[Bug]: Winget CLI lists updates but WAU does not

[quantumryuu]

The problem

Hello,
I am currently trying WAU but I have an issue.
I have a couple of software that although they are whitelisted, for some strange reason WAU does not find an update. If I search for the update via winget cli I can see the new version.

Software	ID	Installed Version	Available Version
WinMerge	WinMerge.WinMerge	2.16.54.0	2.16.54.2
Mozilla Firefox	Mozilla.Firefox	148.0.2	149.0

What version of WAU has the issue?

2.11.0.2096

What version of Windows are you using (ex. Windows 11 22H2)?

Windows 11 25H2

What version of winget are you using?

v1.28.190

Log information

16:15:29 - Rerun WAU in system context with ServiceUI
#################################################################
#    3/31/2026 - CHECK FOR APP UPDATES (System context - Connected user)
#################################################################
16:15:30 - Reading WAUConfig
16:15:30 - GPO policies detected - applying
16:15:30 - Notification Level: Full. Notification Language: English
16:15:30 - Checking internet connection...
16:15:31 - Connected!
16:15:31 - Checking prerequisites...
16:15:31 - VC++ x64 already installed (14.50.35719.0)
16:15:31 - WinGet installed version: 1.28.190 | WinGet available version: 1.28.190
16:15:31 - -> WinGet is up to date.
16:15:31 - Prerequisites checked. OK
16:15:31 - Selected winget instance: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_1.28.190.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\winget.exe
16:15:31 - WAU current version: 2.11.0
16:15:31 - WAU AutoUpdate is Enabled.
16:15:32 - WAU is up to date.
16:15:32 - WAU uses White List config
16:15:32 - -> Included apps from GPO is activated
16:15:32 - Include app 7zip.7zip
16:15:32 - Include app Adobe.Acrobat.Reader.32-bit
16:15:32 - Include app Atlassian.Sourcetree
16:15:32 - Include app Brave.Brave
16:15:32 - Include app dbeaver.dbeaver.community
16:15:32 - Include app Git.Git
16:15:32 - Include app Google.AndroidStudio
16:15:32 - Include app Google.Chrome
16:15:32 - Include app HeidiSQL.HeidiSQL
16:15:32 - Include app Joplin.Joplin
16:15:32 - Include app KeePassXCTeam.KeePassXC
16:15:32 - Include app Microsoft.VisualStudio.2022.Community
16:15:32 - Include app Microsoft.VisualStudio.Community
16:15:32 - Include app Microsoft.VisualStudioCode
16:15:32 - Include app Mobatek.MobaXterm
16:15:32 - Include app Mozilla.Firefox
16:15:32 - Include app mRemoteNG.mRemoteNG
16:15:32 - Include app NagleCode.PacketSender
16:15:32 - Include app Notepad++.Notepad++
16:15:32 - Include app Proxyman.Proxyman
16:15:32 - Include app RoyalApps.RoyalTS.7
16:15:32 - Include app ShareX.ShareX
16:15:32 - Include app SmartBear.SoapUI
16:15:32 - Include app SublimeHQ.SublimeText.4
16:15:32 - Include app TortoiseGit.TortoiseGit
16:15:32 - Include app WinMerge.WinMerge
16:15:32 - Include app WinSCP.WinSCP
16:15:32 - Include app Mozilla.Firefox
16:15:32 - Include app GoLang.Go
16:15:32 - Include app RustDesk.RustDesk
16:15:32 - Checking application updates on Winget Repository named 'winget' ..
-> Available update : IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition 2025.2.6. Current version : 2025.2.6. Available version : 2025.2.6.1.
16:15:34 - IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition 2025.2.6 : Skipped upgrade because it is not in the included app list
16:15:34 - No new update.
16:15:35 - User logged on, get a list of installed Winget apps in System context...
16:15:36 - Starting WAU in User context...
#################################################################
#    3/31/2026 - CHECK FOR APP UPDATES (User context)
#################################################################
16:15:37 - Reading WAUConfig
16:15:37 - GPO policies detected - applying
16:15:37 - Notification Level: Full. Notification Language: English
16:15:37 - Checking internet connection...
16:15:37 - Connected!
16:15:37 - Selected winget instance: C:\Users\ccopani\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\winget.exe
16:15:37 - WAU uses White List config
16:15:37 - -> Included apps from GPO is activated
16:15:37 - Include app 7zip.7zip
16:15:37 - Include app Adobe.Acrobat.Reader.32-bit
16:15:37 - Include app Atlassian.Sourcetree
16:15:37 - Include app Brave.Brave
16:15:37 - Include app dbeaver.dbeaver.community
16:15:37 - Include app Git.Git
16:15:38 - Include app Google.AndroidStudio
16:15:38 - Include app Google.Chrome
16:15:38 - Include app HeidiSQL.HeidiSQL
16:15:38 - Include app Joplin.Joplin
16:15:38 - Include app KeePassXCTeam.KeePassXC
16:15:38 - Include app Microsoft.VisualStudio.2022.Community
16:15:38 - Include app Microsoft.VisualStudio.Community
16:15:38 - Include app Microsoft.VisualStudioCode
16:15:38 - Include app Mobatek.MobaXterm
16:15:38 - Include app Mozilla.Firefox
16:15:38 - Include app mRemoteNG.mRemoteNG
16:15:38 - Include app NagleCode.PacketSender
16:15:38 - Include app Notepad++.Notepad++
16:15:38 - Include app Proxyman.Proxyman
16:15:38 - Include app RoyalApps.RoyalTS.7
16:15:38 - Include app ShareX.ShareX
16:15:38 - Include app SmartBear.SoapUI
16:15:38 - Include app SublimeHQ.SublimeText.4
16:15:38 - Include app TortoiseGit.TortoiseGit
16:15:38 - Include app WinMerge.WinMerge
16:15:38 - Include app WinSCP.WinSCP
16:15:38 - Include app Mozilla.Firefox
16:15:38 - Include app GoLang.Go
16:15:38 - Include app RustDesk.RustDesk
16:15:38 - Checking application updates on Winget Repository named 'winget' ..
-> Available update : Windows Terminal. Current version : 1.23.20211.0. Available version : 1.24.10621.0.
16:15:40 - Windows Terminal : Skipped upgrade because it is not in the included app list
16:15:40 - No new update.
16:15:40 - End of process!

Additional information

No response

[Romanitho]

I agree, I'm seeing the same strange behavior on my machine. I have WinMerge version 2.16.52.2, which was last updated on December 7th. Since then, it doesn't appear when running winget update. It seems to be a Winget issue rather than a WAU bug.

#################################################################
#    07/12/2025 - CHECK FOR APP UPDATES (System context - Connected user)
#################################################################
10:24:15 - Reading WAUConfig
10:24:15 - GPO policies detected - applying GPO configuration
10:24:15 - Notification Level: Full. Notification Language: Français
10:24:15 - Checking internet connection...
10:24:45 - Connected !
10:24:45 - Checking prerequisites...
10:24:46 - WinGet installed version: 1.12.350 | WinGet available version: 1.12.350
10:24:46 - -> WinGet is up to date.
10:24:46 - Prerequisites checked. OK
10:24:47 - Selected winget instance: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_1.27.350.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\winget.exe
10:24:47 - WAU current version: 2.8.0
10:24:47 - WAU AutoUpdate is Enabled.
10:24:47 - WAU is up to date.
10:24:47 - WAU uses Black List config
10:24:47 - -> Successsfully loaded default excluded apps list.
10:24:47 - Checking application updates on Winget Repository named 'winget' ..
-> Available update : WinMerge x64. Current version : 2.16.52.0. Available version : 2.16.52.2.
-> Available update : Microsoft OneDrive. Current version : 25.206.1021.0003. Available version : 25.209.1026.0002.
-> Available update : WinSCP 6.5.4. Current version : 6.5.4. Available version : 6.5.5.
-> Available update : TeamViewer. Current version : 15.71.4. Available version : 15.72.6.
-> Available update : Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x64) -. Current version : 14.44.35211.0. Available version : 14.50.35719.0.
-> Available update : Notepad++ (64-bit x64). Current version : 8.8.7. Available version : 8.8.8.
-> Available update : Audacity 3.7.5. Current version : 3.7.5. Available version : 3.7.6.
-> Available update : Microsoft Edge. Current version : 142.0.3595.90. Available version : 143.0.3650.66.
-> Available update : Opera Stable 123.0.5669.47. Current version : 123.0.5669.47. Available version : 125.0.5729.15.
-> Available update : VLC media player. Current version : 3.0.21. Available version : 3.0.22.
-> Available update : Microsoft Visual Studio Code. Current version : 1.106.1. Available version : 1.106.3.
10:24:57 - Updating WinMerge x64 from 2.16.52.0 to 2.16.52.2...
10:24:09 - ##########   WINGET UPGRADE PROCESS STARTS FOR APPLICATION ID 'WinMerge.WinMerge'   ##########
10:24:09 - -> Running: Winget upgrade --id WinMerge.WinMerge -e --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements -s winget -h
  █████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  1024 KB / 5.75 MB
  ██████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  2.00 MB / 5.75 MB
  ███████████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  3.00 MB / 5.75 MB
  ████████████████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  4.00 MB / 5.75 MB
  ██████████████████████████▒▒▒▒  5.00 MB / 5.75 MB
  ██████████████████████████████  5.75 MB / 5.75 MB
Found WinMerge [WinMerge.WinMerge] Version 2.16.52.2
This application is licensed to you by its owner.
Microsoft is not responsible for, nor does it grant any licenses to, third-party packages.
Downloading https://github.com/WinMerge/winmerge/releases/download/v2.16.52.2/WinMerge-2.16.52.2-x64-Setup.exe
  ██▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  1024 KB / 11.8 MB
  ██████████████████████████████  11.8 MB / 11.8 MB
Successfully verified installer hash
Starting package install...
Successfully installed
10:24:41 - ##########   WINGET UPGRADE PROCESS FINISHED FOR APPLICATION ID 'WinMerge.WinMerge'   ##########
10:24:41 - WinMerge x64 updated to 2.16.52.2 !
10:24:48 - Microsoft OneDrive : Skipped upgrade because it is in the excluded app list
10:24:50 - Updating WinSCP 6.5.4 from 6.5.4 to 6.5.5...
10:24:56 - ##########   WINGET UPGRADE PROCESS STARTS FOR APPLICATION ID 'WinSCP.WinSCP'   ##########
10:24:56 - -> Running: Winget upgrade --id WinSCP.WinSCP -e --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements -s winget -h
  █████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  1024 KB / 5.75 MB
  ██████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  2.00 MB / 5.75 MB
  ███████████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  3.00 MB / 5.75 MB
  ████████████████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  4.00 MB / 5.75 MB
  ██████████████████████████▒▒▒▒  5.00 MB / 5.75 MB
  ██████████████████████████████  5.75 MB / 5.75 MB
Found WinSCP [WinSCP.WinSCP] Version 6.5.5
This application is licensed to you by its owner.
Microsoft is not responsible for, nor does it grant any licenses to, third-party packages.
Downloading https://sourceforge.net/projects/winscp/files/WinSCP/6.5.5/WinSCP-6.5.5-Setup.exe/download
  ██▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  1024 KB / 11.6 MB
  ██████████████████████████████  11.6 MB / 11.6 MB
Successfully verified installer hash
Starting package install...
Successfully installed
10:25:28 - ##########   WINGET UPGRADE PROCESS FINISHED FOR APPLICATION ID 'WinSCP.WinSCP'   ##########

And today (nothing):

#################################################################
#    07/04/2026 - CHECK FOR APP UPDATES (System context - Connected user)
#################################################################
15:34:43 - Reading WAUConfig
15:34:43 - GPO policies detected - applying
15:34:43 - Notification Level: Full. Notification Language: Français
15:34:43 - Checking internet connection...
15:34:44 - Connected!
15:34:44 - Checking prerequisites...
15:34:44 - VC++ x64 already installed (14.50.35719.0)
15:34:45 - WinGet installed version: 1.28.220 | WinGet available version: 1.28.190
15:34:45 - -> WinGet is up to date.
15:34:45 - Prerequisites checked. OK
15:34:45 - Selected winget instance: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_1.28.220.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\winget.exe
15:34:45 - WAU current version: 2.12.0-0
15:34:45 - WAU AutoUpdate is Enabled.
15:34:45 - WAU AutoUpdate Pre-release versions is Enabled
15:34:45 - WAU is up to date.
15:34:45 - WAU uses Black List config
15:34:45 - -> Successfully loaded default excluded apps list.
15:34:45 - Checking application updates on Winget Repository named 'winget' ..
-> Available update : TeamViewer. Current version : 15.76.3. Available version : 15.76.5.
-> Available update : Opera Stable 129.0.5823.28. Current version : 129.0.5823.28. Available version : 129.0.5823.65.
15:35:29 - TeamViewer : Skipped upgrade because it is *wildcard* in the excluded app list
15:35:29 - Opera Stable 129.0.5823.28 : Skipped upgrade because it is *wildcard* in the excluded app list
15:35:29 - No new update.

[Romanitho]

Wait, my bad! I just checked my logs again and WinMerge is actually up to date on my side. I misread my previous check.

#################################################################
#    27/01/2026 - CHECK FOR APP UPDATES (System context - Connected user)
#################################################################
22:05:29 - Reading WAUConfig
22:05:29 - GPO policies detected - applying
22:05:29 - Notification Level: Full. Notification Language: Français
22:05:29 - Checking internet connection...
22:05:29 - Connected!
22:05:29 - Checking prerequisites...
22:05:29 - VC++ x64 already installed (14.50.35719.0)
22:05:30 - WinGet installed version: 1.12.460 | WinGet available version: 1.12.460
22:05:30 - -> WinGet is up to date.
22:05:30 - Prerequisites checked. OK
22:05:30 - Selected winget instance: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_1.27.460.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\winget.exe
22:05:30 - WAU current version: 2.10.0
22:05:30 - WAU AutoUpdate is Enabled.
22:05:30 - WAU AutoUpdate Pre-release versions is Enabled
22:05:31 - WAU is up to date.
22:05:31 - WAU uses Black List config
22:05:31 - -> Successfully loaded default excluded apps list.
22:05:31 - Checking application updates on Winget Repository named 'winget' ..
-> Available update : WinMerge x64. Current version : 2.16.52.2. Available version : 2.16.54.
-> Available update : TeamViewer. Current version : 15.73.5. Available version : 15.74.3.
22:05:34 - Updating WinMerge x64 from 2.16.52.2 to 2.16.54...
22:05:39 - ##########   WINGET UPGRADE: WinMerge.WinMerge   ##########
22:05:39 - -> upgrade
  ████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  1024 KB / 6.05 MB
  █████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  2.00 MB / 6.05 MB
  ██████████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  3.00 MB / 6.05 MB
  ███████████████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  4.00 MB / 6.05 MB
  ████████████████████████▒▒▒▒▒▒  5.00 MB / 6.05 MB
  █████████████████████████████▒  6.00 MB / 6.05 MB
  ██████████████████████████████  6.05 MB / 6.05 MB
Found WinMerge [WinMerge.WinMerge] Version 2.16.54
This application is licensed to you by its owner.
Microsoft is not responsible for, nor does it grant any licenses to, third-party packages.
Downloading https://github.com/WinMerge/winmerge/releases/download/v2.16.54/WinMerge-2.16.54-x64-Setup.exe
  ██▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒  1024 KB / 10.8 MB
  ██████████████████████████████  10.8 MB / 10.8 MB
Successfully verified installer hash
Starting package install...
Successfully installed
22:05:55 - ##########   FINISHED: WinMerge.WinMerge   ##########
22:05:55 - WinMerge x64 updated to 2.16.54!

So it seems to be working fine for me. Sorry for the confusion!