microsoft / microsoft/winget-cli

Feature: search package index by installer-type

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

It would be useful to query package index by installer-type, for example to show only portable apps and exes that can be installed in without needing elevated permissions. Since there are several installer-types this would be general solution for a variety of queries.

winget search --installer-type portable,exe,zip

Also consider making available to list command so the local inventory can be assessed:

winget list --installer-type appx,msix

There is the ability to search by tag, winget search --tag portable, but that's not robust or reliable as it only queries metadata which is free form and haphazard.

Originally posted by @maphew in https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli/discussions/1887#discussioncomment-8338258

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Research direction

Start with the existing winget search and winget list command paths, then trace how installer types are represented and queried. Use the proposed comma-separated examples as acceptance checks: both commands should filter results by requested types such as portable, exe, zip, appx, and msix, with the behavior covered by tests.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
cli
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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