Windows Package Manager gets preliminary support for portable apps

Microsoft released a new preview version of Windows Package Manager, also known as winget. The main highlight in version 1.3.1251-preview is preliminary support for portable applications.

Portable apps are software that does not require traditional installation from the Microsoft Store or using conventional msi or exe files. You can extract program files to any folder and run the application right away. One of the benefits of portable apps is that you can keep them on removable storage and run on any Windows PC without installation, which comes in handy for troubleshooting or maintenance.

The current preview version of Windows Package Manager has limited support for portable software. Customers can use local manifests to install apps and test the latest capabilities. Windows Package Manager does not support uninstalling or updating portable apps, and the community does not accept such submissions (for now).

Other feature changes in Windows Package Manager 1.3.1251-preview include a better progress bar with more fine-grained blocks, a setting for always using verbose logs, and an improved winget --info command that now displays the system architecture.

You can find a list of all changes in the latest Windows Package Manager in its repository on GitHub. Version 1.3.1251-preview is available for Windows Insiders in the Dev channel and for users participating in the Windows Package Manager Insider program (works on Windows 10 1809 and newer).