wy

wy is a Windows-first CLI package manager frontend inspired by yay on Arch Linux. It presents a unified command surface over real Windows package sources, starting with WinGet and Chocolatey, with a clean backend abstraction ready for Scoop.

Features

• Friendly commands such as wy search firefox and wy install git
• yay-style compatibility aliases such as wy -Ss firefox and wy -Syu
• Multi-backend search and package resolution across WinGet and Chocolatey
• Explicit backend targeting with --backend winget|choco|scoop
• Interactive ambiguity handling with a numbered picker
• --non-interactive mode for automation
• --json output mode for scripting
• Startup backend diagnostics so missing tools are obvious

Project Structure

• src/Wy.Cli: entrypoint, help text, startup wiring, app orchestration
• src/Wy.Core: domain models, contracts, command parsing, resolver logic
• src/Wy.Infrastructure: process execution, config loading, backend implementations, console UX
• tests/Wy.Tests: unit tests for parser and resolver behavior

Supported Commands

Friendly syntax

• wy search <query>
• wy install <package>
• wy remove <package>
• wy info <package>
• wy upgrade
• wy update-db
• wy list-upgrades

yay compatibility

• wy -Ss <query> -> wy search <query>
• wy -S <package> -> wy install <package>
• wy -R <package> -> wy remove <package>
• wy -Qi <package> -> wy info <package>
• wy -Syu -> wy upgrade --refresh
• wy -Sy -> wy update-db
• wy -Qu -> wy list-upgrades

Backend Overview

WinGet

• Search: winget search --query <query> --accept-source-agreements --disable-interactivity
• Install: winget install --id <id> --exact
• Remove: winget uninstall --id <id> --exact
• Info: winget show --id <id> --accept-source-agreements --disable-interactivity
• Upgrade: winget upgrade --all
• Refresh: winget source update
• List upgrades: winget upgrade --accept-source-agreements --disable-interactivity

Chocolatey

• Search: choco search <query> --limit-output
• Install: choco install <id> -y
• Remove: choco uninstall <id> -y
• Info: choco info <id> --limit-output
• Upgrade: choco upgrade all -y
• Refresh: treated as implicit
• List upgrades: choco outdated --limit-output

Scoop

Scoop is scaffolded as a backend slot so the architecture supports a third source cleanly, but command implementations are intentionally left incomplete in this first milestone.

Configuration

The config file lives at %AppData%\\wy\\config.json.

Example:

{
  "defaultBackend": "winget",
  "enabledBackends": ["winget", "choco"],
  "nonInteractive": false,
  "colorEnabled": true,
  "verboseLogging": false,
  "jsonOutput": false,
  "processTimeoutSeconds": 600
}

A sample config is also included at config.sample.json.

Build

Requirements:

• .NET 8 SDK
• Windows
• winget and/or choco installed and available on PATH

Commands:

dotnet restore
dotnet build wy.sln
dotnet test wy.sln

Run:

dotnet run --project .\src\Wy.Cli\Wy.Cli.csproj -- search firefox
dotnet run --project .\src\Wy.Cli\Wy.Cli.csproj -- -Syu

Build a release installer:

.\scripts\build-release.ps1

This produces:

• a self-contained single-file app in artifacts\publish\win-x64
• a per-user Windows .exe installer in artifacts\installer

The installer installs wy into %LocalAppData%\Programs\wy and adds that directory to the current user's PATH.

Usage Examples

wy search firefox
wy install git --backend winget
wy remove vlc --backend choco
wy info neovim
wy upgrade --refresh
wy update-db
wy list-upgrades
wy -Ss firefox
wy -S git
wy -R vlc
wy -Qi git
wy -Syu

Notes

• This code shells out to the real package managers. It does not fake installs.
• Resolver behavior is centralized in Wy.Core so new backends can be added without redesigning the CLI.
• Chocolatey parsing is isolated in its backend, and the WinGet backend is written to support current Windows client output where JSON is not available for all commands.