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lostindark/driverstoreexplorer

10,625C#Audience · ops devopsComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

A Windows desktop tool for viewing, removing, and backing up hardware drivers from the Windows driver store, handy for cleaning up disk space taken by old driver versions.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Driver Store Explorer))
    What it does
      View installed drivers
      Remove old drivers
      Add new drivers
      Export driver backups
    Tech
      C sharp
      .NET Framework
    Use cases
      Free up disk space
      Pre-reinstall backup
      Offline Windows repair
    Audience
      System admins
      Advanced users
    Setup
      Download ZIP
      Run as admin
      Winget install
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Code map

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Remove outdated or unused driver packages from a Windows PC to free up disk space.

USE CASE 2

Export and back up installed drivers before reinstalling Windows.

USE CASE 3

Install new driver packages from a folder without going through Device Manager.

USE CASE 4

Manage drivers on an offline Windows installation for system recovery work.

Tech stack

C#.NET Framework

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Requires administrator privileges on Windows 7 or newer, download ZIP from releases page and run the executable.

Open source, use, copy, and modify freely, check the repo for exact license terms.

In plain English

Driver Store Explorer, also called RAPR, is a Windows desktop tool for viewing and managing the driver store: a folder on Windows where the operating system keeps copies of hardware drivers that have been added to the system. Over time this folder can accumulate old driver versions that take up disk space but are no longer needed. Driver Store Explorer makes it easier to see what is there, remove outdated versions, add new ones, and back them up. The README opens with a clear warning. Modifying the Windows driver store can cause serious problems if done incorrectly, including preventing the system from booting or making hardware stop working. The tool is aimed at advanced users and system administrators who understand what they are doing. Ordinary users are discouraged from using it. The main features include browsing all installed third-party driver packages with details like size, version, and date, installing new driver packages with optional automatic device association, removing single or multiple drivers including drivers that are currently in use, exporting drivers to a backup folder, and automatically identifying old driver versions that have been superseded by newer ones. The tool can also work on offline Windows installations, not just the currently running system. Installation is straightforward. The easiest options are downloading a ZIP from the releases page and running the executable, or installing through Winget, the Windows package manager, with a single command. Building from source using Visual Studio is also documented. The application requires Windows 7 or newer, a version of .NET Framework, and administrator privileges. The interface supports over 20 languages and includes features like live search filtering, color-coded status display, and CSV export. The project is written in C# and is available under an open source license.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
I have Driver Store Explorer open on my Windows PC. Show me step by step how to safely remove old duplicate driver versions without breaking my hardware.
Prompt 2
Using RAPR (Driver Store Explorer), how do I back up all my current drivers to a folder before doing a clean Windows reinstall?
Prompt 3
I want to install a driver package from a folder using Driver Store Explorer instead of running the setup.exe. Walk me through the steps.
Prompt 4
How do I use Driver Store Explorer to manage drivers on an offline Windows installation I've mounted from another drive?
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