Difference between PowerShellGet and NuGet

Question

From my understanding, in Windows there is a framework "PackageManagement" which package providers can leverage.

Both PowerShellGet and NuGet are separate package providers.

Get-PackageProvider
Name                     Version          DynamicOptions
----                     -------          --------------
NuGet                    3.0.0.1          Destination, ExcludeVersion, Scope, SkipDependencies, ...
PowerShellGet            2.2.5.0          PackageManagementProvider, Type, Scope, AllowClobber, ...

But I don't understand whats the point of NuGet? I read that PowerShellGet depends on NuGet, but how can that be when they are separate package providers? Does the framework allow for interaction between package providers?

Also when I search for packages on my Windows system, not a single package seems to come from NuGet, so whats the point of NuGet?

$All = Find-Package
$All | Group-Object ProviderName
Count Name
----- ----
 9389 PowerShellGet

Answer 1

Hello David,

Thank you for your question and for reaching out with your question today.

NuGet is a package manager for .NET development that allows you to easily discover, install, and manage software libraries, frameworks, and tools in your projects. It is primarily focused on managing packages for development purposes within the .NET ecosystem.

PowerShellGet, on the other hand, is a PowerShell module that provides cmdlets for discovering, installing, and managing PowerShell modules and resources. It is used specifically for managing PowerShell modules and resources, which are collections of scripts, functions, cmdlets, and other assets that extend the functionality of PowerShell.

The connection between NuGet and PowerShellGet lies in the fact that PowerShellGet relies on NuGet as a backend package provider for certain operations. PowerShellGet utilizes the NuGet infrastructure to interact with package repositories, search for PowerShell modules, and resolve dependencies.

While NuGet and PowerShellGet are separate package providers, they work together to provide a unified package management experience within the .NET and PowerShell ecosystems. PowerShellGet leverages the capabilities of NuGet to access and manage PowerShell modules, allowing you to install and update modules from various sources, including public and private repositories.

So, in summary, PowerShellGet relies on NuGet as a backend provider for certain operations related to managing PowerShell modules, but they are separate entities that serve different purposes within their respective ecosystems. The framework allows for interaction between package providers like NuGet and PowerShellGet to provide a seamless package management experience for developers and PowerShell users.

I used AI provided by ChatGPT to formulate part of this response. I have verified that the information is accurate before sharing it with you.

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Best regards.

Answer 2

PowerShellGet is a PackageProvider dedicated to Powershell, used to pull additional modules and scripts

Those modules and scripts are located in a PSRepository (i.e. PowerShell Gallery), which is a PackageSource specific to PowerShellGet. PowerShellGet itself is actually a module

Get-PSRepository

PowerShellGet uses the PackageManagement framework in the background. When calling Install-Module, in the background Install-Package will be called, same goes for Register-PSRepository and Register-PackageSource (every PSRepository also exists as a PackageSource)

In addition to being a PackageProvider itself, PowerShellGet also interacts with the NuGet provider for the operations

Find
Install
Save
Uninstall

It cannot function without NuGet

Additionally, NuGet.exe (which does not come with the PackageProvider by default) is required to Publish a module or script. Download it from NuGet Gallery and copy the exe file to either user or all user directory

C:\Users\XXX\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PowerShellGet
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PowerShellGet