[Bug]: Winget installation failed successfully

[dginovker]

Describe the bug

I do not have Winget installed

I click Install Winget, notice that the installation fails

Sparkle happily says that the widget installation completed, even though it failed

Steps to reproduce

see description above

Sparkle log output

[2026-05-02 14:43:43.925] [info]  [Sparkle]: App ready, creating window...
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.929] [info]  [Sparkle]: createWindow called
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.930] [info]  [Sparkle]: __dirname = C:\Users\w\AppData\Local\Programs\sparkle\resources\app.asar\out\main
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.930] [info]  [Sparkle]: icon path = C:\Users\w\AppData\Local\Programs\sparkle\resources\app.asar\resources\sparkle2.ico
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.931] [info]  [Sparkle]: preload path = C:\Users\w\AppData\Local\Programs\sparkle\resources\app.asar\out\preload\index.js
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.932] [info]  [Sparkle]: renderer path = C:\Users\w\AppData\Local\Programs\sparkle\resources\app.asar\out\renderer\index.html
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.970] [info]  [Sparkle]: BrowserWindow created
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.971] [info]  [Sparkle]: Loading renderer from file
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.980] [info]  [Sparkle]: Window created successfully
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.981] [info]  [Sparkle]: Auto updater initialized
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.982] [info]  [Sparkle main/powershell.ts]: PowerShell handlers setup complete
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.983] [info]  [Sparkle main/system.ts]: System handlers setup complete
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.983] [info]  [Sparkle main/tweakHandler.ts]: Tweak handlers setup complete
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.984] [info]  [Sparkle main/dnsHandler.ts]: DNS handlers setup complete
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.984] [info]  [Sparkle main/backup.ts]: Backup handlers setup complete
[2026-05-02 14:43:43.985] [info]  [Sparkle]: Handlers setup complete
[2026-05-02 14:43:44.627] [info]  [Sparkle]: Window ready to show
[2026-05-02 14:43:45.101] [error] Error loading tweak states: Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, open 'C:\Users\w\AppData\Roaming\sparkle\tweakStates.json'
    at Object.readFileSync (node:fs:440:20)
    at t.readFileSync (node:electron/js2c/node_init:2:11013)
    at getActiveTweaks (C:\Users\w\AppData\Local\Programs\sparkle\resources\app.asar\out\main\index.js:864:21)
    at C:\Users\w\AppData\Local\Programs\sparkle\resources\app.asar\out\main\index.js:858:12
    at Session.<anonymous> (node:electron/js2c/browser_init:2:116478)
    at Session.emit (node:events:508:28)
[2026-05-02 14:43:48.243] [info]  PowerShell stdout [GetWindowsVersion]: 24H2

[2026-05-02 14:43:48.245] [info]  Fetched system info
[2026-05-02 14:43:59.966] [error] Checkpoint-Computer : This command cannot be run due to the following error: the service cannot be started because it 
is disabled or does not have enabled devices associated with it.
At line:1 char:1
+ Checkpoint-Computer -Description 'SparkleBackup-2026-05-02_14-43-58'
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (:) [Checkpoint-Computer], ArgumentException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : ServiceDisabled,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.CheckpointComputerCommand
 

[2026-05-02 14:44:15.323] [warn]  PowerShell stderr [disable-telemetry]: New-Item : Attempted to perform an unauthorized operation.
At C:\Users\w\AppData\Roaming\sparkle\scripts\disable-telemetry-1777758253965.ps1:18 char:5
+     New-Item -Path $reg.Path -Force | Out-Null
+     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (HKEY_CURRENT_US...plorer\Advanced:String) [New-Item], UnauthorizedAcc 
   essException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.UnauthorizedAccessException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.NewItemCommand
 
Set-Service : Service wermgr was not found on computer '.'.
At C:\Users\w\AppData\Roaming\sparkle\scripts\disable-telemetry-1777758253965.ps1:29 char:1
+ Set-Service -Name wermgr -StartupType Disabled
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (.:String) [Set-Service], InvalidOperationException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : InvalidOperationException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.SetServiceCommand
 

[2026-05-02 14:44:15.324] [info]  PowerShell stdout [disable-telemetry]: Telemetry settings have been applied. Bye Bye Microslop

[2026-05-02 14:44:40.899] [warn]  PowerShell stderr [ultimate-performance-plan]: You cannot call a method on a null-valued expression.
At C:\Users\w\AppData\Roaming\sparkle\scripts\ultimate-performance-plan-1777758280576.ps1:11 char:3
+   $ultimatePlanGUID = (powercfg -l | Select-String "Ultimate Performa ...
+   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (:) [], RuntimeException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : InvokeMethodOnNull
 
Invalid Parameters -- try "/?" for help

[2026-05-02 14:44:40.899] [info]  PowerShell stdout [ultimate-performance-plan]: Ultimate Performance plan not found. Creating...
Power Scheme GUID: 0580af54-e403-4dcd-992f-661bcc45e650  (Ultimate Performance)Ultimate Performance power plan is now active.

[2026-05-02 14:44:53.444] [info]  PowerShell stdout [24-hour-clock]: 
[2026-05-02 14:45:47.093] [info]  PowerShell stdout [disable-core-isolation]: 
[2026-05-02 14:45:51.839] [info]  PowerShell stdout [disable-defender-rtp]: 
[2026-05-02 14:46:15.526] [info]  PowerShell stdout [disable-fast-startup]: 
[2026-05-02 14:46:18.513] [info]  PowerShell stdout [disable-location-tracking]: 
[2026-05-02 14:46:25.666] [info]  PowerShell stdout [disable-mouse-acceleration]: 
[2026-05-02 14:47:23.549] [info]  PowerShell stdout [remove-ms-bing-integration]: Bing apps removed and Bing search disabled.

[2026-05-02 14:47:27.195] [info]  PowerShell stdout [remove-onedrive]: Removing OneDrive
Onedrive dosn't seem to be installed anymore

[2026-05-02 14:50:34.217] [info]  PowerShell stdout [check-Fast Startup]: disabled

[2026-05-02 14:50:34.288] [info]  PowerShell stdout [check-Storage Sense]: enabled

[2026-05-02 14:50:34.408] [info]  PowerShell stdout [check-Power Plan]: Balanced

[2026-05-02 14:51:28.628] [warn]  PowerShell stderr [apply-Power Plan-Ultimate Performance]: You cannot call a method on a null-valued expression.
At C:\Users\w\AppData\Roaming\sparkle\scripts\apply-Power Plan-Ultimate Performance-1777758688337.ps1:11 char:1
+ $ultimatePlanGUID = (powercfg -l | Select-String "Ultimate Performanc ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (:) [], RuntimeException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : InvokeMethodOnNull
 

[2026-05-02 14:51:28.629] [info]  PowerShell stdout [apply-Power Plan-Ultimate Performance]: Ultimate Performance plan not found. Creating...
Power Scheme GUID: e2eb798e-5181-4993-874f-6631f79aa086  (Ultimate Performance)Failed to find Ultimate Performance plan GUID.

[2026-05-02 14:51:30.113] [info]  PowerShell stdout [run-Disk Cleaner]: 
[2026-05-02 14:51:51.707] [info]  PowerShell stdout [size-temp]: 1929260299

[2026-05-02 14:51:51.947] [info]  PowerShell stdout [size-prefetch]: 10411138

[2026-05-02 14:51:52.183] [info]  PowerShell stdout [size-recyclebin]: 0

[2026-05-02 14:51:52.395] [info]  PowerShell stdout [size-windows-update]: 1405856

[2026-05-02 14:51:52.592] [info]  PowerShell stdout [size-thumbnails]: 7398544

[2026-05-02 14:51:52.794] [info]  PowerShell stdout [size-errorreports]: 0

[2026-05-02 14:51:56.643] [info]  PowerShell stdout [Get-DNS]: Current DNS Settings:
Wi-Fi | 192.168.1.1
Wi-Fi | fd05:bf9:eb45:8::1, fd05:bf9:eb45:8::1

[2026-05-02 14:51:57.680] [info]  PowerShell stdout [check-chocolatey]: False

[2026-05-02 14:51:57.738] [info]  PowerShell stdout [Check-Winget]: not-installed

[2026-05-02 14:52:17.888] [info]  PowerShell stdout [Ensure-Winget]: 
[2026-05-02 14:52:18.104] [info]  PowerShell stdout [Check-Winget]: not-installed

[2026-05-02 14:53:44.636] [info]  PowerShell stdout [check-chocolatey]: False

[2026-05-02 14:53:44.693] [info]  PowerShell stdout [Check-Winget]: not-installed

[2026-05-02 14:53:45.380] [info]  PowerShell stdout [Get-DNS]: Current DNS Settings:
Wi-Fi | 192.168.1.1
Wi-Fi | fd05:bf9:eb45:8::1, fd05:bf9:eb45:8::1

[2026-05-02 14:55:01.394] [info]  PowerShell stdout [Ensure-Winget]: 
[2026-05-02 14:55:01.598] [info]  PowerShell stdout [Check-Winget]: not-installed

Sparkle Version

2.18.0

Windows Version

11

Severity

Low (minor issue)

Additional context

probably messes with your analytics but idk

Before submitting

• I have checked existing issues to avoid duplicates
• I am using the latest version of Sparkle
• I have included logs and steps to reproduce

[thedogecraft]

Hey there are you by any chance using an unofficial version of windows? Such as ghost spectre or atlas?

[dginovker]

I'm using Windows 11 LTSC, it's official but it's not the most standard one

[thedogecraft]

Okay, I am not sure if its same as Windows 10 LTSC but I had lots of issues installing winget. I tried many different commands and only 1 worked. I should add a warning message for users on LTSC. For now I recommend using chocolatey

[ether-btc]

Issue #107: [Bug]: Winget installation failed successfully

Diagnosis (matches the user's log evidence).

Looking at the code in src/main/powershell.ts::executePowerShell():

const { stdout, stderr } = await execPromise(
  `powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "${tempFile}"`,
)
...
return { success: true, output: stdout }

execPromise (Node child_process.exec wrapped in util.promisify) only rejects on shell-level errors — for example if powershell.exe itself is missing or uninvokable. Any script-level failure (non-zero $LASTEXITCODE, a thrown exception inside the script, a try/catch that swallows the error) exits the script with status 0 and a message on stderr or stdout — which the current code happily reports as success: true.

Now look at ensureWingetScript in src/main/system.ts (defined at line 222, exported at line 456). The script body (lines 222–456) covers ~235 lines — a complete WinForms GUI installer. It:

1. Defines Check-Winget which catches exceptions and returns $false.
2. Spawns the installer inside a WinForms runspace via [powershell]::Create().
3. Never propagates the runspace's success/failure back to the parent script.
4. Always exits with $LASTEXITCODE = 0 if the form's ShowDialog() returns (which it does when the user closes the window, success or not).

So Sparkle's IPC handler ipcMain.handle("install-winget", ensureWinget) returns { success: true } no matter what happened in the GUI. The renderer's toast then fires "Installation completed".

Evidence in the user's log confirms this:

[14:52:17.888] PowerShell stdout [Ensure-Winget]:
[14:52:18.104] PowerShell stdout [Check-Winget]: not-installed   ← ran immediately after Ensure-Winget
[14:53:44.636] PowerShell stdout [check-chocolatey]: False
[14:53:44.693] PowerShell stdout [Check-Winget]: not-installed   ← still not installed
[14:55:01.394] PowerShell stdout [Ensure-Winget]:                ← second attempt, also empty stdout
[14:55:01.598] PowerShell stdout [Check-Winget]: not-installed   ← STILL not installed

Two Ensure-Winget runs, both empty stdout, both followed by Check-Winget: not-installed. The script's stdout is empty because the WinForms form output goes to a runspace that the parent script never reads. And the GUI itself presumably failed silently — likely because the dependency installer (Microsoft.VCLibs.Desktop.14000.UWP, Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime, the VCLibs UWP framework) cannot install without Microsoft Store / App Installer enabled in Group Policy or registry, OR because the dependency download from https://aka.ms was blocked by the user's network.

Three things to fix:

1. executePowerShell() should treat non-zero $LASTEXITCODE as failure

Wrap the PowerShell invocation in a tiny .ps1 shell that echoes the exit code, and have the wrapper parse it:

const wrapperScript = `
try {
  & "${tempFile}"
  Write-Output "##SPARKLE_EXIT_CODE=$LASTEXITCODE##"
} catch {
  Write-Output "##SPARKLE_ERROR=$_##"
  exit 1
}
`
// ...then in JS:
const m = stdout.match(/##SPARKLE_EXIT_CODE=(\d+)##/)
return {
  success: m ? Number(m[1]) === 0 : false,
  output: stdout,
}

This is the right place to fix it because every other PowerShell script benefits — not just Ensure-Winget. The disable-telemetry tweak in the user's log also had non-fatal errors (New-Item : Attempted to perform an unauthorized operation) that were silently treated as success.

2. ensureWingetScript should return a real status

Instead of a modal ShowDialog(), return an object with explicit success/failure fields, and have Sparkle display a non-modal toast or in-page log instead. The WinForms approach is also fragile because Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms requires the WinForms assembly to be available — which it isn't on Windows Server Core or stripped-down installs.

A simpler implementation:

# Run dependency installers and check each
$results = @()
$results += Install-WingetDependency -Name "Microsoft.VCLibs.Desktop" -Id "Microsoft.VCLibs.Desktop.14000.UWP"
$results += Install-WingetDependency -Name "WindowsAppRuntime"      -Id "Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime.1.5"
$results += Install-WingetDependency -Name "Winget CLI"             -Id "Microsoft.Winget.Source"

$allOk = ($results | Where-Object { -not $_.Success }).Count -eq 0
return @{ Success = $allOk; Steps = $results }

Where each Install-WingetDependency does winget install --id ... --silent --accept-package-agreements (now that winget is available!) and captures $LASTEXITCODE.

3. Surface the dependency prereq upfront

Most failures trace to one of three prerequisites the user has probably disabled:

• Microsoft Store (Remove-AppxPackage Microsoft.WindowsStore or the corresponding GPO Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Store)
• App Installer (the Microsoft Store app that backs winget's MSIX delivery)
• VCRedist 2015+ for the winget CLI's native dependency

Sparkle should detect these (the existing check-applications Tweak infrastructure can be extended) and warn before the user clicks Install.

Suggested priority: fix #1 (it's the small, general, high-leverage change), then #2 (Winget-specific cleanup), then #3 (UX polish). A single PR touching src/main/powershell.ts plus src/main/system.ts lines ~220–460 should close this.

Reproduction tip for maintainers: set $TestMode = $true at the top of ensureWingetScript, run Sparkle, then check %AppData%\sparkle\logs\main.log — every Ensure-Winget invocation will have a stdout and (importantly) no exit-code line. Compare to a successful tweak run which also lacks the exit-code marker today. After applying fix #1, you'll see "##SPARKLE_EXIT_CODE=0##" appended for working tweaks and "##SPARKLE_EXIT_CODE=1##" for failing ones.

Happy to open a PR if maintainers want — would target feature/winget-error-propagation and stay scoped to the three fixes above.