Winget and Windows sudo Compatibility

[SamGreenwood1]

Hey everyone,

With the recent introduction of the native sudo command in Windows 11 Insider Previews, I've been thinking a lot about how it might interact with existing command-line tools, especially Winget. I'm curious to hear the community's thoughts and if anyone has insights into the future here.

The Context and My Question

For those not fully up to speed, the new Windows sudo command allows users to elevate privileges for specific commands directly from an un-elevated terminal, similar to how sudo works on Linux/macOS. This is a pretty big deal for command-line workflows.

Currently, when you use winget for operations that require admin rights (like winget install or winget upgrade for system-wide installations), you typically either get a UAC prompt or you have to launch your terminal as an administrator from the get-go.

My main question is: Are there any plans or ongoing discussions to make Winget fully compatible with the new Windows sudo command? I'm wondering if the Winget team is looking into seamless integration, or if sudo winget install <packageID> could eventually just work without an additional UAC prompt coming from Winget itself.

Why This Matters (and an Example)

I see a few clear advantages if this compatibility happens:

• Streamlined Elevation: For those of us adopting sudo as our go-to for elevated commands, having winget flow directly through it would be incredibly smooth. No more juggling separate UAC prompts or remembering to open an admin terminal.
• Consistency: It would bring a more unified experience, especially for users coming from other operating systems where sudo is standard, or just for anyone trying to maintain consistent command-line practices on Windows.
• Improved Scripting: This could simplify automation and scripting where Winget commands need to run with elevated privileges.

Ideally, I'd love to see something like this work without a hitch:

sudo winget install <packageID>

...with sudo handling the elevation for winget, rather than winget triggering its own UAC prompt afterwards.

I'd appreciate any information, speculation, or technical considerations anyone might have on this topic. Has anyone seen discussions on the Winget GitHub or heard anything official? Or perhaps you have thoughts on why this might be challenging or even unnecessary?

Let's discuss!

See discussion I posted to the (Windows) sudo repo here.