If you\u2019re really, really sick of the Microsoft Store, Microsoft now offers a return to the glorious days of the command line interface. Meet App Installer, Microsoft\u2019s new package manager for Windows.<\/p>\n
Microsoft (a little defensively) announced the App Installer package manager in a blog post<\/a> that coincides with the opening of Microsoft Build, Microsoft\u2019s developer conference. That\u2019s significant, as developers have typically worked within a command line or text interface, writing thousands of lines of code. Package managers are also the preferred way of installing software under Linux, which manages the software and any dependencies that it requires.<\/p>\n In Windows, of course, software downloads are typically a single executable, .MSI package, or .ZIP file. Users can download them via a website, a service like Steam, the Microsoft Store, or other locations. Microsoft wants to make clear that all of those won\u2019t go away.<\/p>\n But, for whatever reason, if you\u00a0want<\/em> to open a command shell and simply download the app you want without wading through the Microsoft Store or any of the other venues, you can. To be fair, other Windows package managers already exist, such as Chocolately. They\u2019re an easy way to simply type one command and kick off an automated process to download and set up a pre-determined number of apps in the background.<\/p>\n Demetrius Nelon, the senior program manager at Microsoft responsible for the app, explained that it\u2019s being provided as part of the Windows Insider beta rings<\/a>. Once you\u2019re signed up, you can then download the App Installer app from the Microsoft Store. (Warning: direct link.)<\/p>\n Nelon made clear that\u00a0nothing<\/em> will change for traditional Windows users. \u201cWhat does this mean for the Windows store? It doesn\u2019t mean anything for the Windows store,\u201d Nelon wrote. \u201cThe Windows Package Manager is a command line interface, no marketing, no images, no commerce. Although we do plan on making those apps installable too.\u201d<\/p>\n Nelon said that Microsoft looked at other Windows package managers\u00a0and decided to go its own route. \u201cWhat about\u00a0insert any other package manager here<\/em>? We think they are great. If they want to leverage our repository of validated packages, they can. If they want to see how we are doing it, it is open source. We\u2019re open to feedback and suggestions.\u201d<\/p>\n Unfortunately, not all apps in the Windows Store are available via App Installer, but more are apparently on their way.<\/p>\n![\"app](\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2020\/05\/app-installer-image-100842577-large.jpg\")
<\/a> Microsoft<\/a> <\/small><\/figure>\n