explaingit

scoopinstaller/scoop

Analysis updated 2026-06-21

★ 24,071PowerShellAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

TLDR

Scoop is a Windows command-line package manager that installs apps without admin rights or popups, just type one command to install, update, or remove software.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Install apps via command
      No admin rights needed
      Auto dependencies
    Buckets
      Default CLI tools
      GUI apps extras
      Dev fonts languages
    Use Cases
      Reproducible setup
      Scripted installs
      Team onboarding
    Tech Stack
      PowerShell
      Windows only
    Audience
      Developers
      Power users
Click or tap to explore — scroll the page freely

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Script a repeatable Windows developer setup by writing a list of scoop install commands that run on any new machine.

USE CASE 2

Install command-line tools like git or Python on Windows without administrator rights or clicking through installer wizards.

USE CASE 3

Manage multiple app collections using buckets to access GUI apps, fonts, and programming languages from one interface.

What is it built with?

PowerShell

How does it compare?

scoopinstaller/scoopdotnet/corecmderdev/cmder
Stars24,07121,95226,887
LanguagePowerShellPowerShellPowerShell
Setup difficultyeasyeasyeasy
Complexity2/51/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdevelopervibe coder

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Windows only, requires PowerShell 5.1+ which ships with Windows 10.

In plain English

Scoop is a command-line package manager for Windows, think of it like an app store you control from a text terminal. The problem it solves is the usual Windows installation experience: clicking through wizard dialogs, accepting User Account Control (UAC) security prompts, and ending up with software scattered across your system in unpredictable ways. Scoop replaces all of that with a single typed command. When you run something like "scoop install git", Scoop downloads the app, extracts it to a consistent folder under your user profile, wires up the necessary shortcuts, and handles dependencies automatically, no admin rights needed and no UAC popups. Apps are organized into "buckets," which are curated collections. The default bucket covers popular command-line tools, additional buckets cover GUI apps, programming languages like PHP and Java, developer fonts, and more. Scoop is especially useful for developers and power users who want a reproducible setup they can script. Instead of manually installing a dozen tools, you write a list of "scoop install" commands and run them on any Windows machine. It is written in PowerShell and runs without elevated permissions in most cases.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Write a PowerShell script using Scoop to install a full developer environment including git, node, and python on a fresh Windows machine.
Prompt 2
Show me how to add the Scoop extras bucket and install a GUI app like VLC using Scoop from the Windows command line.
Prompt 3
Write a Scoop app manifest JSON for packaging my open-source Windows tool so others can install it with a single scoop install command.
Prompt 4
How do I use Scoop to update all installed tools at once, and how do I pin a specific version of an app to prevent it from updating?

Frequently asked questions

What is scoop?

Scoop is a Windows command-line package manager that installs apps without admin rights or popups, just type one command to install, update, or remove software.

What language is scoop written in?

Mainly PowerShell. The stack also includes PowerShell.

How hard is scoop to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is scoop for?

Mainly developer.

Open on GitHub → Explain another repo

This repo across BitVibe Labs

Scan in gitsafehub Deploy in gitdeployhub scoopinstaller on gitmyhub

Verify against the repo before relying on details.

Alternatives & similar repos