On Linux, you can install apps and packages through a command line interface without having to visit a website or clicking through multiple "Next" menus. Chocolatey is a new handy tool that brings this convenience to Windows. Thanks to it you can install almost any program through a command line in a snap.

It currently contains over 370 popular programs in its database. You can search for your favorite program using "clist" command. For example "clist skype" will search for Skype in its database. If you found your program, install it using "cinst" command (ex: "cinst skype"). To see all the available packages in their database, visit the Packages section on their website.

To install Chocolatey on your Windows computer, paste the following command into the Command prompt and press Enter.

C:\> @powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy unrestricted -Command "iex ((new-object net.webclient).DownloadString('http://bit.ly/psChocInstall'))" && SET PATH=%PATH%;%systemdrive%\chocolatey\bin

install programs from command line

To see Chocolatey in action, watch this video.

Features:

  • Install applications and tools on Windows from a command line.
  • Over 370 popular programs in the database.
  • Search for programs using "clist" command.
  • Install with "cinst" command.
  • Install multiple programs at once.
  • Compatible with Cygwin.

Check out Chocolatey @ www.chocolatey.org