microsoft / microsoft/winget-cli

Normalize winget export

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Command-Export 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

when using winget export, the output json file does not normalize the order in which packages are listed. this makes it hard to compare different outputs from different computers or when comparing against the output in git. It would be nice if there was a deterministic ordering in which packages are listed (ex. alphabetical).

Proposed technical implementation details

Sort packages listed in json alphabetically by package identifier

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 its JSON output is assembled. Ensure packages are ordered alphabetically by package identifier, then verify that exports from the same package set are deterministic and compare consistently across computers.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
cli
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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