Since Winget arrived on Windows 10 and 11 as a modern alternative to the traditional “Next–Next–Finish” installers, Microsoft’s package manager has continued to mature steadily. It’s fascinating to see WinGet 1.12.250 Preview is Here with Much-Needed Performance Fixes, how the company took inspiration from Linux-style package managers and successfully brought that concept into the Windows ecosystem.
Now, with the release of Winget version 1.12.250 (Preview), the tool takes another step in its evolution. This update doesn’t introduce major new features but focuses instead on fine-tuning and optimisation—improvements that regular users will appreciate when installing or updating software via the console or graphical interfaces like WinGetUI.
According to Microsoft’s release notes, this version is a maintenance release that continues the progress made in the 1.12 branch introduced earlier this summer.
What’s New in Winget 1.12.250 (Preview)
Key Features from the 1.12 Branch
While 1.12.250 focuses on refinements, it builds upon several important features introduced in version 1.12:
- MCP Server Available: You can now run
winget mcpto receive configuration assistance, enabling advanced orchestration and control scenarios. - Modernised App Installer: The App Installer now uses WinUI 3 and depends on Windows App Runtime 1.8, replacing the older WinUI 2 framework. This modernises the interface and its update cycle.
- Manifest Schema v1.12: Adds support for “Font” as both an
InstallerTypeand aNestedInstallerType. It also allows experimental sources to be activated in Winget settings.
Specific Fixes and Improvements in 1.12.250
Microsoft describes this build as a targeted refinement, featuring:
- Faster search performance for installed packages, reducing latency when querying the local catalogue.
- Improved compatibility with older systems.
- Enhanced COM static storage handling, improving internal stability.
- Two resolved bugs affecting unrelated functions.
- A fix related to manifest validation for UTF-8 BOM files, addressing an issue where the schema header appears on the first line—a common case in text editors that add BOMs by default.
Winget may not be a mainstream tool for every Windows user, but for IT professionals, developers, and power users, it remains a valuable and increasingly polished utility. Version 1.12.250 shows that Microsoft is continuing to refine and modernize one of the most useful tools in its software management ecosystem.
