Scoop Package Manager for Windows
How to install and use Scoop, a package manager for Windows similar to Homebrew.
I’ve always wanted a package manager like Homebrew for Windows.
Sure, Windows now has winget, but it doesn’t feel quite like Homebrew.
winget behaves more like an app installer for the Program Files directory.
It’s not portable, and some command-line apps aren’t even available there.
Not in the mood for reading? Watch the video instead.
Then I found out about Scoop.
In my opinion, it’s the closest thing to Homebrew for Windows.
If you’ve used brew before, you’ll find Scoop very easy to pick up.
Install Scoop on Windows
Before you can use it, you need to install Scoop. Open Terminal or Windows PowerShell and paste the following script from the Scoop homepage:
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://get.scoop.sh | Invoke-ExpressionOnce installed, try typing scoop help in Terminal:
> scoop help
Usage: scoop <command> [<args>]
Available commands are listed below.
Type 'scoop help <command>' to get more help for a specific command.
Command Summary
------- -------
alias Manage scoop aliases
bucket Manage Scoop buckets
cache Show or clear the download cache
cat Show content of specified manifest.
checkup Check for potential problems
cleanup Cleanup apps by removing old versions
config Get or set configuration values
create Create a custom app manifest
depends List dependencies for an app, in the order they'll be installed
download Download apps in the cache folder and verify hashes
export Exports installed apps, buckets (and optionally configs) in JSON format
help Show help for a command
hold Hold an app to disable updates
home Opens the app homepage
import Imports apps, buckets and configs from a Scoopfile in JSON format
info Display information about an app
install Install apps
list List installed apps
prefix Returns the path to the specified app
reset Reset an app to resolve conflicts
search Search available apps
shim Manipulate Scoop shims
status Show status and check for new app versions
unhold Unhold an app to enable updates
uninstall Uninstall an app
update Update apps, or Scoop itself
virustotal Look for app's hash or url on virustotal.com
which Locate a shim/executable (similar to 'which' on Linux)Common Scoop Commands
You don’t need to memorize all Scoop commands. Here are the ones you’ll use most often:
Install an app
To install an app or command-line tool, use:
scoop install <app_name>For example, to install fastfetch:
> scoop install fastfetch
Installing 'fastfetch' (2.54.0) [64bit] from 'main' bucket
Starting download with aria2 ...
Download: (OK):download completed.
Checking hash of fastfetch-windows-amd64.7z ... ok.
Extracting fastfetch-windows-amd64.7z ... done.
Linking ~\scoop\apps\fastfetch\current => ~\scoop\apps\fastfetch\2.54.0
Creating shim for 'fastfetch'.
Creating shim for 'flashfetch'.
'fastfetch' (2.54.0) was installed successfully!Uninstall an app
To remove an app:
scoop uninstall <app_name>Example:
> scoop uninstall fastfetch
Uninstalling 'fastfetch' (2.54.0).
Removing shim 'fastfetch.shim'.
Removing shim 'fastfetch.exe'.
Removing shim 'flashfetch.shim'.
Removing shim 'flashfetch.exe'.
Unlinking ~\scoop\apps\fastfetch\current
'fastfetch' was uninstalled.Update all apps
To keep your apps up to date, run:
scoop update *Example output:
> scoop update *
Updating Scoop...
Updating Buckets...
Scoop was updated successfully!
dolphin-dev: 2509-244 -> 2509-258
pcsx2-dev: 2.5.258 -> 2.5.259
rpcs3: 0.0.38-18280 -> 0.0.38-18281
Updating 3 outdated apps:
'dolphin-dev' (2509-258) was installed successfully!
'pcsx2-dev' (2.5.259) was installed successfully!
'rpcs3' (0.0.38-18281) was installed successfully!Remove all Scoop caches
Scoop caches installation files to prevent re-downloading. Over time, these can take up disk space. To safely remove them:
scoop cache rm *Example:
> scoop cache rm *
Removing dolphin-dev#2509-244#7ecd8c9.7z...
Removing dolphin-dev#2509-258#815ed91.7z...
Removing pcsx2-dev#2.5.259#535ea03.7z...
Removing rpcs3#0.0.38-18280#6e4a143.7z...
Removing rpcs3#0.0.38-18281#6d7ddb1.7z...
Removing xemu#0.8.111#06ae006.zip...
Deleted: 6 files, 134.8 MBClean up leftover files from previous versions
Scoop also keeps older versions of apps so you can roll back if needed. To remove those safely:
scoop cleanup *Example:
> scoop cleanup *
Removing dolphin-dev: 2509-242 2509-244
Removing pcsx2-dev: 2.5.258
Removing rpcs3: 0.0.38-18273 0.0.38-18280
Removing xemu: 0.8.110
Everything is shiny now!Video
Conclusion
That should be enough to get you started with Scoop on Windows.
As usual, if you have any questions or a better method, leave a comment below. Thanks for reading, and see you next time!
