My subsequent Windows PC gained’t want hours of app installs due to this one file

Installing the vital apps is among the first things I do on my new PC. No shock there, nevertheless it’s a tedious course of. Taking notice of all of the apps I’ve put in after which reinstalling them one after the other is a chore.

Fortunately, I’ve stopped manually reinstalling apps from scratch and now depend on the favored UniGetUI, a free app supervisor that may save a listing of your apps and allow you to reinstall them rapidly after a contemporary Windows set up.

Do just a little cleanup earlier than something

Remove what you do not use earlier than saving the checklist

I’m all the time stunned by the variety of apps I’ve put in. Only a handful of them are what I exploit daily, and the remainder merely sit there taking over area, by no means for use once more. Granted, for somebody like me who exams apps for a dwelling, that is anticipated, however all of us have extra apps than we want.

So, contemplate this a superb probability to wash up your PC earlier than you create any checklist. Every app you take away now’s one much less app to obtain later, which retains your app bundle small and fast to put in.

Head to Settings > Apps > Installed apps and undergo every little thing. Sort the checklist by Size (largest to smallest) first, since huge apps are the best wins. Then take away something you do not want or have not opened in the previous few months. If you need to go additional, I observe a yearly routine to deep clean my Windows PC that additionally clears the leftover information common uninstallers miss.

Get UniGetUI up and operating

Build a bundle of your apps in just a few clicks

UniGetUI is a free, open-source app that places a graphical window on prime of bundle managers like WinGet, Scoop, Chocolatey, pip, and npm. It enables you to seek for software program, set up it, replace it, and take away it from one place, with out visiting obtain websites or typing instructions. It was once known as WingetUI, and Devolutions now maintains it. I’ve already defined why I prefer it as a package manager that brings the scattered Windows app world together, however right here I solely want one function: Package Bundles.

You can get it from the Microsoft Store (verify that the writer is Devolutions) or run winget set up Devolutions.UniGetUI in an admin Terminal. On first launch, maintain WinGet turned on. You may also check in with GitHub from the bottom-left nook, which backs up your bundle checklist to your account. That’s a helpful second copy if you happen to lose the bundle file.

To construct the bundle, open Installed Packages and click on Filters. Under WinGet, maintain each winget and msstore checked, and uncheck the Local PC choices. Apps marked “Local” don’t have any matching bundle in a repository, to allow them to’t go into an installable bundle. Next, click on the checkbox beside Package Name to pick out every little thing, then click on Add choice to bundle. Click Save As, decide a reputation like old-pc-apps, and duplicate the file to a USB drive or cloud storage. It’s often only some KB.

Go again to Filters, verify solely Local PC, and also you get a listing of every little thing the bundle cannot carry. That’s often older apps, safety or VPN instruments that set up drivers, and paid software program from the developer’s web site. I write down the place I downloaded every one and discover its license key now, so I’m not trying to find it later.

Moving apps to your PC

Open the bundle and let it do the putting in

Once Windows setup is completed, run Windows Update first so WinGet and the Microsoft Store are present. Then set up UniGetUI the identical method as earlier than and maintain WinGet on. Copy the bundle out of your USB drive or cloud storage to a neighborhood folder like Downloads. Opening it straight from a cloud placeholder can fail if the file hasn’t synced but.

In UniGetUI, click on Package Bundles within the left bar, then Open, and decide your file. The checklist fills with each app out of your outdated PC, together with its bundle ID and supply. Select every little thing, then uncheck something you have determined you do not want anymore. Some apps might already be on the brand new PC, both from Windows or your PC maker. You can uncheck these too, although UniGetUI usually skips or updates them.

Click Install choice and stroll away, largely. UniGetUI installs every app in silent mode, so you will not see setup wizards. The solely factor it wants from you is a UAC immediate for apps that need administrator rights. Keep a watch on the display, as a result of the queue stops shifting whereas a immediate is ready. You can observe progress within the operations panel on the backside.

When the queue is empty, verify for failed installs. The standard causes are a community timeout, a bundle that was renamed or eliminated, or an older copy of the app nonetheless operating. Retry the failed ones, and in the event that they fail once more, seek for them on Discover Packages or obtain them from the developer’s web site. Then open Installed Packages to verify every little thing is there, and set up the Local PC apps out of your checklist by hand.

The caveat is that the bundle brings again your apps, however not their settings. If you need a plain backup outdoors UniGetUI, you may also use Winget’s export and import commands to rebuild a Windows setup. Run winget export -o apps.json on the outdated PC, then winget import -i apps.json --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements on the brand new one.

Windows can restore your app checklist, nevertheless it will not set up them for you

You clearly do not want UniGetUI to get your apps again. Windows 11 already has a built-in backup software, discovered at Settings > Accounts > Windows backup, that saves your app checklist to your Microsoft account. On a brand new PC or after a clear set up, you check in with the identical account and Windows presents to revive it.

But it solely pins your apps within the Start menu and taskbar. You nonetheless should click on every one to start out the set up, and it largely covers Microsoft Store apps. UniGetUI automates the method and turns hours of manually set up into just a few UAC prompts. It will not restore settings or apps lacking from the repositories, however you may all the time set up them from the developer’s web site.