What causes "winget {action} failed with {status}" in jdx/mise?

Run the same winget command manually to see the interactive output and exact failure reason

winget {action} failed with {status}

Error message

winget {action} failed with {status}

What it means

run_winget executes a winget action (e.g. source refresh via refresh, or per-package install/upgrade/uninstall via run_packages) with output inherited, and checks the resulting exit status against accepted exit codes. If the status isn't accepted, this error reports the action and status. Certain winget non-zero codes (like reboot-required) can be pre-accepted via accepted_exit_codes.

Source

Thrown at src/system/packages/winget.rs:188

}

/// Returns whether an exit code is successful for the current operation.
fn command_succeeded(code: Option<i32>, accepted_exit_codes: &[i32]) -> bool {
    code == Some(0) || code.is_some_and(|code| accepted_exit_codes.contains(&code))
}

/// Runs WinGet and accepts only zero plus explicitly allowed no-op codes.
async fn run_winget(args: &[String], action: &str, accepted_exit_codes: &[i32]) -> Result<()> {
    debug!("$ winget {}", args.join(" "));
    let status = tokio::process::Command::new("winget")
        .args(args)
        .stdin(Stdio::null())
        .stdout(Stdio::inherit())
        .stderr(Stdio::inherit())
        .status()
        .await?;
    if !command_succeeded(status.code(), accepted_exit_codes) {
        bail!("winget {action} failed with {status}");
    }
    Ok(())
}

/// Applies a WinGet command to each requested package in order.
async fn run_packages(
    command: &str,
    pkgs: &[PackageRequest],
    dry_run: bool,
    accepted_exit_codes: &[i32],
) -> Result<()> {
    for pkg in pkgs {
        let args = package_args(command, pkg);
        if dry_run {
            miseprintln!("winget {}", args.join(" "));
        } else {
            run_winget(
                &args,

View on GitHub (pinned to afd2eddd3a)

Solutions

Run the same winget command manually to see the interactive output and exact failure reason
If the failing code is benign (e.g. reboot required), update the accepted_exit_codes list for that action
Elevate the shell (admin) if the failure is access-denied during install
Run `winget source update` and retry if the failure was a source/network issue

Example fix

// before
mise packages install winget:Git.Git
# winget install failed with exit code 1978335189 (requires elevation)
// after: run terminal as administrator
mise packages install winget:Git.Git

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

let probe = Command::new("winget").args(["--info"]).status()?;
if !probe.success() { /* winget broken or needs elevation */ }

Type guard

fn winget_action_ok(status: ExitStatus, accepted: &[i32]) -> bool {
    status.success() || accepted.contains(&status.code().unwrap_or(-1))
}

Try / catch

match run_packages(&pkgs, "install").await {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("failed with") => {
        if requires_elevation(&e) { rerun_elevated().await } else { return Err(e) }
    }
    other => other,
}

Prevention

Run package installs from an elevated shell when installers require admin rights
Pre-list accepted benign exit codes (e.g. reboot-required) for winget actions
Keep winget sources updated so downloads don't fail mid-install

When it happens

Trigger: Calling refresh or run_packages when a winget command (install/upgrade/uninstall/source update) exits with a failing code not in accepted_exit_codes — e.g. installer failure, hash mismatch, requires-elevation, or network error during download.

Common situations: winget install needs administrator rights (run from non-elevated shell); download failed or source unreachable; package installer returned its own error code; reboot-required exit codes not included in accepted_exit_codes.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jdx/mise@afd2eddd3a (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a8ac52d7b507e7a4. Report an issue: GitHub.