Microsoft 's WinGet package manager does not work when installing or upgrading packages due to Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN) returning a 0-byte database file.
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Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a content delivery service that speeds up the loading of static content for websites and web applications. Static content includes HTML pages, JavaScript, images, and videos. CDNs are used to improve website performance by reducing the distance between the server and the user.
The Windows Package Manager (WinGet), which was released in May 2020, allows users to install applications directly from the command line.
Over the weekend, Windows users reported receiving different errors depending on the modewhen attempting to install or upgrade applications using WinGet.
For example, if you type winget upgrade, an error message appears that says: “The attempt to update the source failed.”
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Some Windows users on GitHub have stated that there appears to be a CDN issue, where instead of the full list of apps, a file of zero bytes is being sent.
WinGet uses a default repository to retrieve available packages, located at https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix. This is similar to how other package managers work.
Over the weekend, this repository started returning an empty file, instead of the usual package. This resulted in WinGet no longer working as intended.
Microsoft product manager Demitrius Nelonlater confirmed that there is indeed a problem with the CDN that is causing these errors for some users.
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While some users were able to fix the problem by modifying the HOSTS file to point to a working IP address for the CDN, others found that this did not work.
The best solution if you are using WinGet and have a problem with the CDN is to wait for Microsoft the problem. Once they do, the package manager will start working normally again.
