Winget Update Manager

Overview

Winget Update Manager is a comprehensive PowerShell automation tool designed for Windows system administrators and power users who need intelligent, reliable application lifecycle management. Built on top of the Windows Package Manager (WinGet), this tool transforms basic package management into an automation solution with smart detection, persistent exclusion management, and enterprise-ready logging capabilities.

Whether you’re managing a single workstation or deploying updates across multiple systems, Winget Update Manager provides the flexibility and control needed to keep your Windows environment secure and up-to-date with minimal manual intervention.

The Problem It Solves

Managing application updates on Windows can be tedious and time-consuming. While WinGet provides basic package management, it lacks advanced features needed for production environments:

No persistent exclusion lists - You must manually exclude apps every time
Limited automation options - Difficult to integrate into scheduled tasks
Poor error handling - Updates fail silently without clear diagnostics
No dry-run capability - Can’t preview changes before applying them
Minimal logging - Hard to troubleshoot issues or track update history

Winget Update Manager addresses all these pain points with a production-ready solution that’s both powerful and easy to use.

Key Features

🎯 Smart Exclusion Management

One of the most powerful features is the intelligent exclusion system that supports both temporary and persistent exclusions:

Temporary Exclusions (Session-Only)

# Exclude apps from current update session only
winget-update -ExcludeApps "Edge, Discord"

Persistent Exclusions (Permanent)

# Smart addition to permanent exclusion list
winget-update -AddPersistentExcludeApps "Chrome"

# Smart removal from permanent exclusion list
winget-update -RemovePersistentExcludeApps "Discord"

The system features:

✅ Intelligent name matching - Use friendly names or exact package IDs
✅ Fuzzy search - Shows suggestions for ambiguous matches
✅ Automatic persistence - Saves to persistent_exclude_apps.txt
✅ Comma-separated lists - Exclude multiple apps at once

🔧 Multiple Execution Modes

Choose the right mode for your use case:

Mode	Description	Use Case
normal	Interactive updates with prompts	Manual maintenance sessions
silent	Fully automated, no user interaction	Scheduled tasks, automation
dry-run	Preview changes without applying	Testing and validation
force	Override safety checks	Emergency updates
verbose	Maximum logging output	Debugging and troubleshooting
no-interaction	Non-interactive with minimal output	CI/CD pipelines
full-upgrade	Update all packages including pinned	Major system updates
safe-upgrade	Conservative updates only	Production systems

🧠 Intelligent Detection

The tool includes sophisticated application detection and matching:

Smart Name Matching

# Input: "Visual Studio Code"
# Output: Microsoft.VisualStudioCode (exact match found)

Fuzzy Search with Suggestions

# Input: "Chrome"
# Output: Multiple matches with interactive selection
#   1. Google.Chrome
#   2. Google.Chrome.Beta
#   3. Google.Chrome.Dev

Automatic Categorization

🔴 High Priority: Development tools, security software
🟡 Medium Priority: Browsers, productivity apps
🟢 Low Priority: Entertainment, gaming applications

📊 Comprehensive Logging

Enterprise-grade logging capabilities:

Detailed operation logs - Track every update action
Error diagnostics - Clear error messages with resolution steps
Update history - Maintain audit trail of all changes
Performance metrics - Monitor update duration and success rates

🤖 Automation Integration

Designed for seamless integration with Windows automation tools:

Windows Task Scheduler Integration

$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "powershell.exe" `
    -Argument "-Command winget-update -Mode silent"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Weekly -DaysOfWeek Sunday -At "2:00 AM"
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "WingetUpdateManager" `
    -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -RunLevel Highest

PowerShell Profile Aliases

# Add to $PROFILE for custom shortcuts
function Update-Apps { winget-update -Mode silent }
function Preview-Updates { winget-update -Mode dry-run }
function Update-Verbose { winget-update -Mode verbose }

⚙️ Advanced Parameters

Fine-tune behavior with custom parameters:

# Pass custom parameters to WinGet
winget-update -CustomParams "--include-unknown --force"

# Production automation example
winget-update -Mode silent `
    -ExcludeApps "Microsoft.VisualStudio.2022.Community" `
    -CustomParams "--accept-source-agreements"

# Maximum logging for debugging
winget-update -Mode verbose `
    -CustomParams "--include-unknown --verbose-logs"

Technical Implementation

Architecture

The tool is built with a modular architecture:

Core Engine - Handles WinGet interaction and update orchestration
Exclusion Manager - Manages temporary and persistent exclusions
Detection Engine - Intelligent package name resolution
Logging System - Comprehensive activity tracking
Error Handler - Robust error recovery and reporting

File Structure

winget-update/
├── winget-update.ps1          # Main script
├── persistent_exclude_apps.txt # Permanent exclusion list
├── logs/                       # Update logs directory
└── README.md                   # Documentation

Error Handling

Robust error handling for common scenarios:

✅ Missing WinGet installation detection
✅ Network connectivity issues
✅ Package manifest errors
✅ Interactive installer detection
✅ Permission elevation requirements

Use Cases

Power User

Keep personal system up-to-date with minimal effort, exclude specific applications from updates, and preview changes before applying them.

Installation

One-Line Installation

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Sterbweise/winget-update/main/install.ps1 | iex

Manual Installation

Download the latest release from GitHub
Extract to a directory in your PATH
Run winget-update -Mode dry-run to test

Quick Start

# Preview available updates
winget-update -Mode dry-run

# Update all apps (interactive)
winget-update

# Silent update (for automation)
winget-update -Mode silent

# Update with exclusions
winget-update -ExcludeApps "Microsoft.Edge,Discord.Discord"

# Add permanent exclusion
winget-update -AddPersistentExcludeApps "Chrome"

Technologies Used

PowerShell 5.1+ - Core scripting language
Windows Package Manager (WinGet) - Package management backend
Windows Task Scheduler - Automation integration
Git - Version control and collaboration

Future Enhancements

Currently, there are no planned future enhancements for this repository. My focus has shifted to contributing to and collaborating with the UniGetUI project, which I consider a more advanced and complete solution for package management.

License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

Project Status: Archived | Latest Release: v3.1.0 | Stars: 10+