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Winget manifest query

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how does winget search the packages in the package repo on GitHub?¶

Winget is a command-line package manager for Windows that allows users to quickly and easily install, update, and manage software packages on their Windows machine. When a user performs a search for a package using the winget search command, Winget searches the Microsoft Store and also an open-source repository of manifests for third-party applications hosted on GitHub.

The process of how Winget searches the packages in the package repo on GitHub involves the following steps:

  1. Winget uses the winget search command, followed by the name or keywords of the package the user is looking for.
  2. Winget sends the search query to the GitHub repository, which contains a collection of package manifests.
  3. The package manifests are written in YAML format, and they contain information about the package, such as the package name, description, version, publisher, and the location of the installer.
  4. Winget then searches through the YAML files in the repository, looking for a match between the user’s search query and the package name or description in the manifest.
  5. If Winget finds a match, it returns the package information to the user, including the package name, description, version, and the installer location.

It’s important to note that the package manifests in the GitHub repository are maintained by the community, and not all software packages will be available through this repository. However, the community is constantly adding new package manifests to the repository, so the number of available packages is growing over time.

how does winget sends the search query to GitHub? let’s say I want to make my own similar project.¶

Winget uses the GitHub REST API to send search queries to the open-source repository of manifests for third-party applications hosted on GitHub.

If you want to create your own package manager that searches a similar repository, you would need to use a similar approach. Here are the general steps you would need to follow:

  1. Identify a suitable package repository for your project. This could be an existing open-source repository or one you create yourself.
  2. Define the search query format that your package manager will use to search the repository. This will typically involve defining the search parameters that your package manager will send to the repository, such as package name, publisher, and version.
  3. Create an API endpoint that will receive search requests from your package manager and forward them to the package repository. You can use any web development framework or language to create the API endpoint.
  4. Use the appropriate API client library in your package manager code to send search requests to the API endpoint and receive search results from the package repository.
  5. Parse the search results received from the repository and extract the relevant package information, such as name, version, and download location.

Depending on the complexity of your package manager, there may be additional steps involved in the search process, such as caching search results to improve performance, verifying package signatures, and handling user authentication.

It’s also important to note that using an existing repository like GitHub makes the process of searching for packages easier, since the repository and the package manifests are already structured and organized. If you create your own package repository, you’ll need to create a similar structure to allow for easy searching and querying.

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