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Windows
Installer
What are the best Windows package managers?
16
Options
Considered
722
User
Recs.
Dec 17, 2023
Last
Updated
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14
Options
Considered
Best Windows package managers
Price
Last Updated
74
Scoop
Open Source
Dec 17, 2023
62
Chocolatey
Free / paid
Dec 17, 2023
--
RuckZuck
0
Jun 21, 2023
--
winget
FREE
Jul 5, 2023
--
MSYS2
Free
Aug 13, 2023
See Full List
74
Scoop
My Rec
ommendation
for
Scoop
My Recommendation for
Scoop
All
21
Experiences
2
Pros
17
Cons
2
Top
Pro
•••
Free and Open Source
Github repo can be found here.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Has a smaller selection of packages than Chocolatey
While Chocolatey seems to have a huge selection of packages including some windows updates, Scoop has a much smaller selection mainly focused on command-line tools. However, it can be argued that Scoop is focusing on a different type of setup than Chocolatey so package count may not be a good comparison.
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Asad. Gharighi's Experience
Works as expected like a charm.
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Top
Pro
•••
Absolutely zero costs
Unlike some competitors, there is no free nor paid version, simply the FLOSS software as it is built.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Doesn't handle orphan packages
Package maintainers can add other needed packages, but if a package gets uninstalled, it doesn't mark other packages as orphans. (No package relation trees)
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ResourcefulStilbon's Experience
its very popular
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Top
Pro
•••
App installs are independent and self-contained; therefore, they have fewer conflicts and are easier to uninstall
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Apps are installed without requiring admin permission
Installing for all users requires admin permissions in order to be secure, so scoop installs without that requiring an elevated command prompt.
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Top
Pro
•••
App packages install locally (so users can preserve their own environment) or globally
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Users can easily create their own apps and collections of apps
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Great help available on GitHub Wiki
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Good CLI UX
Packages have well-defined, simple names, without any unnecessary duplication, and are actively maintained. If you are used to Homebrew in OSX, you will (almost) feel at home.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Installed packages verified by checksums
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to upgrade installed packages
Easy to upgrade installed packages, unlike in Chocolately which makes you pay for upgrade feature.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Customisable selection
If the standard package selection isn't enough for you, you can easily find additional "buckets" that suit your needs. You can also create your own and share them. See here.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Simple versioning model for dependencies
In Chocolatey, if a package declares dependencies on a bad version of a package, installation or upgrade might break. Scoop dependencies are the latest version of a package, which reduces the chance of things breaking.
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Top
Pro
•••
Sets reasonable default configuration options for apps
E.g. installing npm configures the global package prefix to your local app folder, and curl includes the Mozilla CA list.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
All default packages are portable with a few exceptions
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Top
Pro
•••
Great selection of apps for programmers and experienced users
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Top
Pro
•••
Does not clog your Program Files folder
Many installers leave behind a folder in your program files & program files (x86) folder. Since Scoop does not normally touch the folder, there is no problem of clogging it.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Support for ARM64
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Open Source
Recommend
200
25
62
Chocolatey
My Rec
ommendation
for
Chocolatey
My Recommendation for
Chocolatey
All
30
Experiences
4
Pros
17
Cons
9
Top
Pro
•••
Large number of applications/utilities available
Chocolatey has a massive community package repository of installs (more than 4,000 packages), and its open nature allows everyone to contribute more as needed.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Sometimes hard to know which package to install from community package repository
The community repository contains multiple packages with similar names, making it hard to know which one to install. This is of course only related to using Chocolatey with the community repository, and you can look up the number of downloads to see which are the most widely used.
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Malachi Austin's Experience
Chocolatey is extremely useful in providing a package manager similar to those available on UNIX-based systems. I recommend it for anyone looking for a Aptitude/YUM-like package manager.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Sieg
Installs silently without crapware.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Some package installs aren't good or polished or don't install well
Macrium downloads the online installer, 7-zip doesn't associate files, PotPlayer is outdated, etc.
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DreamerVacuna's Experience
Large repo and easy to use, great for a large number of VM's.
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Top
Pro
•••
Easy to use
Just open powershell and type choco install firefox to install Firefox, or choco install java to install Java.
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Top
Con
•••
Unable to easily change your install directory in the free version
In the free version you must know the native installer switches and pass them through with install args. In the paid versions you have a ubiquitous install directory option where Chocolatey determines how to properly pass that to the underlying native installer. Details on the differences.
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InterestingLibertas's Experience
I have been using this for years in setting up machines or just running stuff on CI/CD and it's just awesome
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Top
Pro
•••
Straightforward install process
To install Chocolatey simply copy the text from their site and paste it into either cmd.exe or powershell.
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Top
Con
•••
Buggy
Slow, many packages fail to install, and config can corrupt causing it to not be able to manage packages anymore, leading to a bunch of installed and non-updateable software
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CaringAdroa's Experience
very cool
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Top
Pro
•••
Upgrade all software with one command
choco upgrade all is like Windows Update for all of your 3rd party software. ... or for the more succinct command use 'cup' !!
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Top
Con
•••
Incomplete and conflicting package options
Not enough maintenance done to package library so there are different similarly-named or -versioned packages available, some broken and some not.
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Top
Pro
•••
Downloaded files are verified by checksums
Chocolatey requires checksums by default for files downloaded over non-secure locations and highly recommends it for HTTPS/SSL locations. It is moving towards requiring checkums by default for downloading from secure locations.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Can not download asynchronously
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Manages the entire software lifecycle
From install to upgrade to uninstall, Chocolatey manages the whole process.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No support for ARM64
Users with Windows on Arm can't install native ARM64 binaries. Apps installed with Chocolatey run slower and need more resources on Windows on Arm because they have to be emulated.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Scriptable
You can put Chocolatey install commands into your powershell scripts.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Uploading packages can be time consuming
It can take weeks to have a package accepted and with a fair amount of resubmitting for the dev/ maintainer.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Free and open source
It's licensed under Apache License 2.0 with source code available on GitHub.
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Top
Con
•••
Doesn't care about supporting the community
They used the community to make it the largest repository of packages. Now that they're the de facto standard package manager, they only care to support those that pay them and refuse to fix problems with popular packages.
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Top
Pro
•••
Decentralized package sources
Packages can be installed from multiple sources, including private sources.
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Top
Pro
•••
Builds on technologies you know
Unattended installation and PowerShell.
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Top
Pro
•••
GUI available
There's a package called ChocolateyGUI that can be installed and lets you use Chocolatey with a UI frontend.
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Top
Pro
•••
Integrates with almost every configuration management / infrastructure automation / RMM tool
Chocolatey integrates with almost every infrastructure automation tool out there.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Support and features available for organizations
There is a business edition available for organizations that need more support. The business edition also includes a Package Synchronizer, Package Internalizer, Package Builder, and a host of other features.
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Top
Pro
•••
Can be extended with PowerShell
Chocolatey allows installing extension packages that add PowerShell functions to your package automation scripts.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
More Selection
It has programs that can't be found in scoop or ninite.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Custom sources
It has ability to add custom sources.
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Free / paid
Recommend
205
49
--
RuckZuck
My Rec
ommendation
for
RuckZuck
My Recommendation for
RuckZuck
All
5
Pros
4
Cons
1
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to-the-point installation of apps
See More
Top
Con
•••
Apps available less comphrehensie in scope then other options in this category
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Open Source
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Integration with SCCM
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Scriptable
See More
Hide
See All
0
Recommend
39
--
winget
My Rec
ommendation
for
winget
My Recommendation for
winget
All
11
Experiences
4
Pros
3
Cons
4
Top
Pro
•••
Open Source
Maintained by Microsoft itself.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Difficult setup which requires some research and time to find out the appropriate apps to be installed
See More
CourteousNabia's Experience
Not particularly Intuitive
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Installed by default on current versions of Windows
There is no setup. It just works.
See More
Top
Con
•••
A year after its release, basic or common libraries are missing
There is no PHP, MySQL or MariaDB. It is useless.
See More
SuaveTellumo's Experience
Doesn't act as a "package installer" but rather just "exe finder" If a package has a "setup" process it still presents a UI for you to fill out rather than installing in the background
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Top
Pro
•••
Extremly useful once passed the hurdle of settting up winget
See More
Top
Con
•••
Not supported on Windows 7
13% of Windows users still use Windows 7, including the bank system. This is shouldn't be ignored.
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PerseveringEos's Experience
Lightweight, no additional installation required
See More
Top
Con
•••
Doesn't install all packages in the background
It still pops up the setup Window rather than running purely in the background.
See More
ModestFortuna's Experience
winget upgrade --all even updated programs I installed other ways.
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Hide
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FREE
Recommend
32
4
--
MSYS2
My Rec
ommendation
for
MSYS2
My Recommendation for
MSYS2
All
2
Pros
2
Top
Pro
•••
Great package manager (Pacman) for Windows
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easy Install
Easily install most linux command line tools.
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Hide
Free
Recommend
17
2
--
Chocolatey GUI
My Rec
ommendation
for
Chocolatey GUI
My Recommendation for
Chocolatey GUI
Hide
Get it
here
Recommend
11
43
Ninite
My Rec
ommendation
for
Ninite
My Recommendation for
Ninite
All
12
Experiences
2
Pros
7
Cons
3
Top
Con
•••
Limited selection of apps
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Handles updates for you
Save yourself from having to manually update all those small apps that don't auto-update themselves.
See More
ConvivialEurytus's Experience
It has never downloaded anything else then what I choose, and there is no virus in the downloads. But, the free edition is a little limited. Still, it has what you need to get started.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Installs apps only in their default location
Very unfortunate for those having their system on a budget or even mid-tier SSD.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Well adapted to the Windows environment
See More
David Aslan French's Experience
Ninite has a very limited selection of apps, and not even the best free apps in their categories. It as really cool and good in 2010 but since then has really suffered. The web, and applications have moved on. Not worth using now imo.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No command-line interface in free version
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Install in bulk, without the restarts
Perfect for getting a fresh install of Window up to speed in as little time as possible.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
No toolbars or extra junk
Ninite's installation does not install "extra features" offered during installation.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Saves you from manually filling in all the details of installation
Installs apps to their default locations, using your PC's language or one you choose, using Internet Explorer's proxy settings (so you can quickly get Chrome, Firefox, or Opera up and running on a fresh Window install).
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Top
Pro
•••
Curated list of commonly used quality software
Everything from Steam and iTunes to Putty and Eclipse - likely has most, if not all of the major free applications you use on a regular basis. Check the website for the full list.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Verifies file checksums
Ninite makes sure that you've downloaded the right file, and that it's not corrupted, by checking the file checksums for each application. This means that you're less likely to end up with a buggy app, or to accidentally download malware/viruses, all with no extra work.
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Hide
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Free / paid
Recommend
29
11
--
AppGet
My Rec
ommendation
for
AppGet
My Recommendation for
AppGet
Hide
FREE
Recommend
15
1
--
Windows Remix
My Rec
ommendation
for
Windows Remix
My Recommendation for
Windows Remix
All
5
Experiences
2
Pros
1
Cons
2
Top
Pro
•••
ClickOnce
No software needed. Install freeware directly from the website with Microsoft ClickOnce technology.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Doesn't work for all browsers
It only works on Chrome, Chromium, IE, or edge
See More
Redsandro's Experience
This is my first stop to install the basics on a fresh installation of Windows.
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Top
Con
•••
No command line interface
See More
TirelessYucahu's Experience
Requires Chrome, Chromium, IE, or edge and I use firefox
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Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
13
2
--
Yarn
My Rec
ommendation
for
Yarn
My Recommendation for
Yarn
All
7
Pros
7
Top
Pro
•••
Built by the community for the community
Even though it's backed by Facebook, Yarn is built as a community project first and foremost. It's completely open source and hosted on Github. It's released under a standard open source client and has its own GitHub organization and set up to work under the same governance model that other successful projects have used in the past, such as Rust and Ember. All of this means that both existing and new contributors will always work together to improve the product and introduce new features while also keeping in mind suggestions coming from the community.
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Top
Pro
•••
Backed by Facebook and Google
Was created in a collaboration of Facebook with Exponent, Google and Tilde.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Offline mode
If you've installed a package before, you can install it again without any internet connection.
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Top
Pro
•••
The same results will be yielded every time yarn is run in a repository
One of the most important aspects of Yarn is determinism (predictability). The lock file ensures that the same dependencies will always be installed in the same way and order regardless of the machine for a given repository.
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Top
Pro
•••
Security is put at the forefront
Even though it's still in its early stages of development, security is one of the core values on which Yarn is built. It uses checksums to verify the integrity of every package before executing its code. This also helps avoiding errors related to faulty caching or captive portals. Further steps are also being taken to improve the security of Yarn which will be implemented in the future.
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Top
Pro
•••
Good documentation
It looks like it has good documentation.
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Top
Pro
•••
Can tell you why a package was installed
yarn why <query> can tell you why a package was installed and what other packages depend on it.
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FREE
Recommend
4
--
OneGet
My Rec
ommendation
for
OneGet
My Recommendation for
OneGet
All
2
Pros
1
Cons
1
Top
Pro
•••
Native Package Manager, included in Windows10
See More
Top
Con
•••
No user-oriented packages
Does not contain consumer software.
See More
Hide
Get it
here
Recommend
23
2
--
Npackd
My Rec
ommendation
for
Npackd
My Recommendation for
Npackd
All
6
Pros
4
Cons
2
Top
Pro
•••
Offers both GUI and command-line interface
See More
Top
Con
•••
The documentation is not very extensive
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Free and open-source
No paid edition
See More
Top
Con
•••
Smaller selection of packages
While currently offering over 1000 packages with the most common software already available, it does not cover as much as Chocolatey.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Can work with SW installed outside of Npackd
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Contains no adware or additional unrelated software
See More
Hide
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Free
Recommend
10
4
--
just-install
My Rec
ommendation
for
just-install
My Recommendation for
just-install
All
6
Experiences
1
Pros
3
Cons
2
Top
Pro
•••
Open source, free and libre
https://github.com/just-install/just-install
See More
Top
Con
•••
Limited package selection
Since project is open source there is way to add new packages, but you'll have to figure out how to configure new package and submit pull request. There's no army of volunteers responding to requests.
See More
VivaciousDespoina's Experience
Simple, direct, usually just works. Command line.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Works within Windows guidelines
The programs are listed in Control Panel and can be uninstalled using standard Windows procedure. Downloads from original source, doesn't repackage. It just automates the install process, skipping prompts and dialogs.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Requires admin command shell, doesn't have built-in UAC.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Can install bundles, without needing command line parameters
Like Ninite, you can create a custom .exe installer which automatically downloads and installs a package selection -- no command line switches needed. https://just-install.it/customizer.html
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
7
--
Novus
My Rec
ommendation
for
Novus
My Recommendation for
Novus
All
8
Experiences
1
Pros
5
Cons
2
Top
Pro
•••
Extremely Fast Installations
Using multithreaded downloads, Novus installs packages 8 times faster
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Top
Con
•••
Shortage of packages
Novus is still in development, and does not have a lot of packages
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NonchalantErecura's Experience
Novus is an amazing package manager and I always use this as it installs so much faster.
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Top
Pro
•••
Non Admin Installations
Novus can install any package without an admin terminal. It automatically elevates to an admin terminal without bypassing UAC (User Access Control)
See More
Top
Con
•••
It does not option to pass arguments to the native installer in the package
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Open Source
Novus is open source (https://github.com/novus-package-manager/novus) This makes it easier for people to contribute and add package manifests
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Top
Pro
•••
Quit and Forcequit Feature
Novus has the ability to easily quit and forcequit applications. This has been extremely useful for me, especially when task manager itself is unresponsive
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Top
Pro
•••
Quit and Forcequit Feature
Novus has the ability to easily quit and forcequit applications. This has been extremely useful for me, especially when task manager itself is unresponsive
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FREE
Recommend
2
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My Rec
ommendation
for
Windows IIS FTP
My Recommendation for
Windows IIS FTP
Get it
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5
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RemixOS
My Rec
ommendation
for
RemixOS
My Recommendation for
RemixOS
$0
Recommend
10
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