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Update winapp cli skill based on new winapp CLI 0.2.0 release #854

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Merged
aaronpowell merged 4 commits into from
Mar 2, 2026
Merged

Update winapp cli skill based on new winapp CLI 0.2.0 release #854

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5348a42
Update skill for v0.2.0
alvinashcraft Mar 2, 2026
56cd3be
Update skills readme
alvinashcraft Mar 2, 2026
53836f4
Update skills/winapp-cli/SKILL.md
alvinashcraft Mar 2, 2026
9c78843
Merge branch 'staged' into alvinashcraft/staged-update-winapp-cli-skill
alvinashcraft Mar 2, 2026
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion docs/README.skills.md
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Expand Up @@ -224,6 +224,6 @@ See [CONTRIBUTING.md](../CONTRIBUTING.md#adding-skills) for guidelines on how to
| [web-design-reviewer](../skills/web-design-reviewer/SKILL.md) | This skill enables visual inspection of websites running locally or remotely to identify and fix design issues. Triggers on requests like "review website design", "check the UI", "fix the layout", "find design problems". Detects issues with responsive design, accessibility, visual consistency, and layout breakage, then performs fixes at the source code level. | `references/framework-fixes.md`<br />`references/visual-checklist.md` |
| [webapp-testing](../skills/webapp-testing/SKILL.md) | Toolkit for interacting with and testing local web applications using Playwright. Supports verifying frontend functionality, debugging UI behavior, capturing browser screenshots, and viewing browser logs. | `test-helper.js` |
| [what-context-needed](../skills/what-context-needed/SKILL.md) | Ask Copilot what files it needs to see before answering a question | None |
| [winapp-cli](../skills/winapp-cli/SKILL.md) | 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, or access Windows SDK build tools. Supports .NET, C++, Electron, Rust, Tauri, and cross-platform frameworks targeting Windows. | None |
| [winapp-cli](../skills/winapp-cli/SKILL.md) | 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. | None |
| [workiq-copilot](../skills/workiq-copilot/SKILL.md) | Guides the Copilot CLI on how to use the WorkIQ CLI/MCP server to query Microsoft 365 Copilot data (emails, meetings, docs, Teams, people) for live context, summaries, and recommendations. | None |
| [write-coding-standards-from-file](../skills/write-coding-standards-from-file/SKILL.md) | Write a coding standards document for a project using the coding styles from the file(s) and/or folder(s) passed as arguments in the prompt. | None |
29 changes: 25 additions & 4 deletions skills/winapp-cli/SKILL.md
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---
name: winapp-cli
description: '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, or access Windows SDK build tools. Supports .NET, C++, Electron, Rust, Tauri, and cross-platform frameworks targeting Windows.'
description: '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.'
---

# Windows App Development CLI
Expand All @@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ Use this skill when you need to:
- Build Windows apps using cross-platform frameworks (Electron, Rust, Tauri, Qt)
- Set up CI/CD pipelines for Windows app deployment
- Access Windows APIs that require package identity (notifications, Windows AI, shell integration)
- Publish apps to the Microsoft Store via `winapp store`
- Create external catalogs for asset management
- Set up .NET (csproj) projects with Windows App SDK via NuGet

## Prerequisites

Expand All @@ -47,7 +50,7 @@ Add temporary package identity to executables for debugging Windows APIs that re

### 4. Manifest Management (`winapp manifest`)

Generate AppxManifest.xml files and update image assets from source images, automatically creating all required sizes and aspect ratios.
Generate AppxManifest.xml files and update image assets from source images, automatically creating all required sizes and aspect ratios. Supports manifest placeholders for dynamic content and qualified names in AppxManifest for flexible app identity definitions.

### 5. Certificate Management (`winapp cert`)

Expand All @@ -61,13 +64,23 @@ Sign MSIX packages and executables with PFX certificates, with optional timestam

Run Windows SDK build tools with properly configured paths from any framework or build system.

### 8. Microsoft Store Integration (`winapp store`)

Run Microsoft Store Developer CLI commands directly from winapp, enabling store submission, package validation, and publishing workflows without leaving the CLI.

### 9. External Catalog Creation (`winapp create-external-catalog`)

Create external catalogs to streamline asset management for developers, separating catalog data from the main package.

## Usage Examples

### Example 1: Initialize and Package a Windows App

```bash
# Initialize workspace with defaults
winapp init
# Note: init no longer auto-generates a certificate (v0.2.0+). Generate one explicitly:
winapp cert generate

# Build your application (framework-specific)
# ...
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -115,7 +128,7 @@ npx winapp pack ./out --output MyElectronApp.msix

## Guidelines

1. **Run `winapp init` first** - Always initialize your project before using other commands to ensure SDK setup, manifest, and certificates are configured.
1. **Run `winapp init` first** - Always initialize your project before using other commands to ensure SDK setup and manifest are configured. Note: as of v0.2.0, `winapp init` no longer generates a development certificate automatically. Run `winapp cert generate` explicitly when you need to sign with a dev certificate.
2. **Re-run `create-debug-identity` after manifest changes** - Package identity must be recreated whenever AppxManifest.xml is modified.
3. **Use `--no-prompt` for CI/CD** - Prevents interactive prompts in automated pipelines by using default values.
4. **Use `winapp restore` for shared projects** - Recreates the exact environment state defined in `winapp.yaml` across machines.
Expand All @@ -128,7 +141,11 @@ npx winapp pack ./out --output MyElectronApp.msix
```bash
cd my-project
winapp init
# Creates: AppxManifest.xml, development certificate, SDK configuration, winapp.yaml
# Creates: AppxManifest.xml, SDK configuration, winapp.yaml
# Note: .NET (csproj) projects skip winapp.yaml and configure NuGet packages in the .csproj directly

# Generate a dev signing certificate explicitly (no longer done by init)
winapp cert generate
```

### Pattern: Package with Existing Certificate
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -161,6 +178,9 @@ winapp update --setup-sdks preview
- Self-contained deployment increases package size by bundling the Windows App SDK runtime
- Development certificates are for testing only; production requires trusted certificates
- Some Windows APIs require specific capability declarations in the manifest
- `winapp init` no longer auto-generates a certificate (v0.2.0+); run `winapp cert generate` explicitly
- .NET (csproj) projects skip `winapp.yaml`; SDK packages are configured in the project file directly
- winapp CLI uses the NuGet global cache for packages (not `%userprofile%/.winapp/packages`)
- winapp CLI is in public preview and subject to change

## Windows APIs Enabled by Package Identity
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -190,6 +210,7 @@ Package identity unlocks access to powerful Windows APIs:

- [GitHub Repository](https://github.com/microsoft/WinAppCli)
- [Full CLI Documentation](https://github.com/microsoft/WinAppCli/blob/main/docs/usage.md)
- [.NET Project Guide](https://github.com/microsoft/WinAppCli/blob/main/docs/guides/dotnet.md)
- [Sample Applications](https://github.com/microsoft/WinAppCli/tree/main/samples)
- [Windows App SDK](https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/apps/windows-app-sdk/)
- [MSIX Packaging Overview](https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/msix/overview)
Expand Down