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wtf is winman?

xchgll/winman — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

29PythonAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

TL;DR

WinMan is a command line tool that gives you offline, searchable man-page-style documentation for the Windows and NT API, updated monthly.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((winman))
    What it does
      Offline Windows API docs
      Man page style lookup
      Wildcard search
    Tech stack
      Python
      pip
      CLI
    Use cases
      Look up Win32 functions
      Work without internet
      Reference during dev
    Audience
      Windows API developers

Code map

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Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Look up Windows or NT API function signatures and parameters without an internet connection.

REASON 2

Search for related Windows API functions using wildcard patterns from the command line.

REASON 3

Reference API requirements and remarks while writing low-level Windows software in C, C++, or Python.

What's in the stack?

Pythonpip

How it stacks up

xchgll/winmanadityasharmadotai-hash/docs-reader-rag-agentalekseiul/hermes-researcher-agent
Stars292929
LanguagePythonPythonPython
Setup difficultyeasyeasymoderate
Complexity2/52/52/5
Audiencedevelopervibe coderresearcher

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Requires a one-time download of about 15 MB of documentation (around 112 MB unpacked) before first use.

Wtf does this do

WinMan is a command line tool that gives you offline documentation for the Windows and NT API, presented in the style of Unix man pages. Instead of searching Microsoft's website every time you need to look up a Windows function, you download the documentation once and then browse it entirely without an internet connection. The tool works fully offline after that first download, supports fast searching including wildcard patterns like Virtual asterisk to match many function names at once, runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS, and the underlying documentation is refreshed on a monthly basis. Installation is a single pip command. On first use, running the tool with an update flag prompts you to download the documentation set, which the README shows as being about 15 megabytes to download and around 112 megabytes once unpacked on disk. After that, querying a specific function name, such as VirtualProtect, prints a full man page style entry: the header file and DLL it lives in, a description of what the function does, a breakdown of each parameter with its direction and meaning, what the return value means on success and failure, additional remarks about correct usage and common pitfalls, and which versions of Windows support it. This is a reference tool rather than something that runs code for you. It is aimed at developers who write software that calls directly into the Windows API, such as those working in C, C++, or low level Python, and who want a fast, searchable, offline reference instead of repeatedly looking up the same functions online. The README does not state a license for the project.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Walk me through installing WinMan with pip and downloading the documentation for the first time.
Prompt 2
Show me how to look up the VirtualProtect function using WinMan's query command.
Prompt 3
Explain how WinMan's wildcard search works for finding related Windows API functions.
Prompt 4
What platforms does WinMan run on and how often is its documentation updated?

Frequently asked questions

wtf is winman?

WinMan is a command line tool that gives you offline, searchable man-page-style documentation for the Windows and NT API, updated monthly.

What language is winman written in?

Mainly Python. The stack also includes Python, pip.

How hard is winman to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is winman for?

Mainly developer.

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