# Scoop package manager

16 Hacker News commenters recommended Scoop package manager and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend Scoop as a command-line package manager for Windows that installs and updates developer tools such as Java, CMake, and Emacs. Critics note that some security apps ignore its current symlinks.

## Why people recommend it

- Easy install and update of tools (4 comments): "I eventually landed on using scoop to install CMake and Ninja, which was an easy solution" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47323839)) "You can install and update Emacs and SBCL for Common Lisp very easily with Scoop." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47908904)) "I can also now run and install over cmd with choco, scoop and winget." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48000958))
- Manages multiple Java versions (2 comments): "The advantage of using a package manager like scoop or chocolatey is that you have a unified interface to manage multiple versions of JDK" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46084893)) "the only sane way to install Java seems to be scoop.sh or chocolatey" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46076712))
- Works alongside Chocolatey and Winget (2 comments): "Chocolatey, Winget, and Scoop are all good options for installing software." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49563985)) "I can also now run and install over cmd with choco, scoop and winget." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48000958))

## What people warn about

- Symlinks ignored by some security apps (1 comments): "Though it has a few issues when some security apps ignore "current" symlinks" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46489573))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Nix](https://hackerapproved.com/p/nix.md): 378 recommend
- [Homebrew](https://hackerapproved.com/p/homebrew.md): 271 recommend
- [npm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/npm.md): 161 recommend
- [pnpm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pnpm.md): 124 recommend
- [Cargo](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cargo.md): 123 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Scoop package manager", https://hackerapproved.com/p/scoop/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).