Warning: winget Automation and First-Run Consent
While winget is a powerful tool for installing software and applications automatically, there’s a crucial point to consider when using it in automation. When you run a winget command for the first time on a machine, you are prompted to agree to the terms and conditions of the package source repository.
PS C:\Users\Administrator> winget install --id microsoft.powershell --version 7.5.1.0
The 'msstore' source requires that you view the following agreements before using.
Terms of Transaction: https://aka.ms/microsoft-store-terms-of-transaction
The source requires the current machine's 2-letter geographic region to be sent to the backend service to function properly (ex. "US").
Do you agree to all the source agreements terms?
[Y] Yes [N] No: Y
Once you respond and agree to this prompt, it will not appear again on that machine. This can lead to a common pitfall: during development, you might manually respond ‘Yes’ and then proceed to automate the winget command without any consent options. However, when you deploy this automation to a new test or production environment, the script hangs waiting for input that never comes, and fails to execute as expected.
I encountered this exact issue with an installer I created using Inno Setup, which executes a winget command without the necessary consent options. You can see the relevant Inno Setup script (.iss file) at the link below:
The Solution: Use Agreement Options with winget
To prevent this, you must use two key command-line arguments when automating winget:
--accept-package-agreements: To accept the license agreement for the package being installed.--accept-source-agreements: To accept the agreement for the source repository.
You must include both arguments to ensure your automation runs smoothly.
Before the Fix
This is how my inno-setup_installer.iss looked without the agreement options.
PSArgs := '-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -NoLogo -NonInteractive -WindowStyle Hidden -Command "winget install --id microsoft.powershell --version 7.5.1.0; exit $LASTEXITCODE"';
After the Fix
Here is the corrected version with the agreement options added.
PSArgs := '-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -NoLogo -NonInteractive -WindowStyle Hidden -Command "winget install --id microsoft.powershell --version 7.5.1.0 --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements; exit $LASTEXITCODE"';
Summary
When automating tasks with winget, you must include the following two agreement options in your command to ensure it runs non-interactively:
--accept-package-agreements- Use this option to accept the license agreement for the package you are installing.
--accept-source-agreements- Use this option to accept the terms and conditions for the source repository.
References
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/package-manager/winget/install