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settings command (winget)

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The settings command of the winget tool allows you to customize your Windows Package Manager client experience. You can change defaults and try out experimental features that are enabled in your client.

The settings command will launch your default text editor. Windows by default will launch Notepad as an option. We recommend using a tool like Visual Studio code.

Note

You can easily install Visual Studio Code by typing winget install Microsoft.VisualStudioCode

Aliases

The following aliases are available for this command:

  • config

Use the winget settings command

Launch your default JSON editing tool: winget settings

When you launch the settings for the first time, there will be no settings specified. At the top of the JSON file we provide a link where you can discover the latest experimental features and settings.

The code snippet below is an example of what your settings file should look like if you would like to enable or modify some of these experimental features and settings.

{
    "$schema": "https://aka.ms/winget-settings.schema.json",

    // For documentation on these settings, see: https://aka.ms/winget-settings
    "experimentalFeatures": {
	  "dependencies": true,
	  "directMSI": false,
	  "zipInstall": false,
    },
    "visual": {
        "progressBar": "rainbow"
    },
    "source": {
        "autoUpdateIntervalInMinutes": 5
    },
}

We have also defined a schema for the settings file. This allows you to use TAB to discover settings and syntax if your JSON editor supports JSON schemas.

Note

Experimental features are only available in preview builds. Instructions for obtaining a preview build can be found in the GitHub repository.

Updating settings

The following settings are available for the 1.0 release of the Windows Package Manager.

source settings

The source settings involve configuration to the WinGet source.

"source": {
    "autoUpdateIntervalInMinutes": 3
},

autoUpdateIntervalInMinutes

A positive integer represents the update interval in minutes. The check for updates only happens when a source is used. A zero will disable the check for updates to a source. Any other values are invalid.

  • Disable: 0
  • Default: 5

To manually update the source use winget source update.

visual settings

The visual settings involve visual elements that are displayed by WinGet

"visual": {
    "progressBar": "accent"
},

progressBar

Color of the progress bar that WinGet displays when not specified by arguments.

  • accent (default)
  • retro
  • rainbow

installBehavior settings

The installBehavior settings affect the default behavior of installing and upgrading (where applicable) packages.

disableInstallNotes

The disableInstallNotes behavior affects whether installation notes are shown after a successful install. Defaults to false if value is not set or is invalid.

    "installBehavior": {
        "disableInstallNotes": true
    },

portablePackageUserRoot setting

The portablePackageUserRoot setting affects the default root directory where packages are installed to under User scope. This setting only applies to packages with the portable installer type. Defaults to %LOCALAPPDATA%/Microsoft/WinGet/Packages/ if value is not set or is invalid.

Note: This setting value must be an absolute path.

    "installBehavior": {
        "portablePackageUserRoot": "C:/Users/FooBar/Packages"
    },

portablePackageMachineRoot setting

The portablePackageMachineRoot setting affects the default root directory where packages are installed to under Machine scope. This setting only applies to packages with the portable installer type. Defaults to %PROGRAMFILES%/WinGet/Packages/ if value is not set or is invalid.

Note: This setting value must be an absolute path.

    "installBehavior": {
        "portablePackageMachineRoot": "C:/Program Files/Packages/Portable"
    },

preferences and requirements settings

Some of the settings are duplicated under preferences and requirements.

  • The preferences setting affects how the various available options are sorted when choosing the one to act on. For example, the default scope of package installs is for the current user, but if that is not an option then a machine level installer will be chosen.
  • The requirements setting filters the options, potentially resulting in an empty list and a failure to install. In the previous example, a user scope requirement would result in no applicable installers and an error.

Any arguments passed on the command line will effectively override the matching requirement setting for the duration of that command.

scope

The scope behavior affects the choice between installing a package for the current user or for the entire machine. The matching parameter is --scope, and uses the same values (user or machine). See known issues relating to package installation scope.

"installBehavior": {
    "preferences": {
        "scope": "user"
    }
},

locale

The locale behavior affects the choice of installer based on installer locale. The matching parameter is --locale, and uses bcp47 language tag.

"installBehavior": {
    "preferences": {
        "locale": [ "en-US", "fr-FR" ]
    }
},

architectures

The architectures behavior affects what architectures will be selected when installing a package. The matching parameter is --architecture. Note that only architectures compatible with your system can be selected.

    "installBehavior": {
        "preferences": {
            "architectures": ["x64", "arm64"]
        }
    },

installerTypes

The installerTypes behavior affects what installer types will be selected when installing a package. The matching parameter is --installer-type.

    "installBehavior": {
        "preferences": {
            "installerTypes": ["msix", "msi"]
        }
    },

uninstallBehavior

The uninstallBehavior settings affect the default behavior of uninstalling (where applicable) packages.

purgePortablePackage

The purgePortablePackage behavior affects the default behavior for uninstalling a portable package. If set to true, uninstall will remove all files and directories relevant to the portable package. This setting only applies to packages with the portable installer type. Defaults to false if value is not set or is invalid.

    "uninstallBehavior": {
        "purgePortablePackage": true
    },

downloadBehavior

The downloadBehavior settings affect the default behavior of downloading packages.

defaultDownloadDirectory

The defaultDownloadDirectory setting affects the default directory where packages are downloaded to. Defaults to %USERPROFILE%/Downloads if value is not set or is invalid.

Note: This setting value must be an absolute path.

    "downloadBehavior": {
        "defaultDownloadDirectory": "C:/Users/FooBar/Downloads"
    },

telemetry settings

The telemetry settings control whether winget writes ETW events that may be sent to Microsoft on a default installation of Windows.

See details on telemetry, and our primary privacy statement.

disable

"telemetry": {
    "disable": true
},

If set to true, the telemetry.disable setting will prevent any event from being written by the program.

network settings

The network settings influence how winget uses the network to retrieve packages and metadata.

downloader

The downloader setting controls which code is used when downloading packages. The default is default, which may be any of the options based on our determination.

wininet uses the WinINet APIs, while do uses the Delivery Optimization service.

"network": {
    "downloader": "do"
}

logging settings

The logging settings control the level of detail in log files. --verbose-logs will override this setting and always creates a verbose log.

"logging": {
    "level": "verbose"
}

level

The following logging levels are available. Defaults to info if the value is not set or is invalid.

  • verbose
  • info
  • warning
  • error
  • critical

Enabling experimental features

To discover which experimental features are available, go to https://aka.ms/winget-settings where you can see the experimental features available to you.