How to Use Winget on Windows 11: Install, Update, and Remove Apps Fast

Winget is the fastest way to install and update apps on Windows 11 — no clicking through installers, no Microsoft Store detours. In this guide you’ll get the exact commands to search for any app, install it, update everything at once, and uninstall the stuff you don’t need — with copy-paste examples you can run right now.

Last updated September 2026 for Windows 11 25H2 and winget 1.28+.

1. Type winget search {Name or Id} to search for the app you want to install. In this example, I used winget search Microsoft to search for Microsoft applications only.
2. winget install {Name or Id} to install an app
3. winget uninstall {Name or Id} to uninstall an app
4. winget features to view a list of experimental features.
5. winget settings to open the settings JSON file.
6. winget list to list all the apps that are installed on your PC.
7. winget install wingetcreate to install winget-create to submit an app package to the community repository.
8. winget export -o {file path} to export a list of all the apps installed on your PC to a file.
9. winget upgrade {Name or ID} to update a specific app on your PC. Optionally, use winget list first to find the exact ID.

Windows Package Manager, otherwise known as winget-cli, is an open-source client that automates installing, upgrading, and managing applications, software, and even games on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

What’s new with winget in 2026

Winget has matured a lot since its 2020 debut. As of 2026 the stable client sits at version 1.28.240 (April 2026), with the 1.29 branch in release-candidate testing on the way to general availability (Wikipedia: Windows Package Manager). Every Windows 11 25H2 machine ships with winget preinstalled through App Installer, so you no longer have to hunt for the client on a fresh PC.

A few things to know this year:

• Configuration files (winget configure) are now stable — you can hand a colleague a single YAML file that installs their entire dev environment: apps, PowerShell modules, WSL distros, and Windows features.
• Improved Microsoft Store integration — winget resolves Store apps by ID and installs them silently, which is huge for scripting first-run setups.
• Better error messages — hash mismatches and blocked installers now print the actual reason instead of a generic failure.
• PowerShell module parity — Microsoft.WinGet.Client lets you script everything winget can do without leaving PowerShell.

If you last used winget in 2022 or 2023, the biggest quality-of-life change is that winget upgrade --all is finally reliable across Store, MSI, and MSIX apps.

What is Windows Package Manager?

If you use Linux, package managers are common — they let you install software from the command line without visiting a website or app store. Windows finally has the same convenience with winget.

On Windows 11 25H2, the winget command line tool is bundled by default as App Installer from the Microsoft Store. It’s also available on Windows 10 1809 and later. App Installer keeps winget itself up to date automatically.

To install an app, run a winget command in Windows Terminal, PowerShell, or Command Prompt. If you want to browse what’s available, tens of thousands of packages are catalogued in the community winget-pkgs repository.

If you’re on a machine where winget isn’t already present, the next section covers how to get it.

3 ways to install winget

Microsoft introduced Windows Package Manager preview at Build 2020 with only two install paths. In 2026 there are three reliable ways to get it on your Windows 11 PC:

1. Update App Installer from the Microsoft Store — the simplest option. Open the Store, search for App Installer, and click Update. This ships winget and keeps it current automatically.
2. Install from the winget-cli GitHub releases page — download the latest .msixbundle and double-click. Useful for offline machines and controlled deployments.
3. Repair via PowerShell — run Repair-WinGetPackageManager -Force -Latest from an elevated PowerShell session (the Microsoft.WinGet.Client module handles this cleanly).

Search, install and uninstall apps

Once winget is installed, here’s how to search for and manage packages on your PC.

1. Search for an app

Use the winget search command to find apps. Open Windows Terminal (Admin) and run:

winget search {Name or ID}

2. Install an app

Use the winget install command with the Name or ID from your search results. The ID might be a series of numbers (Store apps) or a dotted string like Microsoft.PowerShell.

For example, to install Microsoft HoloLens:

winget install 9NBLGGH4QWNX

Some apps require you to accept license agreements before installing.

3. Uninstall an app

winget uninstall 9NBLGGH4QWNX

One of winget’s best tricks: you can uninstall apps you didn’t install with winget in the first place. Just make sure you have the correct Name or ID so you don’t remove the wrong thing.

Common winget problems and fixes

Even in 2026 winget occasionally throws a curveball. Here are the fixes that solve 90% of what you’ll actually hit:

“winget is not recognized”

App Installer isn’t registered for your user. Open PowerShell as admin and run:

Install-Module Microsoft.WinGet.Client -Force; Repair-WinGetPackageManager -Force -Latest

Then close and reopen the terminal. If that fails, grab the latest App Installer .msixbundle from the winget-cli GitHub releases and double-click it.

Hash mismatch on install

The package manifest’s SHA256 doesn’t match the file winget downloaded — usually a temporarily corrupted CDN cache. Wait an hour, or force winget to use a different source with --source msstore if the app is also in the Store.

Upgrade skips an app

Some apps report a nonstandard version string. Try winget upgrade --include-unknown to force winget to attempt upgrades on apps it can’t version-match. For stubborn cases, uninstall and reinstall with winget install --id <PackageId>.

Blocked by administrator policy

Corporate machines sometimes disable winget through Group Policy or restrict the msstore source. Run winget --info to see which sources and policies are active. Ask IT to whitelist winget or add your app to the internal catalog.

Pro tips for winget power users

• Update every installed app in one line: winget upgrade --all --include-unknown --silent — perfect for a monthly maintenance script.
• Pin critical apps to a version: winget pin add --id <PackageId> --version <X.Y> stops upgrade --all from touching apps you’ve locked (e.g., Node.js LTS lines).
• Export and import your app list: winget export -o apps.json on the old PC, then winget import -i apps.json --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements on the new one. Perfect for machine migrations.
• Use configuration files for team onboarding: A single configuration.dsc.yaml can install every app, module, and Windows feature a new hire needs — see the winget configure docs.
• Silent, headless installs for automation: Add --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements to any install command inside a script or MDM policy.
• Search across sources: By default winget checks both the winget community repo and msstore. If you only want Store apps, use --source msstore.

Once these become muscle memory, provisioning a fresh Windows 11 machine drops from an afternoon to about ten minutes.

Advanced winget commands

Beyond search/install/uninstall, winget has a rich command surface. A few favorites:

1. winget settings opens your settings JSON file.
2. winget list lists every app installed on your device.
3. winget install wingetcreate installs WingetCreate, the manifest tool for contributing packages to the community repo.
4. winget export -o apps.json exports your installed apps to a file you can replay on another PC.
5. winget upgrade --all updates every installed app in one shot.

Do you use Windows Package Manager or another package manager on Windows? Let us know in the comments!

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About The Author

Dave W. Shanahan

Dave W. Shanahan is a Microsoft technology writer covering Windows, Xbox, Copilot, Microsoft 365, Surface, and Azure. He founded MSFT News Now to report daily on Microsoft news, product launches, and hands-on how-to guides, and has been writing about the Microsoft ecosystem since 2014.

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