Microsoft has released a new preview version of the Windows Package Manager, also known as WinGet, which is now available for users who want to test out upcoming features and fixes. Despite its extensive use, this version might still harbor bugs or usability issues that could impede its performance. To help improve the stability of WinGet, Microsoft encourages users who encounter any problems during their testing to report them by filing an issue.
One of the notable updates in this release is the availability of the MCP server. Users can run the "winget mcp" command to receive assistance with configuring their client properly. Additionally, App Installer has been updated to use WinUI 3, replacing its previous dependency on WinUI 2 with Windows App Runtime 1.7.
Furthermore, the manifest schema and validation have been upgraded to version 1.12 in this release. This new update includes "Font" as both an InstallerType and a NestedInstallerType, expanding the functionality of the package manager.
The bug fixes in this version are also worth mentioning. Specifically, Microsoft has resolved the issue where manifest validation would fail when using UTF-8 BOM encoding with the schema header on the first line.
In addition to these changes, Microsoft has introduced experimental features that allow users to test new functionalities. One such feature is support for fonts, which can be enabled by adding a specific setting to the winget configuration file. This will grant access to two new commands: "winget font list" will display a list of installed font families and their corresponding number of faces.
The developers behind WinGet have also made several improvements to its performance. These updates involve making better use of the COM static store, updating to schema version 1.12 with Font InstallerType, allowing downloads of MS Store packages for specific operating systems, fixing issues with older OS versions, adding support for RestSource and tests for Manifest v1.12, and improving search speed for installed items.
Lastly, the default log filename for the installer has been shortened, which should help reduce clutter and improve user experience. Overall, this release marks significant progress towards making WinGet a more robust and efficient package manager for Windows users.
Windows Package Manager 1.12.210-preview
This is a preview build of WinGet for those interested in trying out upcoming features and fixes. While it has had some use and should be free of major issues, it may have bugs or usability problem...
Release Windows Package Manager 1.12.210-preview · microsoft/winget-cli
