WinGet API from C# .NET Example

Minimal example on how to use WinGet COM APIs from C#.NET. The code from the WindowsPackageManager Interop C# Project was extracted and modified from Dev Home.

Usage instructions:

1. Add the WindowsPackageManager Interop.csproj to your solution
2. Import the WindowsPackageManager.Interop Namespace.
3. Create a WinGet Package Manager Factory using the WindowsPackageManagerStandardFactory class.
4. Operate WinGet as stated on the official documentation: https://github.com/microsoft/winget-cli/blob/master/doc/specs/%23888%20-%20Com%20Api.md

Warning

The CreateAppInstaller() WinRT function does not exist. CreatePackageManager() must be used instead.

Usage example

The following example can be found on the Demo Console App project on this same repository. The code prompts the user for a query and prints the found WinGet packages, filtering them by name.

using System.Security.Principal;

// Include WinGet Namespace
using WindowsPackageManager.Interop;

namespace WingetTest
{
    internal class Program
    {
        // Read a query and call the FindPackagesForQuery() method
        static public void Main(string[] args)
        {
            while(true)
            {
                Console.Write("Enter search query: ");
                string? Query = Console.ReadLine();
                if(Query == null || Query == "")
                    break;

                FindPackagesForQuery(Query).Wait();
            }
        }

        private static async Task FindPackagesForQuery(string Query)
        {   
            WindowsPackageManagerFactory WinGetFactory;
            bool IsAdministrator = new WindowsPrincipal(WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent()).IsInRole(WindowsBuiltInRole.Administrator);

            // If the user is an administrator, use the elevated factory. Otherwhise COM will crash
            if(IsAdministrator)
                WinGetFactory = new WindowsPackageManagerElevatedFactory();
            else
                WinGetFactory = new WindowsPackageManagerStandardFactory();

            // Create Package Manager and get available catalogs
            var Manager = WinGetFactory.CreatePackageManager();
            var AvailableCatalogs = Manager.GetPackageCatalogs();
                        
            foreach (var Catalog in AvailableCatalogs.ToArray())
            {
                // Create a filter to search for packages
                var FilterList = WinGetFactory.CreateFindPackagesOptions();

                // Add the query to the filter
                var NameFilter = WinGetFactory.CreatePackageMatchFilter();
                NameFilter.Field = Microsoft.Management.Deployment.PackageMatchField.Name;
                NameFilter.Value = Query;
                FilterList.Filters.Add(NameFilter);

                // Find the packages with the filters
                var SearchResults = await Catalog.Connect().PackageCatalog.FindPackagesAsync(FilterList);
                foreach (var Match in SearchResults.Matches.ToArray())
                {
                    // Print the packages
                    var Package = Match.CatalogPackage;
                    Console.WriteLine(Package.Name);
                }
            }
        }
    }
}