You can use Chocolatey the next time you set up a Windows PC to install everything you need at once

It's always exciting to set up a new PC after the purchase, but of course, ideally it wouldn't take very long, especially when you want to get it up and running as soon as possible. However, manually installing all of your favorite applications and utility tools on your new PC can become really tedious and time-consuming. What if you could install them all together instead of one by one and automate the whole process? That's where the Chocolatey tool will help you.

What is Chocolatey?

Chocolatey is a powerful package manager tool that allows you to install, update, and uninstall applications on your PC with just a few commands. Imagine automatically installing multiple apps at once without manually downloading the installers, clicking the install button over and over, or following the endless on-screen instructions. Yes, you can skip all that with Chocolatey.

It's basically equivalent to Homebrew (for macOS) or the Windows Package Manager (WinGet), but with more advanced options. You can also think of it as a command-line app store. Currently, more than 10k community-managed application packages are available to install there.

How to install Chocolatey on Windows 10 or 11

Before using Chocolatey to install apps on your PC, you must set it up. The process is straightforward; you just need administrative rights on your system and basic knowledge of the Windows PowerShell tool.

1. Search for Windows PowerShell on the Windows search bar, right-click its icon, and select Run as Administrator.
   
2. Type in or copy-paste the command Get-ExecutionPolicy and hit enter.
3. If it shows Unrestricted, then you are good to go, but if it displays Restricted (like in my case), you need to run either Set-ExecutionPolicy AllSigned or Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process command. Don't worry, it's completely safe to execute these commands.
   
4. Now, to install the Chocolatey, copy-paste this command on the command line and hit enter: Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force; [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072; iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))
5. Wait for a few seconds for the installation to complete. Don't be intimidated by the messages you see on the command line tool.
6. Finally, if you don't see any error messages (texts in red), that means Chocolatey has been successfully installed on your PC. You'll also see a message that it's ready to use. However, it's recommended that you re-open Windows PowerShell once first, so use the exit command to close the window and then do so.
   

How to install Chocolatey GUI

When it was initially released, Chocolatey was only available through command-line tools to execute the required actions. However, to attract general Windows OS users, the developers introduced the user-friendly GUI version of the app. Here is how to install it.

1. After installing Chocolatey, relaunch Windows PowerShell with administrator rights.
2. In the command line window, type or copy-paste this command to initiate the installation of Chocolatey GUI: choco install chocolateygui and press enter.
   
3. When prompted, type Y and hit enter to allow the scripts to run to install Chocolatey GUI. Or, you can type A to let all the future scripts run without disturbance.
   
4. After running seven packages, Chocolatey GUI will finally be installed.
   
5. Exit the Windows PowerShell window, and search for the Chocolatey GUI in the Windows search box.
6. Right-click on its icon and select Run as Administrator.
   
7. The program will be launched and ready to use.
   
8. Switch to the Settings section to enable dark mode by default and apply more settings.
   

How to install apps using Chocolatey

Install apps using Chocolatey GUI

1. Launch Chocolatey GUI with administrator rights.
2. Under Chocolatey GUI, you'll find two sections on the left pane—This PC and Chocolatey. This PC section basically shows you the programs installed through Chocolatey, while the Chocolatey section allows you to look for programs to install.
   
3. Now, switch to the Chocolatey section and look for the programs you need to install. Chocolatey has an extensive app library, so you'll most probably find everything you need.
4. You can either scroll through the apps list to look for your programs or use the search box to find them.
5. Once you find an app you want, right-click on it and select Install.
   
6. Depending on the app size, installing the app entirely could take several minutes.
   
7. After the app is installed, you can access it from the This PC section of Chocolatey or by searching for it in the Windows search box.
   

The drawback of Chocolate GUI is that it only supports a single app installation at a time. If you are building a new computer, you probably wish to install numerous apps simultaneously. That's where the Chocolatey command-line version excels.

Install a single app using the Chocolatey command line

If you want more control over app installation, use Chocolatey through Windows PowerShell. Here's how.

1. Launch Windows PowerShell with the administrator rights.
2. Now, to search for a program, type choco search . Replace with the actual app name that you want to install. For example, type choco search brave browser then hit enter.
   
3. Chocolatey will search and come up with all the possible packages related to your search query.
4. Now, from the search result, simply recognize the app you want to install and use the choco install command. For example, choco install brave 1.70.117 then hit enter.
   
5. It will immediately start downloading the package.
6. During installation, when prompted, press Y for yes or A for yes to all.
   
7. Within a few seconds, the package will be installed and made available for use.
8. Look for the app you just installed in the Windows search box and run it.
   

Another way to install your favorite app is through the Chocolatey community page, where you can more efficiently search for your required app packages. Here, you'll also get the exact syntax required to install the app.

1. Visit the Chocolatey community page and look for the app package you want to install.
   
2. For a quick result, use the search box, type the name of your intended app, and hit enter.
   
3. Click the copy icon to copy the installation syntax of the package.
   
4. Paste it on the Windows PowerShell command line and hit enter. The app installation will begin.
   
5. Next, press Y or A to install the downloaded package. To avoid this step, add the -y at the end of the syntax next time you install an app.
   
6. The process will be completed within a few seconds or minutes, depending on the package size.
   

Install multiple apps together using the Chocolatey command line

If you want to install multiple apps together instead of tirelessly installing them manually one by one, as promised, Chocolatey lets you do that through PowerShell. Just follow these steps.

1. Go to the Chocolatey community page and look for the apps you want to install.
2. Now, instead of copying the installation syntax, click the add (+) icon next to the package to add them to an installation builder.
   
3. You can add any number of apps to the builder. Just search for them and click the + icon on each.
4. After adding all the apps you require, click the Builder button to the left.
   
5. Under the Builder, click the Generate Script button at the top.
   
6. Review the apps you have selected to install. Click the (-) icon if you would like to remove any of those. Click the Next option after reviewing.
   
7. Next, choose the integration method. By default, it is set to Individual, and you can continue with that by clicking Next.
   
8. You can copy the app installation script and paste it on the Windows PowerShell command line, or you can just save the configuration file on your system and run it with administrator rights.
   
9. If you attempt to paste the copied script into PowerShell, you might get a warning. Ignore it and click Paste Anyway.
   
10. The installation of the apps will begin. Depending on the size of the bundle you created, it might take hours to complete the process. Just relax and let Chocolatey do the tedious work for you.
    
11. Don't worry if some of the package apps didn't get installed and instead displayed an error. Just take note, and you can re-attempt to install them later.

After installing the apps, you can launch them from the Windows Start menu or simply search for them.

Build your PC with ease using Chocolatey

Building a new PC can be tiring. There's no shortcut to hardware installations, but with Chocolatey, you have a fantastic assistant to handle app installations on your new Windows PC. Though the command line part of the tool can seem daunting, trust me, it's a breeze to use. So, the next time you get a new computer, use Chocolatey to add all the basic software utilities to it.