Get-WingetReport

Overview

This script audits the applications installed on a machine using a portable copy of Winget and returns the result as PowerShell objects. It runs once with administrative rights and, in that single run, prepares the machine, deploys a small audit script, runs that audit in both system and user context, collects the combined inventory, cleans up after itself, and returns an array of application objects.

Requirements

• PowerShell v5+
• Administrative Privileges (runs as SYSTEM or as an elevated administrator)
• Active Internet Connection (to fetch Winget, its dependencies, and the Strapper module if missing)

Process

1. Initialization

   • Set up TLS and quiet output preferences.
   • Detect whether the script is running as SYSTEM or as a user.
   • Install or update the Strapper module for logging and local data storage.

2. Prepare the machine

   • Create and secure the working folders under C:\ProgramData\_automation.
   • Install a portable copy of winget.exe and its dependencies under C:\ProgramData\_automation\App\Winget (only if not already present), so the audit can run even where Winget is not natively available, such as in SYSTEM context.

3. Deploy the audit script

   • Write a small Winget-Audit.ps1 to C:\ProgramData\_automation\Script\Winget-Report.
   • The audit script lists installed applications, works out whether each one is up to date and whether automatic updates are enabled, and stores the result in a local Strapper table.

4. Run the audit in both contexts

   • A SYSTEM task captures machine-scope applications and replaces the inventory table.
   • A user task captures user-scope applications and appends to the inventory table. This task is created only when a user is logged on to the machine.
   • The parent script waits for each task to finish before continuing.

5. Collect, clean up, and return

   • Read the combined inventory from the Strapper table.
   • Remove both scheduled tasks and delete the deployed audit script.
   • Return the applications as an array of PSCustomObject.

Payload Usage

To run the audit and capture the result:

$packages = .\Get-WingetReport.ps1

To run the audit and view the result as a table:

.\Get-WingetReport.ps1 | Format-Table DisplayName, InstalledVersion, AvailableVersion, Source, Level

To run the audit and view only outdated applications:

.\Get-WingetReport.ps1 | Where-Object UptoDate -eq 0 | Format-Table DisplayName, InstalledVersion, AvailableVersion

Parameters

This script takes no parameters. It detects its own run context (SYSTEM or user) and adjusts behavior automatically.

Notes

• Privileges: Must run as SYSTEM or as an elevated administrator.
• Winget source: In user context the audit prefers the system-installed winget command (when it resolves and returns output) because the portable winget.exe cannot enumerate every installed application, notably Microsoft Store apps. It falls back to the portable Winget when the command is missing or returns nothing. System context always uses the portable Winget.
• User task: The user audit only runs when a user is logged on. On an unattended machine with no active session, only system-scope applications are reported.
• Auto-update status: If a windowsAutoUpdateConfig table exists (written by the companion Winget-AutoUpdate configuration), the audit uses it to determine whether each application has automatic updates enabled and when the update task last ran. Without that table, auto-update is reported as disabled.
• Self-cleanup: The scheduled tasks and the deployed audit script are always removed at the end of the run. The portable Winget install and the log files remain.

Output

Returns an array of PSCustomObject, one entry per installed application, with the following properties:

Property	Description
DisplayName	Friendly name of the application.
PackageId	Winget package identifier.
InstalledVersion	Currently installed version.
AvailableVersion	Newer version available from the source, or empty when up to date.
Source	Package source (winget or msstore).
UptoDate	1 when up to date, 0 when an update is available.
Level	Context the application was captured in (System or User).
AutoUpdateEnabled	1 when automatic updates are enabled for the application, otherwise 0.
AutoUpdateRunTime	Last run time of the Winget-AutoUpdate task, when applicable.

Files written under C:\ProgramData\_automation\App\Winget:

• winget.exe and its portable dependencies

Local data table (managed by Strapper):

• windowsApplicationInventory (combined system and user inventory)

Script logs (next to this script):

• .\Get-WingetReport-log.txt
• .\Get-WingetReport-error.txt

Changelog

2026-06-29

• Initial version of the document