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It is difficult to get the app I want if they have the same / similar names. #301

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It is difficult to get the app I want if they have the same / similar names.#301
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Issue-FeatureThis is a feature request for the Windows Package Manager client.

Description

@KevinLaMS
Kevin Larkin (MS) (KevinLaMS)
opened on May 22, 2020

Description of the feature / enhancement

When a query matches more than one package, winget install (and upgrade / uninstall / show) prints "Multiple packages found matching input criteria. Please refine the input." and exits. The user then has to re-read the table, copy an exact Id or Name, add --id/--exact, and run the command again.

This is a frequent friction point when package names are subsets or near-duplicates of one another — for example Microsoft.PowerShell vs Microsoft.PowerShell-Preview, a stable vs a pre-release entry, x86 vs x64, or the same package present in more than one source.

Problem

  • -e/--exact and --id resolve it but are not discoverable, and even an "exact" query can still return multiple rows (pre-release variants, multiple sources).
  • There is no way to pick from the list that was just displayed — the command errors and exits.

Proposed behavior

  1. Interactive numbered selection. When multiple packages match, present a numbered list and prompt the user to choose (apt/yay-style): 
    Multiple packages matched your query. Select one:
  [1] Windows Terminal          Microsoft.WindowsTerminal
  [2] Windows Terminal Preview  Microsoft.WindowsTerminal.Preview
    Honor --disable-interactivity (and non-interactive contexts) by keeping today's refine-and-exit behavior for scripts.
  2. Auto-select on an unambiguous exact match. If exactly one candidate exactly matches the provided Id, Name, or Moniker, proceed without prompting.
  3. Clearer non-interactive guidance. When interactivity is disabled, the "refine" message should show the precise --id … --exact (and --source when the ambiguity is cross-source) needed to disambiguate.

Scope

Scoped to the UX of choosing among legitimately-multiple matches. Incorrect matching/correlation (the engine selecting the wrong package, or ARP correlation issues) is tracked separately.

Consolidates #419, #1620, #1830.

Related

Updated with GitHub Copilot.

Activity

  1. Kevin Larkin (MS) (KevinLaMS)
    added
    Issue-FeatureThis is a feature request for the Windows Package Manager client.
    on May 22, 2020
  2. ghost added
    Needs-TriageIssue needs to be triaged
    on May 22, 2020

  3. Antidote commented on May 22, 2020

    @Antidote
    Phillip Stephens (Antidote)
    on May 22, 2020

    I'd take a peak at linux package managers and see how they address it, they've been handling this exact problem from the beginning and it's been a non-issue.

  4. Demitrius Nelon (denelon)
    removed
    Needs-TriageIssue needs to be triaged
    on May 23, 2020
  5. Demitrius Nelon (denelon)
    modified the milestones: , on May 23, 2020

  6. AdilHindistan commented on May 23, 2020

    @AdilHindistan
    Adil Hindistan (AdilHindistan)
    on May 23, 2020

    Right, this's the same issue I reported

  7. SubhamK108 commented on Jun 3, 2020

    @SubhamK108
    Subham Karmakar (SubhamK108)
    on Jun 3, 2020

    At the moment, when installing apps with multiple search results, the following nomenclature is working perfectly:

    winget install --name <appName> -e

    Note that the appName is Case Sensitive !

  8. NLstn commented on Jun 10, 2020

    @NLstn
    Nlstn (NLstn)
    on Jun 10, 2020

    I also ran into this issue, i think if there is an exact match, winget should take this package and install it

  9. stevenbrix commented on May 6, 2021

    @stevenbrix
    Steven Brix (stevenbrix)
    on May 6, 2021

    not only is it hard to install, there is no help from winget at all. a very simple example is trying to install Java.

  10. denelon commented on May 6, 2021

    @denelon
    Demitrius Nelon (denelon)
    on May 6, 2021
    Collaborator

    Java in particular is a tricky area for any package manager. There are many different providers for JREs and JDKs. If there was only one package with the name, tag, or moniker for Java the Windows Package Manager would be able to install it.

    One example is winget install vscode. Only one package has that moniker so in that case, the correct package would be installed.

  11. robross0606 commented on Sep 11, 2021

    @robross0606
    robross0606
    on Sep 11, 2021

    Here's another example for upgrade command:

    C:\Users\me>winget upgrade -e Python.Python.3
Multiple installed packages found matching input criteria. Please refine the input.
Name                   Id
-------------------------------------------------------------
Python 3               Python.Python.3
Python 2.7.18 (64-bit) {A5F504DF-2ED9-4A2D-A2F3-9D2750DD42D6}

C:\Users\me>winget show -e Python.Python.3
Found Python 3 [Python.Python.3]
Version: 3.9.7150.0
Publisher: Python Software Foundation
Author: Python Software Foundation
Moniker: python3
Description: Python is a programming language that lets you work more quickly and integrate your systems more effectively.
Homepage: https://www.python.org
License: PSF LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR PYTHON
License Url: https://docs.python.org/3/license.html
Installer:
  Type: Burn
  Locale: en-US
  Download Url: https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.9.7/python-3.9.7-amd64.exe
  SHA256: 3f63f4c77a6da13f9bae715eb6644a48bd5f900601e0f1f233862e8ca1a96dd8

C:\Users\me>winget upgrade --id Python.Python.3 -e
Multiple installed packages found matching input criteria. Please refine the input.
Name                   Id
-------------------------------------------------------------
Python 3               Python.Python.3
Python 2.7.18 (64-bit) {A5F504DF-2ED9-4A2D-A2F3-9D2750DD42D6}

    Why on Earth is it even matching "Python 2" with "Python 3"?!

  12. edgarchinchilla commented on Sep 13, 2021

    @edgarchinchilla
    Edgar Chinchilla (edgarchinchilla)
    on Sep 13, 2021

    Here is another example, only to add test-cases:

    winget upgrade --Id Microsoft.ASPNetCore.5-x64 --exact --source winget --silent:
Se encontraron varios paquetes instalados que coinciden con los criterios de entrada. Por favor, vuelve a ajustar la búsqueda.
Nombre                                           Id
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Microsoft ASP.NET Core - Shared Framework (x64)  Microsoft.ASPNetCore.5-x64
Microsoft ASP.NET Core 3.1.16 - Shared Framework {f316ce75-c233-4afb-a6e8-2dd7fe72cb8e}

  13. derkrasseleo commented on Oct 11, 2021

    @derkrasseleo
    Leo (derkrasseleo)
    on Oct 11, 2021

    I would like to choose between the packages winget finds by inputting a number, for example. yay handles this perfectly imo

    image

  14. unilock commented on Oct 21, 2021

    @unilock
    Katherine (unilock)
    on Oct 21, 2021

    Yet another example, in which --exact doesn't work.

    image

    EDIT: The ID can't be in quotation marks, apparently. Might be worthwhile to document that somewhere.

    EDIT2: At least, that was the case for OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS. Doesn't help here, it seems.

    Screenshot 2021-10-21 113628

  15. Demitrius Nelon (denelon)
    removed this from the milestone on Nov 14, 2024
  16. Demitrius Nelon (denelon)
    added a parent issue on Jul 28, 2026
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