How to Find Installed Programs in Windows 11

To see all installed programs in Windows 11, click Start, open Settings, and go to Apps > Installed apps. You’ll get a list of every app on your PC that you can search, sort by name, install date, or size, and filter by drive.

This is the method Microsoft recommends in how to check if an app or program is installed in Windows. The steps below are for Windows 11 versions 24H2, 25H2, and 26H2. Further down you’ll find faster ways to browse apps, the older Control Panel list, a command that prints the full list, and how to find the folder a program is installed in.

Two Kinds of Apps on Your PC

Windows 11 has two main kinds of software, and some lists only show one of them:

• Desktop programs are traditional apps you install from a maker’s website or a disc, such as Chrome, Zoom, or Adobe Reader.
• Microsoft Store apps are installed from the Microsoft Store or come with Windows, such as Calculator, Photos, and the new Outlook.

Installed apps in Settings, the Start menu, and shell:AppsFolder show both kinds. Control Panel’s Programs and Features shows desktop programs only.

See Installed Apps in Settings

1. Click Start, then click Settings. You can also press Windows key + I, or right-click Start and choose Installed apps to jump straight to the list.
2. Click Apps in the left pane.
3. Click Installed apps. Windows shows a list of your apps with each one’s version, publisher, install date, and size where available. The total number of apps appears just above the list.
4. To check for a specific program, type part of its name in the Search apps box. The list narrows as you type.
5. To sort the list, click Sort by and choose Name (A to Z), Name (Z to A), Date installed, or one of the Size options. Date installed is handy for finding something you added recently.

6. To see only apps on one drive, click Filter by and choose the drive.
7. Click the three-dot More button next to an app to see what you can do with it. Depending on the app, you’ll see options such as Modify, Advanced options, Move, or Uninstall.

If the app you’re looking for isn’t in this list, it’s very likely not installed. A few small tools that run without an installer (often called portable apps) won’t appear anywhere in these lists, because Windows never registered them.

If a program you downloaded refused to install, check whether Windows is set to only allow apps from the Microsoft Store.

If a paid program such as TurboTax is missing, reinstall it from the maker’s site. For example, learn how to install TurboTax on Windows 11.

Background components show up here too. If Xbox app games ask for a missing extra component, install Gaming Services.

Browse Apps From the Start Menu

Apps are also listed on Start, with your most used apps at the top followed by an alphabetical list.

1. Click Start.
2. Scroll down to the All section. On PCs that still have the older Start menu, click All in the top-right corner of the Pinned section instead. Windows lists your apps alphabetically.
3. If your Start menu shows a view button next to All, choose Category, Grid, or List. List is the easiest way to scan everything A to Z.

4. To find one app faster, start typing its name as soon as the Start menu opens. Search results appear right away.

Right-click an app in the list to open it, pin it, or uninstall it. To keep the apps you use most within reach, put them on the “home screen” in Windows 11.

See Every App in One Window With shell:AppsFolder

This hidden folder shows Microsoft Store apps, desktop programs, and Windows tools together in a File Explorer window.

1. Press Windows key + R to open the Run box.
2. Type shell:AppsFolder and press Enter. A window called Applications opens with an icon for every app.
3. Click View on the toolbar and choose Details to see the apps as a sortable list.

4. Right-click any app to open it, pin it to Start or the taskbar, or choose Create shortcut to put a shortcut on your desktop.

See Programs in Control Panel

The older Programs and Features list only shows traditional desktop programs, not Microsoft Store apps. It’s still useful because it shows each program’s publisher, install date, size, and version in columns, and a few older programs can only be changed or repaired from here.

1. Type Control Panel in the taskbar search box and open it. You can also use other ways to open Control Panel.
2. Click Programs, then click Programs and Features.
3. Click a column header such as Installed On or Name to sort the list.

You can also open this list directly by pressing Windows key + R, typing appwiz.cpl, and pressing Enter.

See Your Microsoft Store Apps in the Store Library

The Microsoft Store keeps its own list of apps and games tied to your Microsoft account.

1. Open Microsoft Store from Start.
2. Click Library in the lower-left corner.
3. Use the filter and sort options at the top of the list to show installed items only.

The Library also lists apps you own but removed, which makes it a quick way to reinstall one. It doesn’t show desktop programs you got from other websites.

Get a List of Installed Programs With a Command

To get a text list you can copy or search, use winget, the Windows Package Manager that comes with Windows 11.

1. Right-click Start and choose Terminal.
2. Type winget list and press Enter. If winget asks you to agree to source terms the first time, type Y and press Enter.

Microsoft’s winget list reference says the list includes apps installed through winget and apps installed other ways, such as from the Microsoft Store or a regular installer. A few useful variations:

• winget list zoom shows only apps with “zoom” in the name, so you can check whether one program is installed.
• winget list --upgrade-available shows only apps that have a newer version available.

These commands only read information. They don’t change or remove anything.

List Start Menu Apps With PowerShell

In the same Terminal window, type Get-StartApps and press Enter. Microsoft’s Get-StartApps reference says it returns the name and app ID of each installed app for your account. Add a name to narrow it, such as Get-StartApps *zoom*.

Save the List to a File

A saved list is handy when you’re setting up a new PC or want a record before a reset.

1. Open Terminal as above.
2. Paste this command and press Enter:

winget list > "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\installed-apps.txt"

3. Open installed-apps.txt on your desktop. Long app names may be cut short in the file, so check the Id column if a name looks incomplete.

If you plan to reinstall apps on another PC, winget export creates a file that winget import can use later. It only includes apps winget can install, so keep the text list too.

winget can also update a single app by its ID. For an example, follow the steps for updating PowerShell on Windows 11.

Find Where a Program Is Installed

1. Click Start and find the app in the All list or by searching for it.
2. Right-click the app and choose Open file location. If File Explorer opens a folder of shortcuts, right-click the app’s shortcut there and choose Open file location again.

3. File Explorer opens the folder that holds the program’s files.

Most desktop programs are in C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86) (the second one is for 32-bit programs). Microsoft Store apps are kept in a protected folder, so they usually don’t offer Open file location.

If You Can’t Find a Program

• It’s not in Installed apps or Start. It may have been removed, or it was never installed for your user account. Some programs installed for only one user won’t show up for other accounts on the same PC.
• It’s on another drive. Use Filter by in Installed apps and choose All drives.
• It’s a portable app. Look in your Downloads folder or wherever you saved it, since portable programs don’t register with Windows.
• The list looks short. Sign in with the account you used when installing, or check Programs and Features, which lists programs installed for all users.
• It’s in Installed apps but missing from Start. Restart the PC, or open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc, right-click Windows Explorer, and choose Restart. Then check Start again.
• An Office app such as Excel is missing from Start. Go to Installed apps, click the three-dot button next to Microsoft 365 or your Office product, choose Modify, and run Quick Repair. Install any pending Windows updates too.

Frequently Asked Questions