This document outlines our aspirational roadmap to delivering Windows Package Manager v1.0 by March-May 2021. We anticipate substantial feedback from the community, and as such, this plan is subject to change.
The Windows Package Manager project is engineered and delivered as described below.
- Fixes / Features for Windows Package Manager
- Fixes / Features for future Windows Releases
- Bug Fixes
- Performance & Stability
- Globalization, Localization, Internationalization, Accessibility
- Tests
- Available from to Windows Insiders through the Microsoft Store & GitHub Releases
- Release Notes & Announcement Blog published
- Engineering System Maintenance
- Community Engagement
- Docs
- Future Milestone Planning
Releases will be available here on GitHub first We will release to the App Installer for Insiders as frequently as the releases have met our quality bars.
Ultimately, we're aiming for Windows Package Manager v1.0 to be released in Spring 2021:
| Release or Milestone end date | Milestone Name | Key Deliverables |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-05-19 | v0.1 | Windows Package Manager announced & open-sourced ([Build 2020 Windows Package Manager session]) |
| June 2020 | v0.2 | |
| July 2020 | v0.3 | |
| August 2020 | v0.4 | |
| September 2020 | v0.5 | |
| October 2020 | v0.6 | |
| November 2020 | v0.7 | |
| December 2020 | v0.8 | |
| January 2021 | v0.9 | |
| February 2021 | v0.10 | |
| March 2021 | v0.11 | |
| April 2021 | v0.12 | |
| May 2021 | v1.0 | Windows Package Manager v1.0 Release |
Each Release above is/will be reflected in our GitHub milestones:
| Milestone | Description |
|---|---|
| v0.1 | Initial Preview |
| Backlog | Work not yet assigned to a milestone or release |
Incoming issues/asks/etc. are triaged several times a week, labelled appropriately, and assigned to a milestone in priority order:
- P0 (serious crashes, data loss, etc.) issues are scheduled to be dealt with ASAP
- P1/2 issues/features/asks assigned to the current or future milestone, or to the Windows Package Manager v1.0 milestone for future assignment, if required to deliver a v1.0 feature
- Issues/features/asks not on our list of v1.0 features is assigned to the Windows Package Manager Backlog for subsequent triage, prioritization & scheduling.
The following are a list of the key scenarios we're aiming to deliver for Windows Package Manager v1.0.
👉 Note: There may be features that don't fit within v1.0, but will be re-assessed and prioritized for a future release, the plan for which will be published in early in 2021. As features become more defined, links to the associated issues will be added.
| Release | Feature | Description/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| V1 | Microsoft Store | Support for installing Apps from the Microsoft Store |
| V1 | REST Repository | Support for a REST based repository |
| V1 | --list | The client should be able to tell you what Apps are installed |
| V1 | --update | The client should be able to update one or "all" installed Apps |
| V1 | --uninstall | The client should be able to uninstall Apps |
| V1 | Multiple Installers | The client should be able to choose between multiple different installers from the same manifest |
| V1 | Multiple Languages | The client will support installation for almost every language for which there is a fixed-width font including East Asian languages. Bonus points for RTL languages/scripts. |
| V1 | Multiple Architectures | The client should support multiple architectures in the same manifest |
| V1 | Non-Zero Exit Codes | The client should support applications with non-zero exit codes as success |
| V1 | Install .zip | The client should be able to install programs in a .zip file |
| V1 | Configurability & Customization | The client will have a modern, flexible settings mechanism that persists settings to/from a JSON file stored in the user's app data folders, and/or in files synchronized between machines via OneDrive, etc. |
| V1 | Accessibility (A11y) | The client will be highly accessible and inclusive. It will expose its contents via UIA to support tools such as Windows Narrator, and UI automation tools including WinAppDriver |
| V1 | Color Theming & Styling | The client will honor the user's Windows dark/light theme settings, and/or color accent settings. |
| V1 | Autocomplete | The client will support autocomplete for all commands and packages in the local cache |
| V1 | Release Channels | Some applications have different release channels and we should support them |
| V1 | User vs. System | Applications may be installed for the local user or for the system |
| V1 | Metered Networks | The client should download responsibly when on metered networks |
| V1 | Delivery Optimization | Delivery Optimization should be leveraged for large Apps |
| V1 | Elevated Privileges | The client should support installing Apps that require elevated privileges |
| V1 | Control Panel | Support for Apps installed in the Control Panel |
| V1 | Group Policy | Support for Group Policy control |
| V1 | Package Snapshot | Support for exporting all installed packages as a package set |
| V1 | Package Set | Support for installing a set of packages |
| V1 | Manifest Wizard | --create helps a user generate a manifest |
| V1 | App Config Files | Support for silent installers that require a configuration file |
| V1 | UX Enhancements | Client Verbosity Settings |
| V1 | Dependency Support | Some Apps depend on other Apps to be present like IDEs and Programming Languages |
| V1 | Install PWA | Support installing Progressive Web Applications |
Feature Notes:
* Feature Priorities will be influenced by community feedback on issues.