Winget outputs corrupted JSON due to spinner frames; breaks automation on Windows 11 (retail)

[jentekSF]

Relevant area(s)

WinGet CLI

Relevant command(s)

winget list, winget export, winget upgrade

Brief description of your issue

Winget commands (list, upgrade, export) produce corrupted JSON on Windows 11 due to spinner/progress frames being written into stdout. This breaks JSON parsing, automation, and export workflows

Steps to reproduce

1. Open PowerShell (elevated or non‑elevated).

2. Run any of the following commands:

   winget list
   winget upgrade
   winget export -o test.json

3. Observe that spinner/progress animation frames are written into stdout.

4. Attempt to parse the output, for example:

   winget list | ConvertFrom-Json

5. Parsing fails because the output contains spinner frames, stray characters, and invalid JSON.

Expected behavior

Winget should produce clean, valid, machine‑readable JSON with no spinner/progress frames or UI elements in stdout.
When JSON output is requested, only JSON should be emitted.
Redirection should work without requiring -o, and --disable-interactivity should fully suppress all UI output.
Automation and parsing should succeed without errors.

Actual behavior

Winget outputs corrupted, non‑machine‑readable JSON. Spinner/progress animation frames, stray characters, and partial ANSI sequences are written into stdout even when JSON output is requested.
Commands such as list, upgrade, and export produce mixed UI/JSON output that cannot be parsed.
winget export also requires -o even when redirecting, and --disable-interactivity does not suppress UI elements.
Automation and JSON parsing fail as a result.

Environment

Windows Package Manager v1.12.470
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Windows: Windows.Desktop v10.0.26200.7840
System Architecture: X64
Package: Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller v1.27.470.0

Winget Directories
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Logs                               %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\Diag…
User Settings                      %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\sett…
Portable Links Directory (User)    %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Links
Portable Links Directory (Machine) C:\Program Files\WinGet\Links
Portable Package Root (User)       %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages
Portable Package Root              C:\Program Files\WinGet\Packages
Portable Package Root (x86)        C:\Program Files (x86)\WinGet\Packages
Installer Downloads                %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
Configuration Modules              %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Configuration\Modules

Links
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Privacy Statement   https://aka.ms/winget-privacy
License Agreement   https://aka.ms/winget-license
Third Party Notices https://aka.ms/winget-3rdPartyNotice
Homepage            https://aka.ms/winget
Windows Store Terms https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/storedocs/terms-of-sale

Admin Setting                             State
--------------------------------------------------
LocalManifestFiles                        Disabled
BypassCertificatePinningForMicrosoftStore Disabled
InstallerHashOverride                     Disabled
LocalArchiveMalwareScanOverride           Disabled
ProxyCommandLineOptions                   Disabled
DefaultProxy                              Disabled

[jentekSF]

My current winget build does not support JSON output flags on list or upgrade, so I cannot capture JSON‑mode corruption. However, spinner/ANSI contamination is still present in commands like winget source update. Attached is a capture showing the same spinner leakage into stdout.

winget source update 2>&1 | Out-File -Encoding utf8 corrupted-source.json

corrupted-source.json

[jentekSF]

All required fields were completed. This appears to have been auto‑closed incorrectly by the template bot.

[Trenly]

@jentekSF - If you want to be parsing the outputs it's best to use the Microsoft.WinGet.Client Powershell module. The module provides structured data directly

[jentekSF]

@Trenly. Thanks for the suggestion. The Microsoft.WinGet.Client PowerShell module is useful in scenarios where PowerShell is available, but it does not resolve the underlying issue reported here.

This bug is specifically about the winget CLI emitting spinner/progress UI elements into stdout, even when structured output is expected. That behavior breaks:

• JSON parsing
• redirection
• automation pipelines
• cross‑platform tooling
• any environment that shells out to winget

Using the PowerShell module is a workaround, but it does not fix the fact that the CLI itself produces non‑machine‑readable output. The CLI is documented and expected to support automation, and many workflows depend on its stdout behavior being clean and predictable.

The issue here is not about finding an alternative API — it’s about the CLI violating the contract of producing parseable output. The presence of spinner frames, ANSI sequences, and progress bars in stdout is the core problem, and that still needs to be addressed.

[denelon]

Duplicate of #184

• JSON Formatted Output Support #184

It is possible to disable the "spinner" using WinGet Settings.

There is also a feature request in the backlog for a setting to do the same thing to avoid the need to modify settings.

• Option to disable spinner as a command line argument #3494