Microsoft has released the Winget console package manager relatively recently to install a range of cost-free and useful software on Windows 10. For the first version, this package manager looks promising, but a novice user may have trouble typing commands to find and install. the necessary packages.
To alleviate this, the Winstall -online service (with GUI, decidedly) can facilitate the search for the necessary programs and their installation, automatically generating a script to quickly install all the necessary software automatically from the official sites. In this brief summary, about using winstall to install programs from the microsoft repository.
How to use Winstall to install Windows software at no cost 10
First, Winstall does not replace Winget, but it makes it easier to use, so you must first install the microsoft package manager, about how to do it (and what it is) in a separate post: installing and using Winget from the package manager to install Windows programs 10. Once installed, follow these steps:
- Go to https://winstall.app/ and search for the programs you need. You can browse the entire catalog that is constantly updated, or you can use search, and the search is done not only by the name of the program, but also by their descriptions (as an example, when requesting Note we will get not only those programs for notes that contain this word in the name). By accessing the section “Applications” of the web portal, you can browse all available programs without having to search for them.
- Once you find a program, you can add it by clicking “Plus” in the upper right corner (in the list of all applications), or highlighting it (on the Winstall home page with the list of popular packages).
- By clicking on the title of the program or on “More information” you can read the full description of the program, go to the developer's official site, download the installer of the program without script (from the official site), select one of the previous versions of the program instead of the latest (not available for all software).
- Once you have generated your required set of programs, Click the button “Generate script”. a command line script will be automatically generated to install all selected programs using winget. Change to “Show PowerShell script” will generate a PowerShell script. This script can be copied and pasted to run on your computer, or you can download a ready-to-use .bat or .ps1 file to automatically install all selected applications.
In summary, the whole procedure is really very simple and I think most, even novice users, will be able to handle it.
Why you might want to install software with a package manager
What might the average user need it for?? As an example, after a clean installation of Windows 10 On your computer, regularly installs the same set of programs and support files: DirectX, Visual C components ++ of different years, .NET Framework, WinRAR or the 7-Zip file, browser web and application programs for different purposes, downloading them from official sites (O, not the best option, installing outdated versions of your files).
Install winget only and create a Winstall script (or use a script previously created from your file; always install the latest versions of the programs, even if it was created a long time ago) automatically install everything you need in almost a single action. . the following is an example of this type of program.
Anyway, not all programs are available in Winget (and consequently Winstall), but the list grows day by day, and you can already download many indispensable and useful things and automate their installation.
