microsoft / microsoft/winget-cli

Add an option to exclude a list of packages while exporting to a file

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Command-Export Issue-Feature
Dominant language
C++
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Description

Description of the new feature/enhancement

At it's current state, winget exports "all" packages installed on the local system & the ones which are available on a remote source to a JSON file. And there's no way to control or fine-tune what get's included in the exported JSON file.

If I had installed a software earlier just to try it out, even that get's exported to the JSON file. So, I think it would be a nice feature to have if it was possible to control & fine-tune winget's export command.

Proposed technical implementation details (optional)

Add an optional flag to the export command which would accept a list of already installed packages to exclude from the JSON file.

Of course there could be a better way to deal with it & look forward to how things turn out to be with this feature.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start at the winget export command and trace how installed packages are selected and written to the JSON file. Define how the optional package list is supplied and matched, then verify that listed installed packages are absent while other exported packages remain unchanged.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
cli
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
38/100

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