{"id":1195,"date":"2026-07-20T11:13:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T18:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/ifdef-windows\/?p=1195"},"modified":"2026-07-20T11:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T18:13:08","slug":"announcing-a-new-visual-manifest-editor-in-the-winapp-vs-code-extension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/ifdef-windows\/announcing-a-new-visual-manifest-editor-in-the-winapp-vs-code-extension\/","title":{"rendered":"Announcing a New Visual Manifest Editor in the WinApp VS Code Extension"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Decorative<\/a><\/p>\n

The WinApp VS Code extension exists to make Windows app development feel at home in VS Code. It brings the Windows App Development CLI<\/a>\u00a0right 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.<\/p>\n

Get it now:<\/strong>\u00a0Install the WinApp extension from the VS Code Marketplace<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We’re excited to announce the release of v0.2. This release includes a new editor that supports editing a manifest file without touching raw XML and support for running WinApp commands in multi-app workspaces.<\/p>\n

A Visual Editor for AppxManifest<\/h2>\n

Your AppxManifest.xml<\/code> (or .appxmanifest<\/code>) declares the identity, capabilities, dependencies, and activation of your app. But editing manifest files can be confusing. Editing the XML means memorizing elements, properties, namespaces, and a long list of format rules for publisher names, versions, GUIDs, and more. Worse, the raw XML won’t alert you when something is wrong, so you often don’t find out your manifest has a syntax error until you try to package your app and the build fails.<\/p>\n

With v0.2, the extension now includes a visual editor<\/strong>\u00a0for manifest files. Instead of raw XML, you can edit your manifest files with a clean, form-based, easy-to-use UI:<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Tab<\/strong><\/td>\nWhat you can edit<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Identity<\/strong><\/td>\nPackage name, publisher, version, processor architecture, optional phone identity, and resource ID<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Properties<\/strong><\/td>\nDisplay name, publisher display name, description, and store logo path<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dependencies<\/strong><\/td>\nTarget device families (min\/max versions), package and main-package dependencies, driver constraints, OS dependencies, host runtime dependencies, and external dependencies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Resources<\/strong><\/td>\nBCP-47 language declarations (e.g. en-us<\/code>, fr-fr<\/code>)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Capabilities<\/strong><\/td>\nGeneral, restricted, device, and custom capabilities (Internet Client, Run Full Trust, Microphone, and more)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Applications<\/strong><\/td>\nExecutable path, entry point, trust level, runtime behavior, visual elements (logos, splash screen, tiles), and extensions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

And it’s not just a prettier form. It’s a smarter one:<\/p>\n