# PowerShell: List Installed Software (Registry Method) > List installed software on Windows with PowerShell using the registry: fastest one-liner, remote computers, CSV export and why to avoid Win32_Product. - Page URL: https://itinsighthub.com/guides/powershell-list-installed-software/ - Markdown variant of this page: append `?format=md` to any URL on this site or send `Accept: text/markdown`. - Full site index for AI assistants: https://itinsighthub.com/llms.txt - Full site export: https://itinsighthub.com/llms-full.txt # List Installed Software with PowerShell Query the Windows registry for a complete, accurate inventory of installed programs — locally or across a network — without triggering Windows Installer side effects. Published August 22, 2026 ## The fastest way Every Windows installer that follows the Microsoft convention writes an uninstall entry under `HKLM`. Reading those keys with [Get-ItemProperty](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/get-itemproperty) is instant, read-only and needs no elevation: PowerShell ``` Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*, HKLM:\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion, Publisher, InstallDate | Sort-Object DisplayName | Format-Table -AutoSize ``` That returns a table of display name, version, publisher and install date for machine-wide installs. If you see blank rows, those are system components that ship no `DisplayName` — pipe through [Where-Object](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/where-object) to drop them. ## Why not Win32_Product? Avoid Get-WmiObject Win32_Product (or its Get-CimInstance equivalent) for inventory. Enumerating this class makes Windows Installer validate every MSI-managed package on the machine, which can trigger silent reconfigurations and self-repairs of applications — the classic cause of "apps started fixing themselves after someone ran a software audit." It is also dramatically slower than a registry read. The WMI class is fine for querying one specific product by exact identity; it is the wrong tool for listing everything. ## Remote computers The same registry query runs remotely over WinRM with [Invoke-Command](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/invoke-command), so nothing has to be installed on the target: PowerShell ``` Invoke-Command -ComputerName PC01 -ScriptBlock { Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*, HKLM:\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object DisplayName | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion, Publisher, InstallDate | Sort-Object DisplayName } -Credential (Get-Credential) ``` You need the WinRM service enabled on the target (it is on by default for domain-joined servers), permission as a local administrator there, and typically an elevated session. Drop the `-Credential` parameter when your signed-in account already has rights. ## Export to CSV Swap `Format-Table` for [Export-Csv](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.utility/export-csv) to hand the inventory to Excel or a ticketing system. Adding `UninstallString` captures each package's uninstall command line at the same time: PowerShell ``` $paths = 'HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*', 'HKLM:\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' Get-ItemProperty $paths | Where-Object DisplayName | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion, Publisher, InstallDate, UninstallString | Sort-Object DisplayName | Export-Csv -Path .\installed-software.csv -NoTypeInformation ``` `-NoTypeInformation` keeps the file clean in Windows PowerShell 5.1; PowerShell 7 omits that header row by default either way. ## Filtering by name Filter early with `Where-Object` instead of eyeballing a long table: PowerShell ``` Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*, HKLM:\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object { $_.DisplayName -like '*Visual Studio*' } | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion, UninstallString ``` Use `-eq 'Exact Name'` for exact matches or `-match 'pattern'` for regex. Filtering before `Select-Object` keeps the pipeline cheap on machines with hundreds of entries. ## The winget alternative PowerShell ``` winget list ``` On Windows 10/11 with App Installer installed, [winget](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/package-manager/winget/) `list` is a friendly alternative: it resolves human-readable names and shows packages winget can upgrade. Scope differs though — it reports what is visible to *your user account*, including per-user installs, while the HKLM keys above enumerate *machine-wide* installs regardless of which user queries them or which package manager put them there. For audits and compliance snapshots, prefer the registry method; use `winget list` interactively. ## 64-bit vs 32-bit: why both paths? On 64-bit Windows there are two parallel registry views. Native 64-bit installers write under `HKLM:\SOFTWARE\...\Uninstall`, while 32-bit installers get silently redirected into `HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\...`. Querying only one tree misses half your inventory, so the examples above always include both paths. One more trap: if you launch the 32-bit edition of PowerShell on a 64-bit OS, the filesystem and registry redirectors kick in, so HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\... quietly resolves to the WOW6432Node view and you will see duplicates or miss entries. Use the default 64-bit shell (C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe or %SystemRoot%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe) and query both trees explicitly. ## FAQ **Do I need administrator rights to list installed software?** Not locally. The HKLM uninstall keys are readable by regular users. Administrator rights are required only for the remote scenario via Invoke-Command, where you must be authorized on the target machine. **Why does the output include entries with no DisplayName?** Many uninstall keys belong to MSI components, updates and runtime libraries that do not expose a display name. Filter them out with Where-Object DisplayName right after Get-ItemProperty. **How do I get the uninstall command line for each program?** Add UninstallString (and optionally QuietUninstallString) to the Select-Object list. The value contains the exact command Windows runs when a user clicks Uninstall. **Do these commands work in both Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7?** Yes. Every command on this page uses built-in cmdlets and the registry provider, which behave identically in 5.1 and 7 on Windows. Export-Csv's -NoTypeInformation flag is simply redundant in 7, where it is already the default. ## More IT tools Explore the networking references and calculators: - [IPv4 subnet calculator](https://itinsighthub.com/subnet-calculator/) — network, broadcast and host range for any CIDR block. - [Subnet cheat sheet](https://itinsighthub.com/subnet-cheat-sheet/) — printable mask table from /0 to /32. - [Wildcard mask calculator](https://itinsighthub.com/wildcard-mask-calculator/) — CIDR ⇔ inverse masks for ACLs. - [About ITInsightHub](https://itinsighthub.com/about/) — what we build and why. --- © 2026 ITInsightHub · [About](https://itinsighthub.com/about/) · [Contact](https://itinsighthub.com/contact/) · [Privacy](https://itinsighthub.com/privacy/)