WinGet Without WinGet: Building a Cross-Platform Package Manifest Fetcher
So here's the thing, I love WinGet. It's transformed how I manage software on Windows. But what happens when you need WinGet package information on a Mac? Or Linux? Or even on a Windows box where WinGet isn't installed yet?
That's the itch I needed to scratch. And thus, WinGet Manifest Fetcher was born.
The Problem
WinGet is awesome, but it's Windows-only. The package manifests, however, live in a public GitHub repository. Why should we need the WinGet client just to query package information? Spoiler: we don't.
I wanted to:
- Query WinGet packages from my Mac
- Download installers with hash verification
- Search for packages by publisher
- Do all this without needing WinGet installed
The Solution
Enter PowerShell (yes, on Mac!) and some GitHub API magic. The module I built hits the microsoft/winget-pkgs repository directly, parsing YAML manifests and serving up the data you need.
Getting Started
First, grab it from the PowerShell Gallery:
Install-Module -Name WinGetManifestFetcher -Scope CurrentUser
Import-Module WinGetManifestFetcher
What does it do?
Want to know about a package? Easy:
Get-LatestWingetVersion -App "Microsoft.PowerToys"
This gives you everything - version info, download URLs, hashes, installer types, the works.
Need to actually download an installer? Got you covered:
Save-WingetInstaller -App "7zip.7zip" -Path "./Downloads"
It'll download the installer AND verify the SHA256 hash. Because security matters, even when you're being lazy.
Publisher Search? Why not?
Ever wondered what packages Microsoft publishes? Or maybe you're looking for all JetBrains tools?
Get-WingetPackagesByPublisher -Publisher "JetBrains" -MaxResults 10
Want version info too? Just add -IncludeVersions. Fair warning: this makes extra API calls, so maybe don't do this for publishers with hundreds of packages unless you enjoy watching progress bars.
The Technical Bits
Cross-Platform All The Things
The module works on Windows, macOS, and Linux because PowerShell 7+ is everywhere now. The cache directory even respects platform conventions:
- Windows:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\WinGetManifestFetcher\Cache - macOS:
~/Library/Caches/WinGetManifestFetcher - Linux:
~/.cache/WinGetManifestFetcher
GitHub API Rate Limits Are Real
Without authentication, GitHub gives you 60 API calls per hour. That's... not a lot. So I added caching (60-minute default) and support for GitHub tokens:
$env:GITHUB_TOKEN = "your_github_personal_access_token"
With a token, you get 5,000 requests per hour. Much better.
PSStucco Structure Because Standards
I used PSStucco for the module structure because I'm not a barbarian. Public functions in src/Public/, private functions in src/Private/, tests in Tests/. You know, like civilized PowerShell modules do.
Lessons Learned
1. YAML Parsing in PowerShell Is... Special
The powershell-yaml module is great, but WinGet manifests can be creative with their YAML. I had to handle edge cases like empty version directories, malformed manifests, and the occasional "this isn't even valid YAML but somehow it's in the repo."
2. GitHub's Directory API Has Opinions
When you query a directory in the GitHub API, sometimes you get an array, sometimes you get an object with an entries property. Why? Who knows. Just handle both and move on with your life.
3. Testing Private Functions Is Annoying
PSStucco's module structure is great until you need to test private functions. InModuleScope is your friend, but it makes test code verbose. I ended up creating a TestHelper.ps1 that builds the module dynamically for testing.
4. Cross-Platform Path Handling
Windows uses backslashes. Everyone else uses forward slashes. Join-Path handles this, but string concatenation doesn't. Guess how I learned this lesson?
What's Next?
The module is now on the PowerShell Gallery, so installation is dead simple. I've got some ideas for v2:
- Version history retrieval (not just latest)
- Manifest validation
- Maybe even dependency resolution?
But for now, it scratches my itch. I can query WinGet packages from my Mac, download installers with confidence, and search for packages without firing up a Windows VM.
Try It Out
The module is open source and available now:
Install-Module -Name WinGetManifestFetcher -Scope CurrentUser
Check out the GitHub repo for more examples and documentation. PRs welcome - especially if you find edge cases I missed (and trust me, there are probably dozens).
Because sometimes you need WinGet data without WinGet. And that's okay.
PS: Yes, I used Claude to help with some of the documentation. No shame in the AI assistance game. But the bugs? Those are 100% artisanal, hand-crafted by yours truly.