microsoft / microsoft/winget-cli

Apps installed should optionally auto-update

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#212 16 comments 117 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Issue-Feature
Dominant language
C++
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Forks
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Avg merge
1d 11h
Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Description of the new feature/enhancement

If I install something with winget, it should update automatically in the background without me ever having to explicitly tell it to, like most existing package managers and launchers on Windows: the Windows Store, Steam, Adobe Creative Cloud, and so on.

Proposed technical implementation details

  • Some people won't want this, so it should be possible to disable the behavior via a setting.
  • It's plausible that someone might want to update everything automatically except for a single package, perhaps one that introduced a severe breaking change. The package registry could split it into badapp and badapp-legacyfork but it would be far preferable to be able to say "update everything automatically except badapp". (Conversely, some users who might want to turn off auto-updates entirely might still want one or two packages to indeed update automatically.)
    • In addition to that user setting, some individual packages might want to block automatic updates regardless of user preferences.
  • winget should probably only automatically update apps to versions that have been released (and not recalled) for a week or some other holding period, to avoid a situation where a bad update immediately breaks thousands of people across the world.
  • When running the update command manually, in addition to updating packages normally, winget should tell me of the changes it made automatically since the last update.

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

The issue names no files, tests, or entry points to inspect. Begin by locating the existing update command and configuration or scheduling paths; done would require an agreed design and implementation for opt-in settings, package exclusions, holding periods, and reporting automatic changes.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
cli, tooling
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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