microsoft / microsoft/winget-cli

`winget pin add` can't find packages found by `winget list` if ID is an UUID

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Area-External Area-User-Interface Command-Pin Issue-Feature
Dominant language
C++
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Description

Brief description of your issue

Hello,
if i do a: winget list --id "{B65C3390-98CD-4624-B0CC-F44416BDF6A3}" i get:

Name                        Id                                     Version
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Windows Subsystem for Linux {B65C3390-98CD-4624-B0CC-F44416BDF6A3} 2.0.14.0

But if i look for the same package via winget pin add (see below) i get either a "not found" output, or a "found ..." but without the actual pinning!

This seems to happen only with UUID ids, not with alphanumeric ones like "Microsoft.VisualStudioCode":

c:\ > winget pin add --id Microsoft.VisualStudioCode --blocking
Found Microsoft Visual Studio Code [Microsoft.VisualStudioCode]
Pin added successfully
c:\ > winget pin add Microsoft.VisualStudioCode --blocking     
Found Microsoft Visual Studio Code [Microsoft.VisualStudioCode]
There is already a pin for package Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Steps to reproduce
winget pin add --id "{B65C3390-98CD-4624-B0CC-F44416BDF6A3}" --blocking
winget pin add "{B65C3390-98CD-4624-B0CC-F44416BDF6A3}" --blocking     
Expected behavior

for both commands i'd expect:

Found Windows Subsystem for Linux [{B65C3390-98CD-4624-B0CC-F44416BDF6A3}]
Pin added successfully
Actual behavior
C:\_ > winget pin add --id "{B65C3390-98CD-4624-B0CC-F44416BDF6A3}" --blocking
No installed package found matching input criteria.
C:\_ > winget pin add "{B65C3390-98CD-4624-B0CC-F44416BDF6A3}" --blocking     
Found Windows Subsystem for Linux [{B65C3390-98CD-4624-B0CC-F44416BDF6A3}]
Environment
Windows Package Manager v1.6.3421
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Windows: Windows.Desktop v10.0.22635.2915
System Architecture: X64
Package: Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller v1.21.3421.0

Winget Directories                 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Logs                               %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\Diag…
User Settings                      %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\sett…
Portable Links Directory (User)    %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Links
Portable Links Directory (Machine) C:\Program Files\WinGet\Links
Portable Package Root (User)       %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages
Portable Package Root              C:\Program Files\WinGet\Packages
Portable Package Root (x86)        C:\Program Files (x86)\WinGet\Packages
Installer Downloads                %USERPROFILE%\Downloads

Links               
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Privacy Statement   https://aka.ms/winget-privacy
License Agreement   https://aka.ms/winget-license
Third Party Notices https://aka.ms/winget-3rdPartyNotice
Homepage            https://aka.ms/winget
Windows Store Terms https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/storedocs/terms-of-sale

Admin Setting                             State
--------------------------------------------------
LocalManifestFiles                        Disabled
BypassCertificatePinningForMicrosoftStore Disabled
InstallerHashOverride                     Disabled
LocalArchiveMalwareScanOverride           Disabled

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 by reproducing both winget pin add commands with the UUID and compare their behavior with winget list --id. Trace the pin command's package lookup and UUID handling; done means both forms find Windows Subsystem for Linux and report Pin added successfully, with coverage for UUID and alphanumeric IDs.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

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

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