4 ms·

I am embarrassed about how late I was to learn that WinGet existed. It was only after I came back from years of Ubuntu as a daily driver that I googled "windows

I am embarrassed about how late I was to learn that WinGet existed. It was only after I came back from years of Ubuntu as a daily driver that I googled "windows package manager" and discovered it.

nativeit 1y ago
I am embarrassed for Microsoft with how long it took them to implement WinGet. It still leaves much to be desired, but I guess if you’re used to PowerShell, then weird period-delimited CamelCase package names are probably something that fits your current routine experience anyway. Coming from apt/yum/brew, it feels almost hostile to the user that even the most basic packages must be searched for just to confirm the syntax of their name.
- miyuru 1y ago
  MS did not implement Winget. They stole code from another app called appget. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23331287 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23331287
  - easton 1y ago
    They 'stole' (brainraped?) the idea and some of the implementation ideas, but the code is entirely separate. winget is implemented in very windows-y C++, appget was C#.
    - aaomidi 1y ago
      brainrape is an awful word and you should stop using it.
andix 1y ago
I really prefer Scoop over WinGet. Scoop installs most packages into exactly one folder and sets up shims/links. And it has an unified install/update methodology. WinGet is more or less just downloading the installers and running them, and doesn't properly track the installed applications and isn't always able to update them.
- metaltyphoon 1y ago
  > doesn't properly track the installed applications and isn't always able to update them. How so? I’ve been using it for years and haven’t had a problem yet updating all applications at once.
  - trallnag 1y ago
    It depends on the application. Things can get tricky with applications that are installed with WinGet but come with mechanisms to update themselves. If this self-update skips adjusting the right knobs and values in the registry, WinGet will assume that the application is still on the initial version. For example, this is the case with Obsidian.
pjerem 1y ago
Don’t be too embarrassed, WinGet is only 5 years old and is nothing more than an alternative to Scoop and Choco. It’s « just » a tool which will fetch installation manifests on a centralized Microsoft GitHub repository and execute it. Exactly like brew or chocolatey. It’s fine for a third party « package manager » but it feels pretty weak for an official system tool. Also, if I’m not wrong, it’s only available as a CLI tool which makes it pretty useless for 95 percent of Windows users and for developers to distribute software with it. The thing is useful for sure but it’s far from a Linux package manager.
- 0points 1y ago
  > Also, if I’m not wrong, it’s only available as a CLI tool which makes it pretty useless for 95 percent of Windows users and for developers to distribute software with it. Back in my day this would be seen as an exercise left for the user, and thus a new junior dev was born building a front end.
  - consumer451 1y ago
    These comments led me to searching winget gui. UniGetUI looks really cool. https://github.com/marticliment/UniGetUI https://github.com/marticliment/UniGetUI - 16.2k stars
    - WorldMaker 1y ago
      I've also been quickly impressed this week with the winget UI now provided inside Command Palette, the new PowerToy "Sherlock/Spotlight" search tool.
    - dabockster 1y ago
      It is cool and I use it regularly. But keep in mind that it’s yet another one person OSS project and can bite the dust *at any time*. If you have the ability to financially support them or contribute code somehow, do it.
      - 1y ago

I am embarrassed about how late I was to learn that WinGet existed. It was only after I came back from years of Ubuntu as a daily driver that I googled "windows package manager" and discovered it.

nativeit 1y ago

I am embarrassed for Microsoft with how long it took them to implement WinGet. It still leaves much to be desired, but I guess if you’re used to PowerShell, then weird period-delimited CamelCase package names are probably something that fits your current routine experience anyway. Coming from apt/yum/brew, it feels almost hostile to the user that even the most basic packages must be searched for just to confirm the syntax of their name.

miyuru 1y ago
MS did not implement Winget. They stole code from another app called appget. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23331287 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23331287
- easton 1y ago
  They 'stole' (brainraped?) the idea and some of the implementation ideas, but the code is entirely separate. winget is implemented in very windows-y C++, appget was C#.
  - aaomidi 1y ago
    brainrape is an awful word and you should stop using it.

andix 1y ago

I really prefer Scoop over WinGet. Scoop installs most packages into exactly one folder and sets up shims/links. And it has an unified install/update methodology. WinGet is more or less just downloading the installers and running them, and doesn't properly track the installed applications and isn't always able to update them.

metaltyphoon 1y ago
> doesn't properly track the installed applications and isn't always able to update them. How so? I’ve been using it for years and haven’t had a problem yet updating all applications at once.
- trallnag 1y ago
  It depends on the application. Things can get tricky with applications that are installed with WinGet but come with mechanisms to update themselves. If this self-update skips adjusting the right knobs and values in the registry, WinGet will assume that the application is still on the initial version. For example, this is the case with Obsidian.

pjerem 1y ago

Don’t be too embarrassed, WinGet is only 5 years old and is nothing more than an alternative to Scoop and Choco. It’s « just » a tool which will fetch installation manifests on a centralized Microsoft GitHub repository and execute it. Exactly like brew or chocolatey. It’s fine for a third party « package manager » but it feels pretty weak for an official system tool. Also, if I’m not wrong, it’s only available as a CLI tool which makes it pretty useless for 95 percent of Windows users and for developers to distribute software with it. The thing is useful for sure but it’s far from a Linux package manager.

0points 1y ago
> Also, if I’m not wrong, it’s only available as a CLI tool which makes it pretty useless for 95 percent of Windows users and for developers to distribute software with it. Back in my day this would be seen as an exercise left for the user, and thus a new junior dev was born building a front end.
- consumer451 1y ago
  These comments led me to searching winget gui. UniGetUI looks really cool. https://github.com/marticliment/UniGetUI https://github.com/marticliment/UniGetUI - 16.2k stars
  - WorldMaker 1y ago
    I've also been quickly impressed this week with the winget UI now provided inside Command Palette, the new PowerToy "Sherlock/Spotlight" search tool.
  - dabockster 1y ago
    It is cool and I use it regularly. But keep in mind that it’s yet another one person OSS project and can bite the dust *at any time*. If you have the ability to financially support them or contribute code somehow, do it.
    - 1y ago