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Windows 11 Store Gets Ninite-Style Multi-App Installer Feature (bleepingcomputer.com) 37

An anonymous reader shares a report: The Microsoft Store on the web now lets you create a multi-app install package on Windows 11 that installs multiple applications from a single installer. This means you can now install multiple apps simultaneously without having to download each one manually. The experience is similar to that of the third-party app Ninite, a package manager that lets you install multiple apps at once.
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Windows 11 Store Gets Ninite-Style Multi-App Installer Feature

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  • by dmay34 ( 6770232 ) on Wednesday November 05, 2025 @03:55PM (#65775710)

    Bonzee buddy is your friend!

  • For the price of one.

    Malware creators of the 90s used bundlers all the time.

  • The difference between this and Ninite is I have and will continue to use Ninite. Microsoft lost me back when Windows 8 crashed onto the scene.

    • by znrt ( 2424692 )

      i never heard of ninite. a simple look at the website was enough for me to know i would never ever use this. why would i trust a random third party to fetch some unspecified versions of installers and bundle them into an executable to be run that with admin privilege on my machine?

      this is just nuts, but why would you even want that? if you need bulk installs and images there are many sane options to do that.

      • Ninite has been around for a very long time. Never had an issue with it. I first heard about it from a local computer store tech, hell, must have been at least 15 years ago now. I saved the package installers it created for me over the years. Now I have a nice catalog of period correct software for various computers I work on and restore. I don't use Windows any longer but it's nice to have available for friend's and family's Windows systems I maintain.

        • by znrt ( 2424692 )

          happy for you, but those package installers are long obsolete by now, they might not even work even if they are legit. then again you could have simply downloaded them from their respective official repos and backed them up together for your legacy systems. it's a bad idea because there is no need for such a "service" and the risk is very serious.

          i mean, they might be legit but the proposition is so weird i would have never found out.

          • You might want to look into how it works before trashing it.

            https://ninite.com/help/how-ninite-works/ [ninite.com]

            Ninite doesn't supply the installers, it downloads them from the publisher's site every time. It just uses whatever switches or parameters allow the software to silently install and disables any optional cruft or bundled nonsense from the installation.

            Further, all you need to do to get it to update all the apps you selected is run the exact same Ninite executable you already downloaded. It'll go off and

            • by znrt ( 2424692 )

              thank you for taking the time for this update, but nothing you said makes me think this is a tool i would ever use. i understand the superficial convenience it provides and realize that everyone has different use cases, but even if i had to install lots of machines frequently i would use a different approach. i think i already have made the point why.

              on "obsolete": i realize now i misunderstood ritchcraft and assumed his private collection of installers were frozen versions, hence the comment about obsolesc

      • if you need bulk installs and images there are many sane options to do that.

        Which I guess comes from random third parties that provide tools that installs software using admin privileges.

        Ninite has been around 16-17 years now and if you haven't heard of it it's because of two things: 1. There has never been any issues with it security-wise, 2. No one expect you to know about every tool available.

        And I have to ask, what was it about their website that made you dismiss the tool? Was it the absence of ads and fake download links, or its simple and clean design presenting everything yo

        • by znrt ( 2424692 )

          Which I guess comes from random third parties that provide tools that installs software using admin privileges.

          windows has tools out of the box to do this. winget with some scripting, backup and restore or sysprep and there are a ton of opensource solutions like clonezilla, chocolatey or scoop where at least you know what exactly you are installing, not to mention alternatives like docker or professional/enterprise tools.

          1. There has never been any issues with it security-wise

          that you know of. and ofc you know there will never be.

          what was it about their website that made you dismiss the tool?

          it had nothing to do with the website, everything to do with the proposition of someone offering to install some collection of software from un

          • windows has tools out of the box to do this. winget with some scripting, backup and restore or sysprep and there are a ton of opensource solutions like clonezilla, chocolatey or scoop where at least you know what exactly you are installing, not to mention alternatives like docker or professional/enterprise tools.

            And I guess all these tools makes it so you can pick 5 apps from an a la carte menu and have them installed in minutes with a few clicks without resorting to typing and running shit in an administrator console? And who uses Clonezilla to install software on Windows? Docker I can get, but Clonezilla...

            Btw, in regards to professional tools - why do you think Ninite isn't one? It's not like they have a version specifically geared towards businesses.. Oh, wait! They do!

            that you know of. and ofc you know there will never be.

            Just like you wouldn't know of any problem

            • by znrt ( 2424692 )

              And I guess all these tools makes it so you can pick 5 apps from an a la carte menu and have them installed in minutes with a few clicks without

              i'm not really impressed.

              resorting to typing and running shit in an administrator console?

              why do you type shit? don't do that!

              It's not like they have a version specifically geared towards businesses.. Oh, wait! They do!

              i stand corrected, i didn't know they have a business option. well, i hope it is considerably more nuanced than "à la carte click-click".

              Just like you wouldn't know of any problems with any of the applications you use, right?

              i know and check what i install, i use trusted sources (*) and i don't install unnecessary stuff. it's easy.

              *. mind you, you might trust ninite, fine. i don't care, their (public) offering is something where trust doesn't even come into play. just thanks but no thanks.

              When was the last time you verified every source you got your software from? Because that is the basis for your argument here,

              no, that is your strawman. "verified eve

              • i'm not really impressed.

                Of course, because it's obvious you don't understand that what you want isn't the same what everyone else wants.

                why do you type shit? don't do that!

                Defensive much?

                i stand corrected, i didn't know they have a business option. well, i hope it is considerably more nuanced than "à la carte click-click"

                You would have known that if you actually bothered to find things out, but you went full "not invented here" and started assuming stupid things to invent strawmen why it must horrible.

                no, that is your strawman. "verified every source" is not the same as "install random executable without even knowing what version it is form a source that isn't an official distribution". it seems your argument is that if you don't perform full audits everywhere you might aswell ignore security altogether and install whatever you're offered à la carte click-click. well, good for you, and good luck.

                It wasn't my argument, it was yours since you specifically said "without my control or supervision", that implies you are on top of everything you install.

                and, yes, i check sources often, depending on the situation and the level of trust. on a professional level that's just mandatory, or you have specialized people doing it for you. and no, i do not install random software from random sources, so i have no use for ninite. but by all means, knock yourself out ...

                Funny then how inconsistent you are when doing

                • by znrt ( 2424692 )

                  hysterical ranting in bold

                  if you don't breathe and chill a bit you'll might have a heart attack even before adulthood.

  • by HnT ( 306652 ) on Wednesday November 05, 2025 @04:37PM (#65775808)

    Who really needs this? Nobody even needs win11 to begin with.
    Just switch to Linux or mac already.

    • Yeah, after 30-40 years of Microsoft crap, they finally figured how to bundle multiple apps in a single one. Great work! MS has always been a great marketing company, and they keep doin it.
  • Count me among the stunned and amazed by this breathtaking achievement. Hard to believe technology has progressed to this point.

  • Maybe they should just go all in on the npm or pip package route.
  • by schwit1 ( 797399 ) on Wednesday November 05, 2025 @07:15PM (#65776244)

    It's free.
    https://learn.microsoft.com/en... [microsoft.com]

  • I miss the old days when the Windows installer provided that. How else are you going to cripple your machine by neglecting to uncheck a box while installing a pdf reader?

  • The next step will be Microsoft patenting their "innovative" "invention" to protect it from dastardly Intellectual Property thieves.

  • Hello,

    This is surpising. I do not know anyone who has downloaded a single app from the win store...
    So, why woudl someone need to download MORE than one? :)

Between infinite and short there is a big difference. -- G.H. Gonnet

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