winget

Curated package list for bootstrapping a new Windows machine. Covers dev tools, editors, terminal utilities, languages, cloud/Azure tooling, containers, and general utilities, plus a few daily-driver personal apps (communication, cloud sync). Excludes games, hardware software, system runtimes, and work-specific tools.

packages.ps1 and packages.json are kept identical — the same package set in both. The .ps1 installs them; the .json is for winget import.

Usage

PowerShell script (recommended)

# Preview what would be installed
.\winget\packages.ps1 -DryRun

# Install everything
.\winget\packages.ps1

Skips packages already installed. Grouped by category for easy editing.

winget import (JSON)

winget import -i winget\packages.json --ignore-unavailable

The --ignore-unavailable flag skips any packages not found in the winget source without failing the whole import.

Keeping it up to date

When you install a new tool you want on future machines, add it to both files:

• packages.ps1 — add an Install-Package '<id>' line in the right category
• packages.json — add { "PackageIdentifier": "<id>" } to the Packages array (alphabetical)

To find the correct winget ID for a tool:

winget search <tool-name>

What's not included

• MSIX-only apps (Ditto, DevToys, EarTrumpet) — install from the Microsoft Store
• Games & launchers — Steam, Epic, Battle.net, Riot, etc.
• Hardware software — ASUS Armoury, Logitech G HUB, AMD Software, etc.
• Work-specific tools — Azure VPN Client, Cosmos DB / Storage Emulator, Webex, Teams, etc.
• .NET / VC++ runtimes — installed automatically as dependencies
• Duplicate SDK versions — keep only the latest of a given SDK (e.g. .NET SDK 10, not 7/8/9)
• Secondary browsers — beyond the curated Firefox + Zen (no Chrome, Edge, etc.)
• Standalone media players & taggers — Jellyfin, Sonixd, Mp3tag, etc.
• Antivirus / security suites — Bitdefender, etc. (use the OS default)
• Tools that duplicate a curated CLI — e.g. Git GUIs (Git Extensions) when lazygit/jj are already in

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Source: winget/README.md in the dotfiles repo.