Guide

Move all your apps to a new PC with one command

Published 21 October 2026

A dark PowerShell window showing winget export saving the app list, then the list of package names inside apps.json

Short answerOn the old PC, run winget export -o apps.json. Copy apps.json to the new PC and run winget import -i apps.json --ignore-unavailable. It installs every app on the list that winget can find, newest versions first. Files, settings and sign-ins do not move.

Setting up a new laptop usually means a day of finding download pages and clicking through installers. winget, the app installer built into Windows 10 and 11, can save a list of your apps on the old PC and install the whole list on the new one.

Step 1: Save your app list on the old PC

Open PowerShell or Terminal and run:

PowerShell

winget export -o apps.json

It saves apps.json in the folder you are in. You may see lines like this for apps winget does not know about:

Example output

Installed package is not available from any source: WinMLShared

Those apps are left out of the list. Write their names down if you need them, and install them by hand later.

Step 2: Look at the list

The file is plain text. This shows every app in it:

PowerShell

findstr PackageIdentifier apps.json

Example output (yours will list your own apps):

Example output

"PackageIdentifier" : "Google.Chrome"
"PackageIdentifier" : "VideoLAN.VLC"
"PackageIdentifier" : "Spotify.Spotify"
"PackageIdentifier" : "Zoom.Zoom"

You can open it in Notepad and delete any app you do not want on the new PC.

Step 3: Install everything on the new PC

Copy apps.json to the new PC with a pen drive, OneDrive or email. Open PowerShell in the folder where you saved it and run:

PowerShell

winget import -i apps.json --ignore-unavailable

--ignore-unavailable skips apps it cannot find instead of stopping. winget then installs the apps one after another. Some installers still ask for admin permission, so stay near the PC while it runs. To skip the licence prompts, add --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements.

Why you get the newest versions

By default, the export does not save version numbers, so the new PC gets the latest version of every app instead of the old ones you had. If you need the exact same versions, export with --include-versions.

Keep it as a backup

Save a fresh apps.json in OneDrive every few months. If your laptop ever dies, one command brings all your apps back on the next one.

What does not move

Only the apps winget can find move over. Your files, app settings, saved passwords and sign-ins stay on the old PC, so back those up separately before you wipe or sell it.