Ryan Johnson - 2025-11-17

Please add this app to winget. Winget is the native package manage for Windows.

It lets us install in a way similar to Linuxes:

winget install equalizer-apo

How to add app to winget package manager for Windows:
https://gemini.google.com/share/e280bbbf2dd6
In short, you would need to fork the winget package repository and add the manifest pointing to the installer on sourceforge.net. Let me know if you need help understanding GitHub's strange website.

Instructions from Gemini

The standard method for publishing packages to the Windows Package Manager (WinGet) is to submit a manifest to the official, community-maintained microsoft/winget-pkgs repository on GitHub.

This process applies to software hosted on SourceForge, as the SourceForge mirror/download link is simply referenced in the WinGet manifest. The publishing process itself does not depend on SourceForge.

📦 Manual WinGet Publishing

The manual process involves using the winget create command-line tool or manually writing the manifest files, then submitting them via a GitHub Pull Request (PR).

  1. Install wingetcreate: Obtain the command-line tool developed by Microsoft to simplify manifest creation.
  2. Verify Installer: Ensure your application's installer (MSI, EXE, or MSIX hosted on SourceForge) meets WinGet requirements:
    • Direct Download: The URL in the manifest must link directly to the installer file, with no intermediary pages, CAPTCHAs, or EULAs to click through.
    • Silent Install: The installer must support a non-interactive (silent) installation mode.
  3. Generate Manifest: Use the interactive tool:
    bash winget create <installer_url>
    • The tool will prompt for required information: Package Identifier (e.g., Publisher.ApplicationName), Publisher, Name, Version, Description, etc.
    • It will automatically download the installer, calculate the SHA256 hash for security, and generate the YAML manifest files in the required directory structure: manifests/<L>/<Publisher>/<Application>/<Version>.
  4. Validate Manifest: Check the manifest for schema compliance:
    bash winget validate <path_to_manifests>
  5. Submit Pull Request (PR):
    • Fork the microsoft/winget-pkgs repository on GitHub.
    • Clone your fork locally and create a new git branch.
    • Copy the generated manifest files into the appropriate folder structure in your local clone.
    • Commit the files and Push the branch to your fork.
    • Create a Pull Request from your fork/branch to the main branch of microsoft/winget-pkgs.
  6. Validation and Merge:
    • Automated checks run on the PR for schema compliance, installer functionality, and virus scanning.
    • Community moderators may manually review the submission.
    • Once approved, the PR is merged, and the package becomes available in the WinGet CDN after the publishing pipeline runs (typically within an hour).

🚀 Automated WinGet Publishing (CI/CD)

For automated publishing of new SourceForge releases, integrate manifest creation and PR submission into your project's CI/CD pipeline (e.g., GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, GitLab CI).

  1. CI Trigger: The pipeline is triggered upon a new release/tag in your SourceForge-hosted project.
  2. Manifest Generation: Use a tool like winget create or Komac CLI within the CI script to generate the new package manifest, pointing the installer URL to the latest SourceForge download link.
    • Komac is a community tool often favored for its simplicity in updating existing packages.
  3. Authentication: The CI pipeline must authenticate to GitHub to interact with the microsoft/winget-pkgs repository. This typically requires a GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT) with the necessary scopes (workflow, public_repo).
  4. PR Submission: The script uses the PAT to automatically:
    • Fork or create a new branch in a repository fork.
    • Commit the new manifest files.
    • Push the changes.
    • Open a new Pull Request to the official microsoft/winget-pkgs repository.

This automated step replaces steps 3-6 of the manual process, ensuring that every new release on SourceForge triggers a WinGet submission.

 

Last edit: Ryan Johnson 2025-11-17