3 Ways to Download Software on Windows Using Command Prompt Only!

 3 Ways to Download Software on Windows Using Command Prompt Only!

 

Installing a new program on Windows is a very easy process that requires only simple steps, starting from searching for the name of the program on the Internet using the browser, then downloading the installation file and running it, then the process ends by pressing Finish, after which it is ready to use! But this is not always the case, as sometimes this process requires effort from you, whether to prevent the installation of the adware extension or to adjust various settings before installation. Although downloading programs through the browser is the prevailing and easiest way, there are some other ways to accomplish this task using the command prompt only, as programs can be installed directly through the CMD commands in Windows, let us explain how through the methods that we review below.

 

Method 1: Use the WinGet command

 

If you have ever used Ubuntu or any Linux distribution, you may be familiar with the [sudo apt-get] command, which is used to install programs from the command prompt window or the "Terminal". Instead of searching for the program on the Internet, downloading the installation file, and going through the traditional steps, it is executed One command and the operating system takes over the job of finding, downloading, and installing the software without any of your intervention. The Windows system, or at least the recent versions of it, includes the same function under the name "WinGet" so that commands can be used to install programs via CMD or PowerShell directly.

 

All you have to do when you want to download a new program on Windows is to open the Command Prompt or "Windows Terminal" if you are using Windows 11, then type the winget install command followed by its ID and press Enter. For example, the "winget install VideoLAN.VLC" command downloads and installs the famous VLC media player. After executing the command, Windows will display the progress indicator of the program's download process, and then it will start installing it silently. All you have to do is wait for the "Successfully installed" message to appear to find the program's shortcut in the Start menu.a

 

This is all there is to it. You can install any other program in the same way via the WinGet command, but to facilitate the process of finding programs, I advise you to use the winget.run the site as a guide to find the correct command to install any program. After visiting the site, type the name of the program in the search field, and when It appears in the results press "Copy command" and paste the command in the CMD window and press Enter to start the installation of the program immediately.

 

Method 2: Use the Invoke-WebRequest command

 

In case you don't know, the advanced command prompt PowerShell in Windows supports the ability to download files from the Internet via a command called "Invoke-WebRequest", where images, videos, compressed files, etc. can be downloaded directly from the Power Shell window via this command. Therefore, it can also be relied upon to download programs, but this requires obtaining the direct link to download the required program.

 

At first, launch the PowerShell or Terminal tool through the Start menu or through the options menu that appears after clicking the Win + X keys together. After opening the tool, type [cd Desktop] and press Enter so that the program installation file is saved on the desktop after downloading it. If you want to save the file in another folder, put the path of this folder after “cd”. After selecting the location, it is time to give the command to download the program file, which is as follows:

 

Invoke-WebRequest http://directURLhere -o download.exe

 

 

After copying this command, replace the "http://directURLhere" part with the direct link to the program's installation file, which usually ends in exe, win, or msi and may also end in rar or 7z if the file is compressed. For example, to download the VLC media player installation file, the command is as follows:

 

Invoke-WebRequest https://mirror.library.ucy.ac.cy/videolan/vlc/3.0.18/win64/vlc-3.0.18-win64.exe -o download.exe

 

Once you add the direct link and execute the command, a progress bar will appear showing the size of the file being downloaded, and it will take some time depending on the file size and internet connection speed. In the end, a new file named "download.exe" will be created on your desktop, which you can double-click to start installing the program.

 

Method 3: Use the Chocolatey tool

 

Chocolatey is one of the oldest tools available for downloading, updating, and removing software through the command prompt. We had already provided a distinct explanation about this tool in a previous article, as the tool depends on a huge database that includes thousands of programs for Windows, including professional programs from companies such as Adobe, TechSmith, and others, so it can be relied upon if the previous methods fail for any reason. one of the reasons.

 

All you have to do is open the PowerShell tool in administrator mode (Run as administrator), either through the search or the options menu that appears after clicking on the Win + X keys together, where you choose “Windows PowerShell (Admin). After the command prompt appears, enter the command [ Set-ExecutionPolicy AllSigned] and press Enter, and enter the following command to install Chocolatey:

 

Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force; [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072; iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))

 

 

When done, you will be able to download and install any software on your device with simple commands, for example, the [choco install camtasia] command can automatically download and install Camtasia Studio.

 

To facilitate the task, you can use the Chocolatey repositories page to find the programs and the command necessary to install any of them. There is a search bar at the top. Write the name of the program in it, and if it is in the database, it will appear in the results accompanied by information about the program’s function and the number of times it is downloaded in addition to the download command.

 

Once you copy the download command, open the PowerShell tool in administrator mode and paste the command and then press Enter to immediately start the process of downloading and installing the program, just wait for the Chocolatey tool to take over the entire task and the installation confirmation message will appear at the end as shown in the attached image above.