What ways are there to automate installation of a list of apps?
“adb install” can be used to install apks without rooting the phone.
fdroidcl can automate downloading apks from F-Droid.
Is there anything similar that can install a list of Play store apps / package names?
Make a script using AutoHotkey (ask for help in !ahk@programming.dev) that goes through the list in a Windows desktop browser and remotely installs the apps to the device one by one. That’s how I’d do it, anyway.