Highlights from the Chocolatey CLI v2.5.0 Release

Below is a summary of the most notable changes included in this release. For a comprehensive list of features, improvements, and bug fixes, please refer to the full release notes.

Enhanced PowerShell Tab Completion

Chocolatey CLI now supports expanded PowerShell tab completion for a more intuitive command-line experience. Key enhancements include:

• Version Selection: When using --version with the install or upgrade commands, you can now cycle through available package versions using tab completion—no need to manually lookup versions.
• Argument Completion: Tab completion is also supported for:
  • --name in the feature, config, and pin commands.
  • --source in the source command.

These improvements streamline CLI usage by reducing manual input and lookup time.

Flexible Search Result Ordering

A new --order-by option has been introduced for the search command, enabling users to control how results are sorted.

Previously, sorting was limited to the --order-by-popularity option. With this release, you can now sort search results by:

• Id.
• Title.
• Popularity.
• LastPublished.
• Unsorted (disables sorting, preserving source response order).

This provides greater flexibility when filtering and reviewing packages.

New license Command for Installed License Information

A new top-level command, choco license, is now available for users with an installed Chocolatey license.

This command outputs key license details, including:

• Registered user or organization.
• License expiration date.
• License type (e.g., Business, Pro).
• Node count covered by the license.

This makes it easier to audit and confirm licensing information directly from the CLI.

Option to Exclude Pinned Packages in list

A new --ignore-pinned option is available for the list command. When used, it excludes pinned packages from the output, providing a clearer view of the packages that are eligible for upgrade or removal.

New Feature: Global HTTP Cache Control

Chocolatey CLI now includes a new configurable feature: useHttpCache.

While commands like install, upgrade, search, info, and outdated have long supported bypassing HTTP caches on a per-command basis, v2.5.0 allows users to globally disable HTTP caching.

When useHttpCache is disabled, Chocolatey CLI will always fetch the latest data from configured sources, ensuring the most up-to-date information is used.

:choco-warning: Warning

Disabling this feature may significantly increase command execution times, especially when multiple sources or many packages are involved.

Improvements for Package Maintainers

Several updates have been made to provide package maintainers with more context during package operations:

Access to Previous Package Version During Upgrades

When a package is being upgraded, the version being upgraded from is available via the environment variable $env:ChocolateyPreviousPackageVersion, for use in the chocolateyInstall.ps1 script. This is useful for version-aware upgrade logic within packages.

Detection of --not-silent Option Usage

Maintainers can now detect when a user has explicitly passed the --not-silent option via the environment variable $env:ChocolateyNotSilent. This is useful for conditionally running interactive logic (e.g., UI-based installers or AutoHotkey scripts) in a supported manner.

Additional Improvements

This release also includes various bug fixes, internal improvements, and smaller enhancements not covered above. We recommend reviewing the full release notes to see everything included in v2.5.0.