About This Project
Chocolatey Scripts is a collection of PowerShell scripts that automate the most common tasks in Windows software management using Chocolatey, the popular open-source package manager. The toolkit covers the full lifecycle of package management: from installing Chocolatey itself and batch-installing essential applications, to scheduling automatic updates, running health diagnostics, backing up your package list, and keeping your system clean.
Every script is designed to be transparent, well-documented, and safe to run. You can read the source code, understand exactly what it does, and customize it to match your workflow. There are no hidden network calls, no telemetry, and no data leaves your machine. The scripts run locally, produce local log files, and interact only with Chocolatey and the Windows APIs they need to do their job.
The project currently includes nine scripts covering installation, essential apps, auto-updating, cleanup, health diagnostics, backup and restore, scheduled task configuration, toast notifications, and setup validation. Each script has its own dedicated documentation page on this site with usage examples, parameter details, and explanations of how it works under the hood.
Why We Built This
Setting up a new Windows machine is tedious. You visit a dozen websites, download installers, click through wizards, and repeat the process every time you get a new computer or reinstall the OS. Keeping software up to date is just as repetitive. Chocolatey solves the installation and update problem beautifully, but configuring it for unattended operation — scheduled updates, conditional logic for WiFi and power status, notifications, backups — still requires custom scripting.
That is where Chocolatey Scripts comes in. We wrote the automation we wished existed: a set of scripts that handle the repetitive parts so you can focus on your actual work. Instead of remembering to run choco upgrade all every week, you set up a scheduled task once and let the scripts handle it. Instead of hoping you can recreate your software environment after a reformat, you run the backup script and have a JSON file ready to restore from.
We also wanted these scripts to be educational. PowerShell is an incredibly powerful tool for system administration on Windows, but many developers and IT professionals never learn it beyond basic commands. Every script in this project is written with readability in mind, includes inline comments that explain the reasoning behind each decision, and follows consistent patterns that you can learn from and adapt to your own projects. The accompanying guides break down the scripting techniques used in the codebase so you can build on them.
Open Source
Chocolatey Scripts is fully open-source and hosted on GitHub. The source code, documentation, and this website are all publicly available. You are free to use, modify, and distribute the scripts in accordance with the project license.
We believe open source is the right approach for tools that run with administrator privileges on your machine. You should never have to trust a black box with that level of access. By keeping the code public, anyone can audit it, report issues, suggest improvements, or contribute fixes. If you find a bug or have an idea for a new feature, we encourage you to open an issue or submit a pull request.
Contributions are welcome from developers of all experience levels. Whether you are fixing a typo in a comment, improving error handling in a script, or proposing an entirely new automation workflow, your input helps make the project better for everyone.
Part of CodeCraftedApps
Chocolatey Scripts is built and maintained by CodeCraftedApps, a small developer studio focused on building practical tools and applications. Our projects span macOS, iOS, and Windows, and they share a common philosophy: software should be well-crafted, transparent, and respectful of the people who use it.
Other projects in the CodeCraftedApps family include Brew Scripts (the macOS counterpart to this project, automating Homebrew), Daily Stride Tracker (a health and activity tracking app for Apple platforms), and Shortcut Collections (curated Apple Shortcuts). Each project has its own site and documentation, all linked from the main CodeCraftedApps hub.
If you find Chocolatey Scripts useful, consider supporting the project through Buy Me a Coffee. Your support helps us dedicate time to maintaining and improving all of our open-source tools.