winui-setup

Name: winui-setup
Author: microsoft

95installs20forks

How to install winui-setup?

microsoft/win-dev-skills/winui-setup

$npx -y skills add microsoft/win-dev-skills --skill winui-setup

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Install and verify the prerequisites the win-dev-skills WinUI 3 toolchain depends on — .NET SDK 10, the WinApp CLI, the WinUI 3 .NET templates, and Developer Mode. Use when setting up a new machine, after a Windows reset, or when another winui skill reports a missing prerequisite

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	### Purpose
2
3	Install and verify the prerequisites every other `winui-*` skill assumes are already present on the machine.
4
5	This skill is idempotent — every step checks first, skips if already satisfied, prints `[OK] already installed` and moves on. Re-running on a fully set-up machine is a fast no-op.
6
7	### Steps
8
9	The first thing to do is batch all detection up front — run every check in parallel/together so you can show the user the full picture before installing anything. Then install only what's missing.
10
11	#### Detect everything
12
13	Run all of these together; collect the results:
14
15	```powershell
16	# .NET SDK — accept any installed SDK >= 8.0
17	$dotnetSdks = (& dotnet --list-sdks 2>$null) -replace ' \[.*$',''
18	$dotnetOk = $dotnetSdks \| ForEach-Object { [version]($_ -split '-')[0] } \|
19	Where-Object { $_.Major -ge 8 } \| Select-Object -First 1
20
21	# WinApp CLI — needs to be present AND >= 0.3
22	$winappVersion = $null
23	$winappOk = $false
24	$winappCmd = Get-Command winapp -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
25	if ($winappCmd) {
26	$raw = (& winapp --version 2>$null) -as [string]
27	if ($raw) {
28	$base = ($raw -split '-')[0] # strip "-prerelease.N" if present
29	try {
30	$winappVersion = [version]$base
31	$winappOk = $winappVersion -ge [version]'0.3'
32	} catch {}
33	}
34	}
35
36	# WinUI 3 templates
37	$templatesOk = [bool](dotnet new list winui 2>$null \| Select-String 'winui-mvvm' -Quiet)
38
39	# Developer Mode
40	$devModeOk = ((Get-ItemProperty `
41	-Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelUnlock' `
42	-Name AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
43	).AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense) -eq 1
44	```
45
46	Print a one-shot status table so the user sees what you're about to do:
47
48	```
49	.NET SDK ≥ 8 ✅ found 10.0.100 (or ❌ missing — will install Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.10)
50	WinApp CLI ⚠ found 0.3.1 — will upgrade to latest
51	(or ❌ missing/too old — will install Microsoft.WinAppCLI)
52	WinUI 3 templates ✅ found — will reinstall to make sure they're at latest
53	Developer Mode ❌ disabled — needs admin to enable
54	```
55
56	> Always upgrade WinApp CLI and the WinUI templates even when they're already present — they ship breaking changes between releases and the rest of the `winui-*` skills assume latest. The minimum bar is "WinApp CLI ≥ 0.3 and templates installed at all"; the goal is "both at latest".
57
58	#### Install what's missing
59
60	Skip anything already-OK from detection. The remaining steps:
61
62	##### .NET SDK (only if no SDK ≥ 8.0 was found)
63
64	```powershell
65	winget install --id Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.10 --exact --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements
66	```
67
68	`.NET 8.0` is the floor. If the user already has 8.0, 9.0, or 10.0 installed (any patch), the requirement is met — do not install another SDK side-by-side.
69
70	##### WinApp CLI — install if missing/old, then always upgrade
71
72	If `$winappOk` is false (missing or `< 0.3`), install it. Then always run `winget upgrade` regardless, so even already-present installs get bumped to latest:
73
74	```powershell
75	# Install only if missing or too old
76	winget install --id Microsoft.WinAppCLI --exact --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements
77
78	# Always — upgrade to latest (no-op if already at latest)
79	winget upgrade --id Microsoft.WinAppCLI --exact --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements
80	```
81
82	##### Refresh `$env:Path`
83
84	If you installed the .NET SDK or anything else via winget in this session, refresh PATH so subsequent steps can find the new tools. Without this, `dotnet new install` will fail with "command not found" even though the SDK is on disk:
85
86	```powershell
87	$env:Path = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path','Machine') + ';' + [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path','User')
88	```
89
90	##### WinUI 3 .NET templates — always reinstall to get latest
91
92	Run this every time, whether or not `$templatesOk` was true. `dotnet new install` against an already-installed template package upgrades it in place to the latest version:
93
94	```powershell
95	dotnet new install Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK.WinUI.CSharp.Templates
96	```
97
98	##### Developer Mode (ask the user first!)
99
100	Developer Mode is the DWORD `AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense` under `HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelUnlock`. Setting it requires admin, which means a UAC prompt will pop up. Do not just trigger UAC out of nowhere — ask the user first so they're not surprised by the elevation prompt. Use

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6 picks

Type

winui-setup

95installs20forks

View on GitHub

How to install winui-setup?

microsoft/win-dev-skills/winui-setup

$npx -y skills add microsoft/win-dev-skills --skill winui-setup

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	### Purpose
2
3	Install and verify the prerequisites every other `winui-*` skill assumes are already present on the machine.
4
5	This skill is idempotent — every step checks first, skips if already satisfied, prints `[OK] already installed` and moves on. Re-running on a fully set-up machine is a fast no-op.
6
7	### Steps
8
9	The first thing to do is batch all detection up front — run every check in parallel/together so you can show the user the full picture before installing anything. Then install only what's missing.
10
11	#### Detect everything
12
13	Run all of these together; collect the results:
14
15	```powershell
16	# .NET SDK — accept any installed SDK >= 8.0
17	$dotnetSdks = (& dotnet --list-sdks 2>$null) -replace ' \[.*$',''
18	$dotnetOk = $dotnetSdks \| ForEach-Object { [version]($_ -split '-')[0] } \|
19	Where-Object { $_.Major -ge 8 } \| Select-Object -First 1
20
21	# WinApp CLI — needs to be present AND >= 0.3
22	$winappVersion = $null
23	$winappOk = $false
24	$winappCmd = Get-Command winapp -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
25	if ($winappCmd) {
26	$raw = (& winapp --version 2>$null) -as [string]
27	if ($raw) {
28	$base = ($raw -split '-')[0] # strip "-prerelease.N" if present
29	try {
30	$winappVersion = [version]$base
31	$winappOk = $winappVersion -ge [version]'0.3'
32	} catch {}
33	}
34	}
35
36	# WinUI 3 templates
37	$templatesOk = [bool](dotnet new list winui 2>$null \| Select-String 'winui-mvvm' -Quiet)
38
39	# Developer Mode
40	$devModeOk = ((Get-ItemProperty `
41	-Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelUnlock' `
42	-Name AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
43	).AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense) -eq 1
44	```
45
46	Print a one-shot status table so the user sees what you're about to do:
47
48	```
49	.NET SDK ≥ 8 ✅ found 10.0.100 (or ❌ missing — will install Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.10)
50	WinApp CLI ⚠ found 0.3.1 — will upgrade to latest
51	(or ❌ missing/too old — will install Microsoft.WinAppCLI)
52	WinUI 3 templates ✅ found — will reinstall to make sure they're at latest
53	Developer Mode ❌ disabled — needs admin to enable
54	```
55
56	> Always upgrade WinApp CLI and the WinUI templates even when they're already present — they ship breaking changes between releases and the rest of the `winui-*` skills assume latest. The minimum bar is "WinApp CLI ≥ 0.3 and templates installed at all"; the goal is "both at latest".
57
58	#### Install what's missing
59
60	Skip anything already-OK from detection. The remaining steps:
61
62	##### .NET SDK (only if no SDK ≥ 8.0 was found)
63
64	```powershell
65	winget install --id Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.10 --exact --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements
66	```
67
68	`.NET 8.0` is the floor. If the user already has 8.0, 9.0, or 10.0 installed (any patch), the requirement is met — do not install another SDK side-by-side.
69
70	##### WinApp CLI — install if missing/old, then always upgrade
71
72	If `$winappOk` is false (missing or `< 0.3`), install it. Then always run `winget upgrade` regardless, so even already-present installs get bumped to latest:
73
74	```powershell
75	# Install only if missing or too old
76	winget install --id Microsoft.WinAppCLI --exact --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements
77
78	# Always — upgrade to latest (no-op if already at latest)
79	winget upgrade --id Microsoft.WinAppCLI --exact --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements
80	```
81
82	##### Refresh `$env:Path`
83
84	If you installed the .NET SDK or anything else via winget in this session, refresh PATH so subsequent steps can find the new tools. Without this, `dotnet new install` will fail with "command not found" even though the SDK is on disk:
85
86	```powershell
87	$env:Path = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path','Machine') + ';' + [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path','User')
88	```
89
90	##### WinUI 3 .NET templates — always reinstall to get latest
91
92	Run this every time, whether or not `$templatesOk` was true. `dotnet new install` against an already-installed template package upgrades it in place to the latest version:
93
94	```powershell
95	dotnet new install Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK.WinUI.CSharp.Templates
96	```
97
98	##### Developer Mode (ask the user first!)
99
100	Developer Mode is the DWORD `AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense` under `HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelUnlock`. Setting it requires admin, which means a UAC prompt will pop up. Do not just trigger UAC out of nowhere — ask the user first so they're not surprised by the elevation prompt. Use

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6 picks

Type