Install WinGet on Windows 11 IoT (no Microsoft Store)

Bootstrap winget on Windows 11 IoT Enterprise / LTSC — editions that ship without the Microsoft Store.

The official IoT docs still talk about VCLibs + UI.Xaml 2.8 only. Current WinGet (1.29+) also needs Windows App Runtime 1.8. Missing a dependency makes Add-AppxPackage fail silently: winget.exe never shows up under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WindowsApps.

This script:

1. Enables AppX sideloading (AllowAllTrustedApps) — Store stays off
2. Detects OS architecture (x64 / arm64 / x86)
3. Downloads the latest stable winget-cli release
4. Installs dependencies in order: VCLibs → UI.Xaml 2.8 → Windows App Runtime
5. Installs Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller and provisions it for all users with License1.xml
6. Registers the community source (source.msix)
7. Verifies winget --info

The msstore source is useless on IoT LTSC. The winget community source works without the Store.

Requirements

• Windows 11 IoT Enterprise or LTSC (also works on 10 IoT LTSC 2021+ / Server without Store)
• Administrator PowerShell 5.1+
• Internet or an offline payload folder (-OfflineDir)
• Not Windows IoT Core (no Win32)

Install

Administrator Windows PowerShell 5.1, copy-paste:

[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12
$f = Join-Path $env:TEMP 'Install-WinGet-IoT.ps1'
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Jabe/winget-iot/main/Install-WinGet-IoT.ps1' -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing
powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$f"

Paste only the block above. Extra parameters go on the last line, after -File $f (for example -SkipUiXaml).

After success, open a new PowerShell:

winget --version
winget search Git.Git
winget install --id Git.Git -e --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements

From a clone

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process Bypass -Force
.\Install-WinGet-IoT.ps1

Or double-click Install-WinGet-IoT.cmd (UAC).

Offline / air-gapped

.\Install-WinGet-IoT.ps1 -OfflineDir D:\payloads\winget

Put these files in that folder:

File	From
Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle	winget-cli latest
e53e159d00e04f729cc2180cffd1c02e_License1.xml	same release
DesktopAppInstaller_Dependencies.zip	same release (VCLibs + WinAppRuntime 1.8)
optional Microsoft.UI.Xaml.2.8.x64.appx	UI.Xaml 2.8.6
optional source.msix	https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix

Parameters

Parameter	Meaning
-OfflineDir <path>	Use local files, no GitHub
-SkipUiXaml	Skip extra UI.Xaml 2.8 download (WinAppRuntime-only path)
-SkipSource	Do not install source.msix
-NoProvision	Current user only, no Add-AppxProvisionedPackage
-WorkDir <path>	Download/extract cache (default %TEMP%\winget-iot-bootstrap)

Alternative: PSGallery bootstrap

If the machine can reach PSGallery, Microsoft's module can pull the same bits:

$ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'
Install-PackageProvider -Name NuGet -Force | Out-Null
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.WinGet.Client -Force -Repository PSGallery -Scope AllUsers
Repair-WinGetPackageManager -AllUsers

On locked-down IoT without Gallery, use this repo's script.

If winget is still unknown

1. Close and reopen PowerShell (PATH: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WindowsApps)
2. Reboot
3. Check packages:

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller, Microsoft.VCLibs*, Microsoft.UI.Xaml*, Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime*

Silent failure almost always means a missing dependency.

License

Scripts: MIT. Downloaded Microsoft packages keep Microsoft's licenses.