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Support for Winget feed
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Sorry for bringing an old topic back, but this is the one linked from the ProGet docs with regards to winget!
Any more news on if/when this may be coming to PG?
Would be a lot easier using built in commands to install software rather than having to try and install choco or some other system.
Thanks for all the great work. -
Hi @matt-lowe
You're the first person to ask about it in three years. I kinda forget it's a thing :)
So since then, feeds are a lot easier to build.. but I also don't want to implement the next Bower feed
I don't remember much interest in WinGet from our WinOps userbase... and I only occasionally see mention of it on
Twitter𝕏. I think Chocolatey has a lot more traction and I get the impression that it's more capable, stable, and mature. And it's very well supported.What's your impression? Have you been using it? What's better about WinGet over Chocolatey?
I think this somewhat recent Reddit comment captures the general sentiments about Microsoft projects like WinGet:
AFAIK, winget was/is a Microsoft led attempt to offer something instead of everyone using chocolately. Sadly though, it's not a replacement.
That is, Microsoft has an "answer", but not necessarily commitment behind winget. So, unknown how well packages sitting behind winget will be maintained. And historically, it has been under scrutiny. Is it good now? Not sure anyone can ever say for sure.
Now, there will be those that say "fixed", today's winget isn't like the absolute mess it was early on. And that might be true. But how would we (the customer) know? Again, biggest problem with Microsoft is the "not knowing". Or the "deception" of making a project look "better" and then realizing it was all just a ruse.
Up to you. Today's weather report, winget is "good". But can't really say anything about tomorrow. Oh, and thank you Microsoft for making yet another ambiguous thing (not handling its delivery, deployment or long term outlook well).The fact that their package repository is just stupidly large GitHub repo maintained with pull requests is concerning. The discussion with @sylvain-martel_3976 above - I think they were just considering WinGet, and didn't use it yet. Not sure what ever happened with that.
Anyway let me know your thoughts!
Alex
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Hi @apxltd
I can whole heartedly agree with that Reddit post!
I would personally be more than happy to use choco for software delivery, but some IT managers are very much stuck on the 'Microsoft' rut and are unable to see past it, no matter the cost and time it adds to most IT management :(
TBH the only way I managed to get ProGet installed was for managing PowerShell scripts for a small project and have managed to keep it ticking over with other options.
The only real advantages winget has over any other more mature and well written systems are, its a microsoft product and its built into windows from the start. It may also be easier to use than choco when combined with InTune although i have not explored this very much so far.Thanks for such a quick reply.
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Thanks for clarifying @matt-lowe!
some IT managers are very much stuck on the 'Microsoft' rut and are unable to see past it, no matter the cost and time it adds to most IT management
...
TBH the only way I managed to get ProGet installed was for managing PowerShell scripts for a small project and have managed to keep it ticking over with other options.I've definitely heard that... personally I think this is where vendor/sales can really come in and make a difference.
Sometimes it's a lot harder to sell things internally... it's not so much about "giving a sales pitch" but more that decision makers can have a different relationship with sales execs.
It's one thing to blow off a vendor demo or delay a project... but team morale can get shot if you do that internally, so it's safer to stick to status quo. And of course, sales execs can challenge the status quo in a much more direct way... trying that as an employee might be uncomfortable or feel insubordinate.
Anyway this isn't related to WinGet, but we might be able to help with the bigger picture -- might be worth spending 15-20 minutes just talking through it and seeing if there's any paths to go from there. We're seeing a lot of movement on the WinOps/ProGet/Chocolatey in big orgs, so clearly they're getting something over DIY solutions or WinGet.
Feel free to shoot a note at the contact form, and we'll take it from there!
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@sylvain-martel_3976 Please add a feed for winget. It is the first party tool from MS and has the benefit of being "in the box". It has come a long way since 2021 and we use it exclusively.
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Hi @mikes_4196 ,
Per the discussion above... can you tell me a bit about "we" (i.e. the size/profile of your organization) and describe how you are using winget in your organization? And why did you use WinGet instead of Chocolatey?
Per the discussion above, it does not look like a tool/ecosystem that is usable at scale. I get that it's built in to Windows, but I haven't seen a case study demonstrating a real deployment -- even within teams at Microsoft.
The "central repository" is just a giant mess of files in a GitHub repository and can't reasonably be "proxied" via a connector like other feeds. They apparently have "private repositories", but there's no documentation/guidance on how to create/use private packages for end users, so I don't think many are doing this.
But open to learning more.
Cheers,
Alex -
@apxltd Sorry I missed your reply. We are a company of 50+ developers. We currently use ProGet for npm, nuget, docker and maven. It works great.
We have used Chocolately in the past, but moved to WinGet as it is part of the OS and like how it integrates with Windows more seamlessly. This may have changed, but we didn't like how Chocolately had a separate catalog of what was installed and installed certain items in Chocolately folders. This often caused issues finding where command line utilities were installed as they were not in their "default/google-able" location.
What we would like to have available is download caching. It would be nice have the second and later people installing a multi GB install download it from the LAN vs 50 workstations downloading it from the internet.
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Thanks for the details @mikes_4196
If you're for any kind of control or oversight into your packages (i.e. typical business use case) as opposed to having everyone just rawdog a bunch of shady installers from the internet, I'd definitely recommend looking into Chocolaty again and talk to their support team.
I can't speak to the issues, but that's what everyone is using... and "no one" is using WinGet outside of hobbyists and "shadow IT" devs. There's a good reason for that.
What we would like to have available is download caching.
This just isn't technically feasible due to their terrible design. Keep in mind that the WinGet "repository" is just a giant Git repository with a bunch of .yaml files that point to installer URLs on random urls on the internet.
https://github.com/microsoft/winget-pkgs/tree/master/manifests
From at technical standpoint, WinGet has no real specifications, no ability to script non-MSI installers, no APIs (unless you count
git cloneas an API), and worst of all no package files.Open to having my mind changed here, but WinGet remains untenable for any serious organizational usage and has no future until Microsoft decides to build a private repository use case.
Cheers,
Alex
Founder and CEO, Inedo
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@apxltd Thanks for the update. I really appreciate you taking the time
The reason I was looking to see if you supported winget yet is that I was replacing my own machine and I like to rebuild our developer image as I do so. I build our image from a base Windows image that has current Windows. I then run the “winget install” scripts to install the common tool chain.
I understand on your side it doesn’t seem like a workable solution, but I love it. Winget works as if I downloaded and installed all the installs manually. Then I can just run “winget upgrade” to see what needs to be upgraded.
The main benefit is that the upgrade check works even if a developer or I install something without using winget to install it. This is because “winget upgrade” uses Windows installed apps (as seen in appwiz.cpl) for its check.
I hope they cleanup the backend so you could look at this product again.
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@apxltd I would like to see this get added. Winget seems to work out of the box and is a windows native tool vs. choco. I get hesitation bringing in a 3rd party versus something that is there right out of the box.
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@Jonathan-Engstrom suggest asking WinGet team to build support and a use case for private repositories. Currently there is none and thus, it's impossible to use with ProGet.
Until then... WinGet is basically just the Windows Store, except you it run from the Commandline and has a ton of shady, unvetted packages from internet randos
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I do believe they have code available for the private repo:
https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli-restsourceand there are a few products out there that have also built something for it as well. But I would rather use an Inedo product for it if I could. Choco is dandy, but it is not a tool built right into the OS. Also, getting certificates to work with the IWS has proven to be time consuming especially when I can setup IIS and get a cert that works in 30 seconds and have to use IIS as a reverse proxy to get ssl to work. I am going to explore a script that another individual has made regarding certs for IWS, but I have to free up some time to do that, never seems to be enough time in the day :)
"except you it run from the Commandline and has a ton of shady, unvetted packages from internet randos"
Aren't those the best kind?!
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@Jonathan-Engstrom they have some hacky something-or-other, but I'd gauge it's at least a decade or two away from being ready for prime time. At least, given their track record on their PowerShellGet/PowerShellGallery v3 launch plans (pushed to 2027.... maybe??)
There's just no appetite for WinGet in the enterprise space, especially since Chocolatey does everything better and has a significantly more reliable / responsive team behind it.
On our end, it doesn't make to try jumping into such an immature ecosystem, especially one run by Microsoft, who's leadership is currently focused on making their BingAI Copilot relevant and selling more Azure web hosting
Windows barely fits into their strategy, let a lone WinGet. But we'll see... maybe the WinGet team can fight against the current enough and increase adoption.
At this point, WinGet It's not a bet I'm willing to take though
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@apxltd Lol, fair enough. I know MS is busy trying to get everyone on the cloud and destroying on prem. Not sure how well that's going for them. Well, let's watch and see what winget does. Maybe it will take off.
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I'm checking out Proget for PowerShell module hosting tonight. Seeing the discussion on winget piqued my interest and I thought i'd throw some thoughts out there..
A use case I have is for both Intune managed devices via Nerdio and NinjaOne. Both of these solutions are supporting winget as a central app manager for Windows endpoints. It's built-in and shipping with Windows 11 now, active github community repo... some organizations are starting to bet on it. Anecdotally, I see 'winget' more often now than choco for 'install my app fast' type docs.
The software patching policies within NinjaOne supports winget natively as 'the windows package manager' for software installs, updates, and removal.
Nerdio (even supporting a custom repository https://nmmhelp.getnerdio.com/hc/en-us/articles/26125608840333-Unified-Application-Management-Configure-Repositories) are brining winget front and center for IT work in AVD/Intune as well.
I'm looking for a solution to titrate that scary giant community repo so it can be managed better... I want upstream.. but only select things. I want to publish apps as necessary for the public/private feed.
Nuget/pwsh module proxies have been the answer in the past I think the community will want and need that for winget. I've dabbled with other package managers (nexus oss primarily) and I'm liking ProGet thus far with the ability to browse the feed in browser.
The alignment is similar to choco module repos and powershell module hosting to me. I think a good custom winget repo source and manager is lacking right now in this space.
I do agree on it's been rough 'launch' of winget. It's been years now and still some basics are not done. MS has clearly not put many resources behind the tool. Hosting implementation has been rough from the start. Microsoft doesn't provide any telemetry on package downloads or overall use of winget.
In many ways choco is better as a solution, but in many more cases winget is already on machines under management and it's being built-into the solutions I use.
In the meantime, my hunt for a good self-hosted public/private winget hosting solution continues.
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Thanks for the additional feedback @ben_0435
Mostly for my notes, in the five months since @Jonathan-Engstrom shared Microsoft's initial efforts at supporting a WinGet private repository (i,e. winget-cli-restsource), it looks like they've already abandoned their efforts.
- Last code commit June 26, 2025
- Last closed issue July 4, 2025
So at this point, my assessment remans the same: WinGet is basically just the Windows Store, except you it run from the Commandline and has a ton of shady, unvetted packages from internet randos
I feel someone should totally Polymarket whether Microsoft will finish WinGet --or-- just create yet another package manager that's somehow more BingAI friendly.
I'm looking for a solution to titrate that scary giant community repo so it can be managed better... I want upstream.. but only select things. I want to publish apps as necessary for the public/private feed.
I believe that solution is called "Chocolatey"
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