Windows 10 and 11 offer a number of practical functions, but sometimes hide them a little too well. This also includes “winget”, which I haven’t wanted to do without since I last re-set up my laptop.
Version:Build 22H2
Languages:German, English
License:Full version
Platforms: Windows, Windows 9x
A comment by Robert Kohlick.
Setting up new Windows systems: Everything goes faster with winget
It’s the same thing every time: I almost complete the complete setup of a brand new Windows computer in my sleep. Start Edge, download and install Chrome, make Chrome the default browser and then gradually load one program after the other from the Internet. Steam, Discord, Spotify, DaVinci Resolve, Affinity Photo – there’s a lot of software coming together.
But even though I now know the procedure inside and out, the fun still takes a surprisingly long time. Each time you navigate to separate websites with your browser, first download the setup and then start the installation – It has to be faster too!
And in fact, since 2020, there has been a practical little tool under Windows that massively simplifies exactly such tasks and recently completely knocked my socks off when setting up my new laptop: winget.
The useful function can be used directly via the terminal (command line) of Windows 10 and Windows 11 saves you the annoying installation process via any annoying installers. If you want to download the Chrome browser, simply type the following command in the command line:
winget install “google chrome”
In Windows PowerShell, which you can also use to use winget, it looks like this:
Install Google Chrome quickly and easily via the terminal – no problem thanks to winget (Image source: Screenshot GIGA)
As soon as you press Enter, the tool starts downloading Chrome and installing it directly – without annoying prompts or annoying setups. And as soon as one installation is completed, you can start the next one straight away. Steam, Spotify, Discord – A number of programs and apps can be installed quickly in this way. Even better: With the command winget upgrade –all you can update all programs installed via winget to the latest version in one go.
Colleague Severin explains the most important functions of winget again in a quick video run-through:
Hidden Windows tool: winget isn’t perfect, but it’s incredibly useful
For Linux users, the whole thing is old hat. Most users have been using the command line for what feels like an eternity to install programs via package managers like apt – but for me as a primary Windows user, this process is almost magical.
The only drawback: By no means all programs can currently be downloaded directly to the PC using the winget function. For example, I still had to install DaVinci Resolve and Affinity Photo in the classic way using setups that I was allowed to download from the manufacturers’ websites.
But honestly: what the heck? Even though I can’t complete the entire setup process via winget yet, The bottom line is that the practical tool saves me from countless and, above all, incredibly annoying clicks – and hopefully you too in the future.
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