Showing archive results for 2026

Electron and Node.js make it straightforward to build Windows desktop apps in JavaScript. Calling Windows Runtime APIs has been less straightforward: features such as on-device AI often required a C++ or C# bridge, manual translation of WinRT types and asynchronous behavior, and wrapper code for every exposed API. That meant another languag...

WinApp CLI v0.5.0 greatly expands the UI automation toolkit (recording, touch, pen, and keyboard injection), lets you call Windows Runtime APIs straight from JavaScript and TypeScript with zero native addons, and makes WinUI crashes far easier to diagnose. Get the update by running winget install Microsoft.WinAppCLI or check the repo for other ...

The WinApp VS Code extension exists to make Windows app development feel at home in VS Code. It brings the Windows App Development CLI right into the editor, so you can initialize, run, debug, package, and sign Windows apps built with .NET, WPF, WinUI, C++, Electron, Rust, Tauri, or Flutter, all without switching tools. Get it now: Install t...

Windows App Development CLI v0.3.2 is here! This release brings MSIX bundle support for multi-architecture packaging, a smarter winapp init experience that auto-detects your projects, higher quality UI screenshots, and a handful of reliability fixes across the board. Get the update by running winget install Microsoft.WinAppCLI or check the repo...

These skills enable your agent to take your ideas to a native Windows app in minutes! They are built around the end-to-end loop: scaffold, build, run, test, iterate. They've been optimized to know how to drive each stage, recognize common failures that get normal agents stuck in loops, and steer towards successful patterns, while also minimizin...

  We've been working on something new for WinUI developers: a set of open-source project and item templates for WinUI you can use directly from the command line. 🚀 With these templates, you can now create and run a new WinUI app using , without needing to go through Visual Studio. This makes it easier to get started quickly, script y...

VS Code is where many cross-platform and web developers already work, but getting package identity, MSIX packaging, and Windows SDK tooling often meant reaching for Visual Studio or command-line tools. The WinApp VS Code extension brings the full power of the Windows App Development CLI directly into VS Code. Via the extension, you can initiali...

  Hey WinUI developers! If you’re new around here, WinUI Gallery is the go-to app for exploring WinUI 3 controls, samples, design guidance, and handy tools — all in one place. Today, we’re excited to announce WinUI 3 Gallery 2.9, our first release built on Windows App SDK 2.0, packed with brand new control samples and a few delightful a...

Windows App Development CLI v0.3 is here! This release brings some of our best features yet including a full run-and-debug experience outside Visual Studio and built-in UI Automation from the command line. With v0.3, we've unlocked a whole class of agentic and automation scenarios. Agents or a script can now run, debug, see, and interact wit...

  Hey WinUI developers! If you’re new around here, WinUI Gallery is the go-to app for exploring WinUI 3 controls, samples, design guidance, and handy tools — all in one place. Today, we’re excited to announce WinUI Gallery 2.8, bringing jump list support, new samples, improved accessibility, and several quality-of-life improvements and ...