One of the most tedious and irritating aspects for most users who frequently have to reinstall or deploy Windows is manually searching for each program. We have previously talked about alternatives such as RuckZuck and Silent Install Helper to save time, but there is an even more advanced tool, inspired by the classic 'apt' from the Linux world. I'm referring to Chocolatey, a package manager that works directly on PowerShell and lets us get the latest versions of our favorite programs using just a couple of commands.
The phrase "package manager" seems to have exploded across the Web in recent days, courtesy of some official advances from Redmond, more specifically, the WinGet application. That application is in preview stage and lacks certain basic functions (for example, uninstalling software), so we must be patient. Meanwhile, Linux users laugh out loud and look at Microsoft as if it had discovered fire yesterday. Package managers have reached an impressive level of functionality under the penguin's domain, and if Redmond decided to be inspired by them, well... we will definitely follow its evolution closely.
Now, the question is: How did Windows do it up to this point? What alternatives exist? With the circulation of WinGet, a name appears repeatedly on multiple occasions, and it is that of Chocolatey. The official page uses a short and simple description, "Like apt-get, but for Windows". Edgardo explored its firepower on a couple of occasions (here and here), however, I think it's a good time to dedicate a broader article to it.
Chocolatey: Package Manager for Windows
Chocolatey works through the PowerShell terminal, and its installation requires some prior modifications. For example, PowerShell execution policies are usually restricted ("Restricted"), but changing it to "AllSigned" should be enough. So, with PowerShell open, the commands are:
- Get-ExecutionPolicy to check the status of policies
- Set-ExecutionPolicy AllSigned if the previous command returns "Restricted"
The actual installation of Chocolatey uses this command:
- Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force; [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072; iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))
We decided to share the commands for continuity, but it will be much more convenient for you if you copy them directly from the official section. The text is in English, although with an automatic translation you will be able to overcome that barrier. Once the installation is finished (warnings may appear during the process), we write 'choco'. If the program responds, we are ready!
The search for packages is done from here. There are more than 7,700 packages processed and moderated by the Chocolatey community. Logically, the page indicates that there is no support or warranties beyond what appears within each entry, but I've had no problems with any program so far, and when something doesn't work, users communicate it immediately.
The only "tedious" part of Chocolatey is that you must obtain the package names. Some of them are very intuitive: "firefox" for Firefox, "googlechrome" for Google Chrome, "paint.net" for Paint.net. Others require additional details, such as "mpc-hc-clsid2" for the updated fork of Media Player Classic Home Cinema, and the modifier "/light" for the lightweight version of "winamp". But the good news is that you only need to do it once. When you have your entire list of software to install, save this text in a file and keep it. The installation command is "choco install", followed by all the package names. You can authorize one script at a time, or choose "All" and let Chocolatey take care of it.
And the best part for last: Chocolatey also helps us keep packages updated and uninstall each package. The commands are "choco upgrade" or "choco uninstall", both followed by the package name. The only major commitment we must accept with Chocolatey (besides the origin of the packages, of course) is the use of factory installations. In the vast majority of cases, the packages will go to "Program Files" or a similar path, but if you want to do something different (say, install LibreOffice on the E: drive), I recommend the classic method. The learning curve of Chocolatey is a bit aggressive at first, however, you will save a gigantic amount of time as soon as you master it. Try it!
Official site and download: Click here
