[BUG] Packages originally installed as admin don't update as admin

[nrs-mparker]

Please confirm these before moving forward

• I have searched for my issue and have not found a work-in-progress/duplicate/resolved issue.
• I have tested that this issue has not been fixed in the latest (beta or stable) release.
• I have checked the FAQ section for solutions.
• This issue is about a bug (if it is not, please use the correct template).

UniGetUI Version

2026.2.7

Windows version, edition, and architecture

Windows 11 Enterprise 22631.7376

Describe your issue

When initially installing packages on this PC with winget, I always install them from an admin cmd prompt because of this issue. Basically, using ffmpeg as an example, installing as admin puts the commands on the PATH at %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\WinGet\Links with symlinks to the real files. Without running as admin, it instead adds a new PATH entry, %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\Gyan.FFmpeg_Microsoft.Winget.Source_8wekyb3d8bbwe\ffmpeg-8.1.2-full_build\bin. Note that using the admin cmd prompt doesn't necessarily mean it's a system-wide install; it still does whatever the default for that package is, but doesn't suffer from this path issue.

I don't think this used to be a bug in UniGetUI, but I don't have any info about when it would have started. I just opened my environment variables to check something else, and was surprised to find everything I've updated with UniGetUI has been adding these horrible path entries for some time. Now I have to go consider uninstalling these and redoing them, potentially not using UniGetUI for updates to those in the future. Or, potentially I can run it as admin, but the program itself warns against doing so. Ideally, it would be able to detect anything that was installed from an elevated prompt and maintain that, even when the package itself doesn't require admin permissions.

Steps to reproduce the issue

1. Run cmd as admin
2. winget install -e --id Gyan.FFmpeg -v 8.0 (intentionally slightly outdated version)
3. Observe symlinks are created in %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\WinGet\Links, and that has been added to the user-level PATH if it wasn't already
4. Using UniGetUI, update ffmpeg (current version is 8.1.2)
5. Observe the symlinks are removed and that %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\Gyan.FFmpeg_Microsoft.Winget.Source_8wekyb3d8bbwe\ffmpeg-8.1.2-full_build\bin has been added to the user PATH

UniGetUI Log

[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM]    __  __      _ ______     __  __  ______
                          / / / /___  (_) ____/__  / /_/ / / /  _/
                         / / / / __ \/ / / __/ _ \/ __/ / / // /
                        / /_/ / / / / / /_/ /  __/ /_/ /_/ // /
                        \____/_/ /_/_/\____/\___/\__/\____/___/
                            Welcome to UniGetUI Version 2026.2.7
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM]   
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Build 107
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] UI Framework: Avalonia
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Data directory C:\Users\mparker\AppData\Local\UniGetUI
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] OS: Microsoft Windows 10.0.22631
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Process arch: X64 (OS: X64)
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Runtime: .NET 10.0.10
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Loaded language locale: en
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Elevated: False
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Packaged (MSIX): False
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Args: (none)
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] DXGI hardware GPU detection took 7.1 ms; hardware GPU: True
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Command cargo-binstall.exe was not found on the system
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Unable to retrieve secret for resource 'UniGetUI/GitHubAccessToken': Element not found.
                        
                        Cannot get credential from Vault
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Unable to retrieve secret for resource 'UniGetUI/GitHubAccessToken': Element not found.
                        
                        Cannot get credential from Vault
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Starting Avalonia shell bootstrap
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Loaded language locale: en
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Generated a IPC API auth token for the current session
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Cargo is not enabled
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] vcpkg is not enabled
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Scoop is not enabled
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Chocolatey is not enabled
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Npm is not enabled
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] PowerShell is enabled and was found on C:\WINDOWS\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] PowerShell7 is enabled and was found on C:\Users\mparker\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\pwsh.exe
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Command bun.exe was not found on the system
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Command bun.cmd was not found on the system
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Bun is enabled but was not found on the system!
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Pip is enabled and was found on C:\Users\mparker\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\python.EXE
[7/31/2026 10:57:12 AM] Api running on named pipe UniGetUI.IPC
[7/31/2026 10:57:13 AM] Auto-updater source 'ProductInfo' returned version 2026.2.7.0 (upgradable=False)
[7/31/2026 10:57:13 AM] .NET Tool is enabled and was found on C:\Program Files\dotnet\dotnet.exe
[7/31/2026 10:57:13 AM] Connected to WinGet API using packaged COM activation.
[7/31/2026 10:57:13 AM] WinGet activation mode selected: packaged COM registration | Source: system COM registration
[7/31/2026 10:57:13 AM] Winget is enabled and was found on C:\Users\mparker\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\winget.exe
[7/31/2026 10:57:13 AM] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
                        █▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ MANAGER LOADED ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                        █ Name: PowerShell 7.x (aka PowerShell7)
                        █ Executable name: "pwsh.exe"
                        █ Executable path: "C:\Users\mparker\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\pwsh.exe"
                        █ Call arguments: " -NoProfile -Command"
                        █ Version: PowerShell 7.6.4
                        █          
                        █ PowerShell 7.x is enabled and ready to go.
                        ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
[7/31/2026 10:57:13 AM] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
                        █▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ MANAGER LOADED ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                        █ Name: .NET Tool (aka .NET Tool)
                        █ Executable name: "dotnet tool"
                        █ Executable path: "C:\Program Files\dotnet\dotnet.exe"
                        █ Call arguments: "tool "
                        █ Version: 10.0.302
                        █          
                        █ .NET Tool is enabled and ready to go.
                        ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
[7/31/2026 10:57:13 AM] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
                        █▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ MANAGER LOADED ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                        █ Name: PowerShell 5.x (aka PowerShell)
                        █ Executable name: "powershell.exe"
                        █ Executable path: "C:\WINDOWS\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe"
                        █ Call arguments: " -NoProfile -Command"
                        █ Version: Name                           Value                                                                                   
                        █          ----                           -----                                                                                   
                        █          PSVersion                      5.1.22621.7376                                                                          
                        █          PSEdition                      Desktop                                                                                 
                        █          PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...}                                                                 
                        █          BuildVersion                   10.0.22621.7376                                                                         
                        █          CLRVersion                     4.0.30319.42000                                                                         
                        █          WSManStackVersion              3.0                                                                                     
                        █          PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.3                                                                                     
                        █          SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1
                        █          
                        █ PowerShell 5.x is enabled and ready to go.
                        ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
[7/31/2026 10:57:13 AM] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
                        █▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ MANAGER LOADED ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                        █ Name: WinGet (aka Winget)
                        █ Executable name: "winget.exe"
                        █ Executable path: "C:\Users\mparker\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\winget.exe"
                        █ Call arguments: ""
                        █ Version: System WinGet (CLI) Version: v1.29.280
                        █          Using Native WinGet helper (COM Api)
                        █          Activation mode: packaged COM registration
                        █          Activation source: system COM registration
                        █          
                        █ WinGet is enabled and ready to go.
                        ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
[7/31/2026 10:57:13 AM] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
                        █▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ MANAGER LOADED ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
                        █ Name: Pip (aka Pip)
                        █ Executable name: "pip"
                        █ Executable path: "C:\Users\mparker\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\python.EXE"
                        █ Call arguments: "-m pip "
                        █ Version: pip 26.1.2 from C:\Users\mparker\AppData\Local\Python\pythoncore-3.14-64\Lib\site-packages\pip (python 3.14)
                        █          
                        █ Pip is enabled and ready to go.
                        ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
[7/31/2026 10:57:15 AM] Integrity check passed successfully!
[7/31/2026 10:57:15 AM] Avalonia shell bootstrap completed
[7/31/2026 10:57:15 AM] Found 0 installed packages from .NET Tool
[7/31/2026 10:57:15 AM] Found 0 installed packages from .NET Tool
[7/31/2026 10:57:15 AM] Found 0 available updates from .NET Tool
[7/31/2026 10:57:15 AM] Found 10 installed packages from Pip
[7/31/2026 10:57:15 AM] Found 1 installed packages from PowerShell7
[7/31/2026 10:57:15 AM] Found 1 installed packages from PowerShell7
[7/31/2026 10:57:16 AM] Found 0 available updates from PowerShell7
[7/31/2026 10:57:16 AM] Found 4 available updates from Pip
[7/31/2026 10:57:16 AM] Found 0 installed packages from PowerShell
[7/31/2026 10:57:16 AM] Found 0 installed packages from PowerShell
[7/31/2026 10:57:16 AM] Found 0 available updates from PowerShell
[7/31/2026 10:57:18 AM] Found 13 available updates from Winget
[7/31/2026 10:57:18 AM] Could not resolve installer hosts for Amazon.AWSCLI version 2.36.7.0: Failed during source operation 'manifest' for 'winget': Version '2.36.7.0' was not found for package 'Amazon.AWSCLI' in source 'winget'.
[7/31/2026 10:57:18 AM] Could not resolve installer hosts for Google.Chrome.EXE version 151.0.7922.71: Failed during source operation 'manifest' for 'winget': Version '151.0.7922.71' was not found for package 'Google.Chrome.EXE' in source 'winget'.
[7/31/2026 10:57:18 AM] Could not resolve installer hosts for JetBrains.Toolbox version 3.6.2.85969: Failed during source operation 'manifest' for 'winget': Version '3.6.2.85969' was not found for package 'JetBrains.Toolbox' in source 'winget'.
[7/31/2026 10:57:19 AM] Found 241 installed packages from Winget

Package Managers Logs

Manager WinGet with version:
System WinGet (CLI) Version: v1.29.280
Using Native WinGet helper (COM Api)
Activation mode: packaged COM registration
Activation source: system COM registration

——————————————————————————————————————————

Logged native task on manager Winget. Task type is ListSources
Process start time: 7/31/2026 10:59:20 AM
Process end time:   7/31/2026 10:59:20 AM

-- Task information
 ...

The task reported success

——————————————————————————————————————————
Logged subprocess-based task on manager Winget. Task type is RefreshIndexes
Subprocess executable: "C:\Users\mparker\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\winget.exe"
Command-line arguments: " source update --disable-interactivity "
Process start time: 7/31/2026 10:59:21 AM
Process end time:   7/31/2026 10:59:22 AM

-- Process STDOUT
 ...

Return code: SUCCESS (0)

——————————————————————————————————————————
Logged native task on manager Winget. Task type is ListInstalledPackages
Process start time: 7/31/2026 10:59:21 AM
Process end time:   7/31/2026 10:59:26 AM

-- Task information
 ...

The task reported success

——————————————————————————————————————————
Logged native task on manager Winget. Task type is OtherTask
Process start time: 7/31/2026 10:59:21 AM
Process end time:   7/31/2026 10:59:23 AM

-- Task information
 ...

The task reported success

——————————————————————————————————————————
Logged native task on manager Winget. Task type is ListUpdates
Process start time: 7/31/2026 10:59:22 AM
Process end time:   7/31/2026 10:59:25 AM

-- Task information
 ...

The task reported success

——————————————————————————————————————————

Relevant information

No response

Screenshots and videos

No response