The Windows registry stores the names and details of all software that you installed. PowerShell can read this information and provide you with a complete software inventory:
# read all child keys (*) from all four locations and do not emit # errors if one of these keys does not exist Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*', 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*', 'HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*', 'HKCU:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' -ErrorAction Ignore | # list only items with the DisplayName Where-Object DisplayName | # show these registry values per item Select-Object -Property DisplayName, DisplayVersion, UninstallString, InstallDate | # sort by DisplayName Sort-Object -Property DisplayName
If you’d like to add more information, i.e. whether software is 32- or 64-bit, or if you’d like to turn the code into a reusable new PowerShell command, there is more reading for you here: https://powershell.one/code/5.html.
