cli repo (unrelated to this script).
• Check the winget-cli Troubleshooting Guide.
• Note that winget does not officially support installing or running with the SYSTEM account.
• If the problem only occurs when using this script, please open an issue here.

Contributing

If you'd like to help develop this project: fork the repo, edit the code, then submit a pull request. 😊

To do list

• [x] Use aka.ms shortened URLs and refactor script.
• [x] Add support for Server 2019 (PR #43).
• [ ] Improve error/exit handling by moving logic into its own functions. Remove the exit command to avoid script exit. This way we let the script exit naturally and may not even need the Wait param.