How to Use HandyWinGet to Manage Windows Software

HandyWinGet is a free, open-source graphical user interface (GUI) designed to simplify package management on Windows by operating as a visual frontend for Microsoft’s command-line tool, WinGet. Created by the HandyOrg development community, its primary goal is to make the power of command-line installations accessible to everyday users who prefer pointing and clicking over typing commands. Key Features of HandyWinGet

The app is built using the .NET framework and provides several notable utilities:

No WinGet CLI Required: It can function as an independent software installer, allowing you to bypass the command-line altogether.

Legacy Windows Support: Unlike Microsoft’s official WinGet client—which officially requires modern versions of Windows 10 or Windows 11—HandyWinGet includes backwards compatibility down to Windows 7.

Bulk Management: You can search between repositories, select multiple applications, and install or uninstall them concurrently.

Download Manager Integration: It supports internal downloaders as well as external tools like Internet Download Manager (IDM) to accelerate file downloads.

Version Control: Users have the flexibility to identify installed packages and choose specific versions of a program to install rather than just the latest release.

Automation Export: It allows you to export your selected app bundles into a reusable PowerShell script, making it simple to set up a new PC layout in the future. Shift in the Windows GUI Landscape

While HandyWinGet was a pioneer in providing a customized UI for the Windows Package Manager, active development on the project has slowed over the years. The open-source Windows community has largely migrated toward a broader utility called UniGetUI (formerly known as WingetUI).

Unlike HandyWinGet—which focused heavily on WinGet—UniGetUI acts as a unified hub that pulls packages from multiple package managers simultaneously, including WinGet, Chocolatey, Scoop, Pip, and NPM.