Installing a package with WinGet

What

WinGet is a command line tool to manage applications on the Windows 10 and 11 platform.

When/Why

We'll certainly want to use WinGet to push software to our devices, and we can do that rather nicely in a FileWave Fileset/Payload.

Similarly to other platforms where installs are coming directly from a CDN source, any software installed in this method will bypass FileWave Boosters since the content is coming straight from the internet.

How

First find the intended package and create its WinGet Fileset in FileWave Central. Confirm the package identifier and publisher, then review the Fileset’s automatic-upgrade and uninstall settings. Use a managed Windows test computer that can reach the package source and installer download locations; finding a package in Central does not test the computer’s connectivity.

Create a Deployment containing the WinGet Fileset and the pilot Windows device. Choose Direct Installation for an automatic installation or Kiosk Self-Service for a user-initiated installation, and check any timing settings. Existing environments can also use the legacy Association workflow.

Save the Deployment, review shared pending changes with the other administrators, then select Update Model to publish them. A Model Update commits all pending model changes, not only this test Deployment. Saving the Deployment or seeing a higher model number does not confirm that the application installed.

On the pilot device, wait for the Fileset to process. For Kiosk Self-Service, start the installation from Kiosk. Confirm the intended application and installed version in inventory, then open the application as the intended user before expanding the Deployment. If it fails, compare the Fileset status and error output with the WinGet troubleshooting article below; do not treat a shortcut or its absence as the installation result.

Note that some applications may have icons deployed and some may not deploy icons in all the same places like Start Menu, Desktop, etc. It's up to the application publisher to select these things. 

Although FileWave is preconfigured to silently instal packages through Winget, these options need to be recognised by the installer.  It is up to the Developers of the packages to choose to code in the acceptance of these options.

Consider reading Upgrading a package with WinGet and Uninstalling a package with WinGet as you step in to the full lifecycle of software installs. 

If you run into an error, there is information in Troubleshooting Errors with WinGet to help understand the error codes.