Software List Export

Software List Export

Use for software inventory and migration prep. Output one CSV the user can review and use as a reinstall checklist on a new computer.

Workflow

1. Detect the operating system first: Windows, macOS, or Linux.
2. Ask the user first where to save the CSV file and the possible filename (both are optional), otherwise use the current directory, and default name is software-list-{timestamp}.csv. Use current time as the {timestamp}.
3. Collect installed software from native sources:
   • Windows: Use scripts/export-software-list.ps1. If fail, prefer winget list, then supplement with uninstall registry entries for software not covered by winget. The checked-in script already implements this Windows workflow and prints raw structured records to stdout.
   • macOS: prefer brew list and brew list --cask, include mas list if available, then supplement with /Applications and ~/Applications.
   • Linux: prefer the distro package manager (apt, dnf, pacman, zypper), then include flatpak and snap when present.
4. Normalize software names, merge duplicates, and keep the most useful version/source details.
5. Rank results by yourself, not in the script, you should think, sort and edit the csv directly. The model should place the most user-oriented software first. End-user apps should come before runtimes, redistributables, drivers, SDKs, language packs, browser helpers, and other support components. End user apps often has meanful names.
6. For each item, add a likely download or package home URL when it can be determined with reasonable confidence. Do not fabricate URLs. If the URL is not provided directly by CLI or package-manager output, note in comments that the URL may not be a real download URL.
7. After processing the raw records, export the final results to a CSV with the columns name,version,download_url,comments.
8. Tell the user the path to the CSV file.

Platform Notes

• Windows PowerShell 5 compatibility matters. Avoid newer syntax such as ?? that is only available in later PowerShell versions.
• scripts/export-software-list.ps1 is Windows-only. Do not run it on macOS or Linux.
• scripts/export-software-list.ps1 is a raw collector, not a full exporter. It prints structured CLI output and does not write the final CSV file.
• On Windows, winget list output is column-aligned text and may contain wrapped or localized content. Prefer parsing by header column positions instead of splitting on repeated spaces.
• Use uninstall registry entries as the conservative fallback on Windows when winget data is incomplete or ambiguous.
• If a URL comes from registry metadata, heuristics, or other non-CLI sources, treat it as a likely vendor or product URL rather than a guaranteed installer link.
• If terminal output shows PSReadLine rendering errors but the export command still reports a valid CSV path and successful completion, treat the export as successful and report the file path to the user.
• When encoding may affect non-ASCII app names, prefer UTF-8 output for the CSV.
• On Windows, common non-user-facing items include Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable, .NET, SDK runtimes/targeting packs, drivers, updates, WebView runtimes, and OEM helper components. Push these behind user-facing apps instead of showing them first.

Output Example

name,version,download_url,comments
"TRAE","1.0.0","https://trae.com/","Detected from local installation. Likely reinstallable manually from vendor site."
"Git","2.49.0","https://git-scm.com/downloads","Detected from package manager. Likely reinstallable automatically."

Scripts

• Primary helper: scripts/export-software-list.ps1
• Scope: Windows only
• Expected usage: run the script on Windows, capture its structured CLI output, then let the model rank/filter the records and write the final CSV separately.

Rules

• Use the language that the user asked for.
• DO NOT read, delete, or modify any files except the CSV file you are creating or editing.
• If there is any agreement required, ask the user first.
• On Windows, prefer running the checked-in helper script before inventing new export logic during the task.
• On macOS and Linux, do not use the Windows helper script.
• Prefer system-native inventory sources before heuristics.
• Keep the helper script focused on collection. Let the model handle ranking, user-facing ordering, and final CSV writing.
• Mark uncertainty in comments when version, source, or reinstall path is incomplete.
• If the URL is not provided in CLI or package-manager output, state in comments that the URL may not be real or may be a vendor/product page instead of a direct download.
• If a package manager export is available, note in comments whether the app is likely reinstallable automatically or only manually.
• On Windows, prefer reliability over coverage: avoid aggressive matching that creates false duplicates between registry entries and winget results.
• Prefer a user-friendly ordering. Sort user-facing apps first, and de-prioritize infrastructure entries such as redistributables, runtimes, frameworks, patches, drivers, SDKs, and similar dependencies.