This is a review of WingetUI, an open source program for Windows that many users will find useful.
I wrote an article on the package manager winget for Windows yesterday on Ghacks. It is an integrated command line tool in newer versions of Windows to uninstall, install or update programs.
WingetUI takes the capabilities of winget and puts a shiny user interface around them. If you prefer to use a graphical user interface, WingetUI is a great option.
First the basics. WingetUI is an open source application for Windows. You can download the latest version from its GitHub respository and install it or run a portable version.
WingetUI supports winget but also other package manager and tools. These include Scoop, Chocolatey, Pip, Npm and PowerShell Gallery. Advanced users may configure the client to do their bidding exactly, but it works well without any advanced configuring.
WingetUI: core functionality
The main WingetUI interface is divided into three tabs: discover packages, software updates, and installed packages.
- Discover packages — This tab features a search to find programs and options to install one or multiple apps at once.
- Software updates — This tab checks for updates of installed programs. You may update all or some programs using it.
- Installed packages — The tab lists the installed programs of the system.
Discover Packages
Use this to find applications to install. Just type an application name or part of it in the search field and wait for the results to show up.
The program lists package names and IDs, the available version and the source. Note that you may change sources in the preferences. If you just want to use winget, you need to disable all other sources. Some sources, for instance Scoop, are disabled by default.
A double-click on a file display additional information about it. This may include a list of features, a short description and tags.
WingetUI lists package parameters as well, which may be used to change installation parameters.
Check one or multiple programs and select “install selected packages” to download and install them on the system. Several options are available at the top:
- Install selected packages with administrative rights.
- Skip the hash check when installing the selected packages.
- Do an interactive install for the selected packages.
Unless you activate the interactive install option, you may notice that most installations happen silently in the background for the most part.
Software Updates in WingetUI
The Software Updater lists all installed applications that are not up to date. It lists names and IDs, as well as the installed version and the latest version.
You may use it to update all out of date apps in one swift operation. Just activate the “update selected packages” button to download and install updates for the selected Windows programs.
It is a quick and easy process. Note that you may still get UAC prompts to allow updates, but it is definitely quicker than updating programs manually.
A right-click displays some options. You may ignore certain updates using the right-click menu. This is important if you don’t want a program to install a certain update. One reason for that is that the update may introduce bugs or changes that you want to avoid.
The package details offer information, including links to the official websites.
Installed Packages
Installed packages offers an overview of all programs installed on the system. WingetUI displays names, versions and the installation source, which is useful information.
You may use the information to check the source, e.g., if it was installed locally, from the Microsoft Store or using a package manager.
While you may barely use native Windows apps or Microsoft Store apps, others may appreciate the functionality.
Closing Words
WingetUI is a powerful frontend for winget and some other package managers. It is a useful tool to find outdated programs on a Windows system and get these updated in batch mode.
While it may not pick up all oudated programs, as it does not support portable apps installed from other sources, it does a great job at taking care of the rest.
Running it from time to time is a good way of keeping a system’s software up to date.
Pros:
Most updates of any utility that is available right now.
Quiet updates/reinstallations.
Cons:
It sometimes confuses free and pro versions of programs both ways. So some updates fail.
Have to add update. They updated the program and it now has a new name. The problem with new program is that it does not see any updates, so it is useless. Get original version of WingetUI, disable program update in settings and prevent WingetUI update from appearing in Windows startup settings.