WuMgr, short for Update Manager for Windows, is a portable Windows Update manager for Windows 10 and Windows 11. It uses the Windows Update Agent API to search, download, install, hide, and review Microsoft product updates with more direct control than the built-in Settings app exposes.
This repository is a public maintained fork of DavidXanatos/wumgr. Fork releases are published at Darkaxt/wumgr releases.
| Track | Status | UI | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latest packaged release | v1.2.2 |
WPF by default | Current maintained release with the modern shell, read-only launch, and recent security/reliability hardening. |
Current master |
Post-release work | WPF by default | Development branch for fixes after v1.2.2. |
| Legacy fallback | Available in release and master |
WinForms | Start with -winforms when testing behavior against the original UI. |
Use the release zip when you need a stable portable build. Use current master
when you want to test changes that have not been packaged yet.
The screenshots below show the WPF shell used by the current packaged release. These captures show the grouped active-update list; categories are selectable but WuMgr does not auto-skip driver, preview, or other update groups.
| Light theme | Dark theme |
|---|---|
 |
 |
For normal use, download WuMgr_v1.2.2.zip from
Darkaxt/wumgr releases, unzip it
to a writable folder, and run wumgr.exe.
Published binaries are unsigned. Windows may show a SmartScreen or publisher
warning until the project has a signed release path. Release archives include
SHA256SUMS.txt so downloaded artifacts can be checked after extraction.
For day-to-day usage, see docs/USAGE.md.
WuMgr can inspect update state without administrator rights, but changing system update state requires elevation.
WuMgr starts read-only without a UAC prompt unless Skip UAC was explicitly configured. Admin-only actions such as download, install, uninstall, hide/unhide, service changes, GPO changes, and Skip UAC configuration stay unavailable until WuMgr is launched elevated.
- Search Windows Update, Microsoft Update, installed updates, hidden updates, and update history.
- Download, install, uninstall, hide, unhide, and copy update links from a portable executable.
- Configure automatic update policy controls, Microsoft Update registration, offline scan mode, manual download mode, and startup behavior.
- Run without elevation for read-only inspection, then restart elevated only when using admin-only update or policy actions.
- Use the WPF shell with grouped update categories, compact icon actions, a resizable status/log pane, and progress that stays hidden until search, download, install, or hide work is running.
- Use
Translation.ininext towumgr.exefor portable translations. - Force a UI language with
Lang=inwumgr.iniwhen Windows regional settings should not control the app language. - Use
-winformsto compare the WPF shell with the legacy WinForms UI.
WuMgr targets .NET Framework 4.6.1 and builds on Windows with Visual Studio 2022 or the Visual Studio Build Tools.
& "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" wumgr.sln /restore /p:Configuration=Release /p:Platform="Any CPU" /mRun the focused test harness with:
& "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" wumgr.Tests\wumgr.Tests.csproj /restore /p:Configuration=Debug /p:Platform=AnyCPU
.\wumgr.Tests\bin\Debug\wumgr.Tests.exeSee docs/BUILDING.md for packaging and release commands.
- User guide
- Build and release commands
- Options reference
- Uninstall and Windows Update recovery
- Security review notes
- Upstream issue triage
- Upstream pull request triage
- Modernization notes
- Security reporting
Open issues in this fork, not upstream, when testing maintained-fork builds.
Include the WuMgr version, whether you used the packaged release or current
master, the selected UI mode, whether the process was elevated, Windows
version, the exact update title or KB when available, and the relevant log text.
For WPF feedback, mention whether the same workflow works with -winforms.
That comparison is useful while both shells are available.
WuMgr touches sensitive Windows Update surfaces: scheduled tasks, Windows Update services, policy registry keys, manual update downloads, named-pipe IPC, and optional command hooks. Review docs/SECURITY_REVIEW.md before enabling Skip UAC or custom command-hook behavior.
Report vulnerabilities using SECURITY.md. Avoid posting exploit payloads in public issues.
WuMgr was created by
DavidXanatos and is inspired by
Windows Update Mini Tool (WUMT).
This fork preserves the original GPLv3 licensing and attribution while
continuing maintenance in Darkaxt/wumgr.
To support the original author, this maintained README keeps the Patreon link: DavidXanatos on Patreon.
Legacy WinForms icons are provided by Icons8.