Windows remains in the dark ages and doesn't tend to handle installation via package managers, rather it's a libertarian paradise where every application gets to choose how it gets installed and has to provide the infrastructure to do so. The best one can do is create .msi files [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Installer | which are "Windows Installer" packages ]] which //is// technically then handled by a package manager, but (a) those packages are pretty basic and (b) that's then merely packages, no repositories. To get some of the user friendliness of stuff like #Linux into #Windows, you have to use something else. == List of Windows package managers == | Name | Interface | Source and destination | Available | | ------- | ----------- | ------ | ---------- | | [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Store | Microsoft Store ]] | GUI | Installs apps per-user from a single central Microsoft-run repository of [[ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/msix/package/packaging-uwp-apps | .msix and .appx ]] packages | NT 6.2+ | | [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Package_Manager | WinGet ]] | CLI | Installs apps from a Microsoft-run repository of .exe and .msi(x) installers or the Microsoft Store, with all the implications and complications of each; kinda like if `wget` grabbed and ran installers rather than web pages | NT 10.0+ | | [[ https://chocolatey.org/ | Chocolatey ]] | CLI | Installs system-wide from an open repository or [[ https://docs.chocolatey.org/en-us/features/host-packages | custom repositories ]] of [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NuGet | NuGet ]] packages | NT 6.1+ | | [[ https://scoop.sh/ | Scoop ]] | CLI | Installs per-user and [[ https://github.com/ScoopInstaller/Scoop/wiki/Dependencies | without shared libraries ]] from packages defined by simple JSON manifest, default repository focused on Free Software and Scoop aims to essentially be a modern (and more `apt`-like) Cygwin | NT 6.1+ | External comparisons and lists: * https://github.com/ScoopInstaller/Scoop/wiki/Chocolatey-and-Winget-Comparison * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_software_package_management_systems#Windows

Windows remains in the dark ages and doesn't tend to handle installation via package managers, rather it's a libertarian paradise where every application gets to choose how it gets installed and has to provide the infrastructure to do so. The best one can do is create .msi files [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Installer | which are "Windows Installer" packages ]] which //is// technically then handled by a package manager, but (a) those packages are pretty basic and (b) that's then merely packages, no repositories. To get some of the user friendliness of stuff like #Linux into #Windows, you have to use something else. == List of Windows package managers == | Name | Interface | Source and destination | Available | | ------- | ----------- | ------ | ---------- | | [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Store | Microsoft Store ]] | GUI | Installs apps per-user from a single central Microsoft-run repository of [[ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/msix/package/packaging-uwp-apps | .msix and .appx ]] packages | NT 6.2+ | | [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Package_Manager | WinGet ]] aka "Windows Package Manager" | CLI | Installs apps from a Microsoft-run repository of .exe and .msi(x) installers or the Microsoft Store (or [[ https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli-restsource | a custom repo ]] but that seems like a pain in the ass) | NT 10.0+ | | [[ https://chocolatey.org/ | Chocolatey ]] | CLI | Installs system-wide from an open repository or [[ https://docs.chocolatey.org/en-us/features/host-packages | custom repositories ]] of [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NuGet | NuGet ]] packages | NT 6.1+ | | [[ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/packagemanagement/ | PackageManagement ]] | CLI | PowerShell module for NuGet packages that points at the Chocolatey repo by default | PS 5.1+ | | [[ https://scoop.sh/ | Scoop ]] | CLI | Installs per-user and [[ https://github.com/ScoopInstaller/Scoop/wiki/Dependencies | without shared libraries ]] from packages defined by simple JSON manifest, default repository focused on Free Software and Scoop aims to essentially be a modern (and more `apt`-like) Cygwin | NT 6.1+ via PS 5.1+ | External comparisons and lists: * https://github.com/ScoopInstaller/Scoop/wiki/Chocolatey-and-Winget-Comparison * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_software_package_management_systems#Windows

Windows remains in the dark ages and doesn't tend to handle installation via package managers, rather it's a libertarian paradise where every application gets to choose how it gets installed and has to provide the infrastructure to do so. The best one can do is create .msi files [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Installer | which are "Windows Installer" packages ]] which //is// technically then handled by a package manager, but (a) those packages are pretty basic and (b) that's then merely packages, no repositories. To get some of the user friendliness of stuff like #Linux into #Windows, you have to use something else. == List of Windows package managers == | Name | Interface | Source and destination | Available | | ------- | ----------- | ------ | ---------- | | [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Store | Microsoft Store ]] | GUI | Installs apps per-user from a single central Microsoft-run repository of [[ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/msix/package/packaging-uwp-apps | .msix and .appx ]] packages | NT 6.2+ | | [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Package_Manager | WinGet ]] aka "Windows Package Manager" | CLI | Installs apps from a Microsoft-run repository of .exe and .msi(x) installers or the Microsoft Store, with all the implications and complications of each; kinda like if `wget` grabbed and ran installers rather than web pages (or [[ https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli-restsource | a custom repo ]] but that seems like a pain in the ass) | NT 10.0+ | | [[ https://chocolatey.org/ | Chocolatey ]] | CLI | Installs system-wide from an open repository or [[ https://docs.chocolatey.org/en-us/features/host-packages | custom repositories ]] of [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NuGet | NuGet ]] packages | NT 6.1+ | | [[ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/packagemanagement/ | PackageManagement ]] | CLI | PowerShell module for NuGet packages that points at the Chocolatey repo by default | PS 5.1+ | | [[ https://scoop.sh/ | Scoop ]] | CLI | Installs per-user and [[ https://github.com/ScoopInstaller/Scoop/wiki/Dependencies | without shared libraries ]] from packages defined by simple JSON manifest, default repository focused on Free Software and Scoop aims to essentially be a modern (and more `apt`-like) Cygwin | NT 6.1+ via PS 5.1+ | External comparisons and lists: * https://github.com/ScoopInstaller/Scoop/wiki/Chocolatey-and-Winget-Comparison * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_software_package_management_systems#Windows