microsoft / microsoft/winget-cli
Winget doesn't properly cleanup unused `Microsoft.Winget.Source` Appx Packages
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Description
Brief description of your issue
> Get-ChildItem -Path $env:ProgramFiles\WindowsApps -Filter 'Microsoft.Winget.Source_*_neutral__8wekyb3d8bbwe' | Measure-Object | Select-Object -Property Count
Count
-----
452
> Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Where-Object { $_.Name -like 'Microsoft.Winget.Source*' } | Measure-Object | Select-Object -Property Count
Count
-----
1
> Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Where-Object { $_.Name -like 'Microsoft.Winget.Source*' } | Select-Object -Property InstallLocation
InstallLocation
---------------
C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.Winget.Source_2025.722.604.24_neutral__8wekyb3d8bbwe
Steps to reproduce
This occurred over the course of using winget, so I'm not sure the ultimate cause.
Expected behavior
There should be exactly one Appx package for Microsoft.Winget.Source in my WindowsApps directory.
Actual behavior
There are 452 Appx packages for Microsoft.Winget.Source in my WindowsApps directory, each with a different date. The older versions are not registered with Appx and so they cannot be removed without SYSTEM permissions.
Environment
[winget --info]
Windows Package Manager v1.11.400
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Windows: Windows.Desktop v10.0.26100.4652
System Architecture: X64
Package: Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller v1.26.400.0
Winget Directories
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Logs %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\DiagOutputDir
User Settings %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\settings.json
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
Configuration Modules %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Configuration\Modules
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 Enabled
BypassCertificatePinningForMicrosoftStore Disabled
InstallerHashOverride Disabled
LocalArchiveMalwareScanOverride Disabled
ProxyCommandLineOptions Disabled
DefaultProxy Disabled
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by reproducing the reported Get-ChildItem and Get-AppxPackage commands, using the supplied winget --info output as the baseline. Trace the winget CLI path responsible for updating or removing Microsoft.Winget.Source packages; done means obsolete Appx package directories are cleaned up rather than accumulating unregistered versions.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- cpp, powershell
- Domain
- cli, operating-systems
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 38/100