Choco-List Manager

Version 20260211.01

A set of PowerShell scripts to manage and synchronize your Chocolatey packages across Windows machines.

Open Source Philosophy: This project is completely open source. You are encouraged to fork, modify, script, and share your own versions. Contributions are welcome!

Features

• Smart Elevation: Automatically detects when Administrator privileges are needed (e.g., for installation) and prompts for elevation on-demand. Safe, secure, and user-conrolled.
• Export: Generates a clean, sorted list of your currently installed Chocolatey packages.
• Install: Reads that list and installs missing packages on any machine, intelligently skipping those already installed.

Future Features

• Sync: Synchronize package lists between machines.
• Update: Update installed packages to the latest version.
• Remove: Remove packages from the list and uninstall them from the target machine.
• info: Display information about a specific package.
• Enhanced Auditing: track warnings and errors when running scripts.
• Robust error handling: handle errors gracefully and provide useful feedback.
• Parameterization: Move away from hardcoded file paths to allow for more flexible integration with deployment tools like Intune or Ansible.
• Expanded Tooling: Consider adding a wrapper for winget to provide a unified Windows package management experience.

Usage

Recommended: Use the Terminal UI

For the easiest experience, run the manager script:

.\choco-manager.ps1

This interactive tool allows you to check status, export lists, and install packages from a simple menu.

Notes:

• If Chocolatey is missing, the main menu will show an "Install Chocolatey" option.
• The footer shows the installed Chocolatey version and, when different, the latest available version.

Project Layout

• choco-manager.ps1: primary entrypoint (wrapper)
• scripts/: entry scripts
• src/Core/: shared functions and UI helpers
• src/Choco/: Chocolatey workflows
• src/Winget/: Winget workflows
• data/: templates and sample data
• logs/: runtime logs

Data Files

• data/choco_packages.txt: default package list (user-specific, git-ignored)
• data/choco_packages.template.txt: template list

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Manual Usage

1. Export Package List (Source Machine)

Run the list script to generate choco_packages.txt:

.\list-choco-apps.ps1

This creates a sorted list of your currently installed packages.

Note: choco_packages.txt is git-ignored by default to protect your personal environment list. Use choco_packages.template.txt as a starting point if you want to commit a shared list of packages.

2. Install Packages (Target Machine)

Copy the choco_packages.txt and choco-pack-install.ps1 to the target machine.

Run the install script:

.\choco-pack-install.ps1

The script will:

• Check for Chocolatey updates.
• Parse the package list.
• Compare against currently installed packages.
• Install only the missing packages.

Requirements

• Windows
• PowerShell 5.1+
• Chocolatey installed

Security Guidance

• Run the scripts from a trusted, access-controlled directory.
• Prefer RemoteSigned or stronger execution policies when possible. If you must use process-scope bypass, ensure files are from a trusted source.
• Review choco_packages.txt before running install/sync actions.
• Avoid copying scripts from unknown sources or locations with weak ACLs.
• Treat choco-manager.log as sensitive inventory data; restrict access where appropriate.

Disclaimer

Always review the choco_packages.txt file before running the install script to ensure you are installing only what you intend.