Windows App Development CLI

winapp manages Windows SDKs, MSIX packaging, app identity, manifests, certificates, signing, store publishing, and UI automation for any framework targeting Windows (.NET/csproj, C++, Electron, Rust, Tauri, Flutter, etc.). Public preview — subject to change.

Prerequisites

• Windows 10 or later
• Install via one of:
  • WinGet: winget install Microsoft.WinAppCli --source winget
  • npm (Electron/Node): npm install @microsoft/winappcli --save-dev
  • CI: setup-WinAppCli GitHub Action
  • Manual: GitHub Releases

Commands

CI tip: pass --no-prompt to skip interactive prompts.

Workflow

Standard init → package flow:

1. Initialize the project in your app folder. Sets up SDK refs, manifest, and winapp.yaml (.csproj projects skip the YAML and configure NuGet directly).

   winapp init        # add --no-prompt in CI
   

2. Generate a dev signing certificate — required for sideloading. init no longer creates one for non-.csproj projects (v0.2.0+). Pin the output path so later steps can reference it.

   winapp cert generate --publisher "CN=My Company" --output ./mycert.pfx --install
   

3. Build your app with the framework's own toolchain (dotnet build, npm run build, cargo build, etc.).

4. Package as MSIX, signing with the cert from step 2.

   winapp pack ./build-output --cert ./mycert.pfx --cert-password password --output MyApp.msix
   

5. (Optional) Re-sign with a production cert before distribution.

   winapp sign MyApp.msix --cert ./prod.pfx --cert-password $env:CERT_PWD
   

6. (Optional) Submit to the Microsoft Store with winapp store … (wraps the Store Developer CLI).

Alternate flows

• Debug identity-gated APIs without packaging (notifications, Windows AI, shell):

  winapp create-debug-identity ./bin/MyApp.exe
  ./bin/MyApp.exe
  

• Run as packaged app for IDE F5 (loose layout; app args after --):

  winapp run ./bin/Debug/net10.0-windows10.0.26100.0/win-x64 \
    --manifest ./appxmanifest.xml -- --my-flag value
  

• Electron:

  npx winapp init
  npx winapp node add-electron-debug-identity
  npx winapp pack ./out --output MyElectronApp.msix
  

Gotchas

• winapp ui --json envelope reshaped in v0.3.1 — ui inspect, ui get-focused, ui search, and ui wait-for use new shapes; per-element id / parentSelector / windowHandle are removed (use selector). Full schemas in references/ui-json-envelope.md.
• winapp init no longer auto-generates a certificate (v0.2.0+) — run winapp cert generate explicitly. The old --no-cert flag was removed.
• .csproj projects skip winapp.yaml — SDK packages live in the project file. Hybrid setups need adjustment.
• NuGet global cache, not %userprofile%/.winapp/packages (v0.2.0+) — scripts depending on the old folder will break.
• Re-run create-debug-identity after any manifest change — identity is bound at registration time.

Troubleshooting

References

• winapp CLI repo · Full usage docs · .NET guide · Samples
• Windows App SDK · MSIX overview · Package identity overview