Microsoft.VisualStudio.BuildTools: (VS Build Tools 2026) shows perpetual phantom upgrade 18.8.1 → 18.8.2 even after reinstall

[lynch1972]

Please confirm these before moving forward

• I have searched for my issue and not found a work-in-progress/duplicate/resolved issue.
• I have not been informed if the issue is resolved in a preview version of the winget client.

Category of the issue

Installation issue.

Brief description of your issue

Environment:

winget-cli on PowerShell 7.6.4, Windows
Package: Microsoft.VisualStudio.BuildTools (VS Build Tools 2026, moniker vs18-buildtools)

Issue:

winget upgrade persistently reports the installed version as 18.8.1 with 18.8.2 available, but winget show Microsoft.VisualStudio.BuildTools (without --version) already reports 18.8.2. Running winget upgrade Microsoft.VisualStudio.BuildTools completes successfully ("Successfully installed") but winget upgrade afterward still lists 18.8.1 → 18.8.2 as a pending upgrade — the phantom entry never clears.

Steps to reproduce

winget upgrade

Name Id Version Available

Visual Studio Build Tools 2026 Microsoft.VisualStudio.BuildTools 18.8.1 18.8.2

winget upgrade Microsoft.VisualStudio.BuildTools

... Successfully installed

winget upgrade

still shows 18.8.1 -> 18.8.2

Actual behavior

winget upgrade persistently lists Microsoft.VisualStudio.BuildTools as 18.8.1 installed with 18.8.2 available, even though winget show Microsoft.VisualStudio.BuildTools reports the current catalog version as 18.8.2. Running winget upgrade Microsoft.VisualStudio.BuildTools completes successfully ("Successfully installed"), but winget upgrade afterward still shows the same 18.8.1 → 18.8.2 entry — the phantom upgrade never clears, even across repeated install attempts.

Expected behavior

winget upgrade should report Microsoft.VisualStudio.BuildTools as up to date (no pending upgrade) once the installed version matches the latest available version in the manifest (18.8.2), and should stop listing it as upgradable after a successful winget upgrade run.

Environment

[winget --info]
Windows Package Manager v1.29.280
Windows: Windows.Desktop v10.0.26200.8973
Package: Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller v1.29.280.0

Any other software?
None relevant.

Screenshots and Logs

WinGet-2026-08-09-19-09-49.527.log
WinGet-2026-08-09-19-09-19.044.log