Windows App Development CLI (winapp) for building, packaging, and deploying Windows applications. Use when asked to initialize Windows app projects, create MSIX packages, generate AppxManifest.xml, manage development certificates, add package identity for debugging, sign packages, publish to the Microsoft Store, create external catalogs, or access Windows SDK build tools. Supports .NET (csproj), C++, Electron, Rust, Tauri, and cross-platform frameworks targeting Windows.
The winapp-cli skill documents and drives the Windows App Development CLI (`winapp`), a command-line tool for building, packaging, signing, and deploying Windows applications from any framework. It solves the friction of bridging cross-platform toolchains (Electron, Rust, Tauri, Qt, .NET, C++) with Windows-native requirements like MSIX packaging, app identity, manifests, and code signing, so developers can produce and publish Windows apps without leaving their existing build system.
The skill maps out the CLI's core capabilities: project initialization (`winapp init`) with selectable SDK modes; MSIX packaging (`winapp pack`) with optional signing and self-contained runtime bundling; adding temporary package identity to executables for debugging identity-dependent Windows APIs (`create-debug-identity`); AppxManifest.xml generation and asset creation from a single source image (`winapp manifest`); development certificate generation and installation (`winapp cert`); package and executable signing with PFX certificates and optional timestamping (`winapp sign`); SDK build-tool access (`winapp tool`); Microsoft Store submission and validation (`winapp store`); and external catalog creation. It includes prerequisites (Windows 10+, install via WinGet, npm, GitHub Actions, or manual download), usage examples, CI/CD patterns, guidelines, and documented limitations.
It targets Windows application developers, Electron and cross-platform framework users, and DevOps engineers setting up Windows build/deploy pipelines. Use cases include initializing and packaging a signed MSIX, adding debug identity to test notification or Windows AI APIs, generating all required icon sizes from one logo, and publishing to the Microsoft Store from CI. The commands are standard developer build/packaging operations; certificate generation is for legitimate dev signing and there is no destructive or exfiltration behavior, so it rates as low risk.
Via WinGet (winget install Microsoft.WinAppCli), npm for Electron (npm install @microsoft/winappcli), the setup-WinAppCli GitHub Actions/Azure DevOps action, or a manual download from GitHub Releases.
No longer. As of v0.2.0, init does not auto-generate a certificate; you run winapp cert generate explicitly when you need a dev certificate to sign with.
It is a Windows-only CLI requiring Windows 10 or later, but it can package apps built with .NET, C++, Electron, Rust, Tauri, and other cross-platform frameworks targeting Windows.
Use the setup-WinAppCli action to install it, then run winapp init --no-prompt and winapp pack; the --no-prompt flag avoids interactive prompts by using default values.
Whenever AppxManifest.xml changes. Package identity must be recreated after any manifest modification.
Quick Setup:
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github/awesome-copilot