A concept that Linux users will find very familiar, is now coming to Windows 10. Microsoft’s latest and greatest operating system is getting a package manager.
A new one, that is.
Microsoft already had OneGet available for a few years now, but it’s just not geared towards consumers like this new solution is. This promises to be a powerful tool for businesses that regularly do rollouts and installs of Windows and applications.
The software titan announced the first preview of the Windows Package Manager at BUILD 2020.
And this new tool works just like a Linux package manager, making the process of installing applications on their devices as easy as possible. The solution can automatically search and download the latest versions with just a single command, and deploy them on your device.
This will come particularly handy to IT professionals, who not only want to install applications faster, but also automate the process on the machines that they manage.
Now, you may be wondering, why Microsoft is building a new package manager, rather than investing in an open source project that would have been faster and more streamlined? The answer, like it often does, comes down to security.
Microsoft explains that it wanted to only offer trusted and validated software in its package manager, so that anything you download is safe and secure:
“We looked at several other package managers. There were several reasons leading us to create a new solution. One critical concern we had was how to build a repository of trusted applications. We are automatically checking each manifest.
We leverage SmartScreen, static analysis, SHA256 hash validation and a few other processes to reduce the likelihood of malicious software making its way into the repository and onto your machine. Another key challenge was all the changes required to be able to deliver the client program as a native Windows application.”
The result is the main “winget” command that allows you to install any application that has been added to the repository.
At this point in time, the Windows Package Manager is still in preview as a work in progress. The final version is on track to ship at a later time.
But you can give it a try by downloading the client from the GitHub page of the project here.
