Dev Blogs
Payload files Payload files are files stored in and delivered by the package. This includes your code, assets, and data, such as executables, DLLs, images, configuration files, and resources. For example: Content files The term content is sometimes used in MSIX-related APIs and documentation, but it does not provide as clean a classifica...
Every MSIX package is one of four package types: MSIX also supports Bundle packages. Bundles are somewhat different from those four package types: a Bundle is a container for one or more MSIX packages. Windows APIs nevertheless expose Bundle alongside the other package types when identifying packages. Each package type has its own behavior...
An MSIX package can be staged in several ways and locations: By far the most common is PackageVolume. We'll dig into the rest in future posts, but for now let's focus on MSIX PackageVolume. In the beginning... When MSIX first appeared in Windows 81 packages would be staged to a unique directory under . More specifically, packages were pl...
How does MSIX service a package while it's in use? Simple: It doesn't. A core principle of MSIX servicing is: Do not service a package while it's in use. Deployment provides several ways to deal with that constraint. Options range from terminating applications to deferring servicing until the package is no longer in use. How hard can it be? '...
Package identity exists for one primary purpose: This is a considerable improvement over the historical tendency to assign UUIDs and GUIDs to nearly everything - including things that humans were expected to discuss in meetings. Identity Is for Systems A package's Name, Package Full Name, and other identity-derived values are intended for deve...
Every package has a set of status flags describing its current health and availability. These can be queried via the Package.Status property. A package may report more than one status value at a time if multiple conditions apply. Package Status Groups The various states fall into three groups: NeedsRemediation Status values in th...
MSIX supports making a package available to all users; the formal term is provisioning. Provisioning a package family makes it available to all users, whereas registration makes a package available to a single user. Per-User vs All Users Traditional installers often provide a "per-machine" installation mode to make software available to all users...
As previously mentioned to 'install' a package, as people think of the term, Windows actually performs two separate operations: staging and registration. To oversimplify: One way to 'install' a package for a user is to explicitly stage it, then register the package: But this scenario is common enough that deployment handles it more effici...
A key phase in installing a package is staging the package: When a package is staged for the first time, deployment performs several actions, including: Deployment secures these directories with strict permissions, typically granting users Read and potentially Execute access - but notably not Write access. This ensures one user cannot ...
Sometimes you need to know whether the current process has package identity. Certain Windows features require it, and behaviors can differ—both technically and culturally. For example, classic Windows applications often store settings in the registry, whereas packaged applications typically use ApplicationData.LocalSettings. So how can your code ...