Publish an unpackaged app

This guide will show you how to create an unpackaged app using Windows App SDK.

Important

Building your app requires using the msbuild command (dotnet build is not compatible as of WinAppSDK 1.5).

Note

Uno Platform also supports building apps for using the net8.0-desktop target framework, using Uno Platform's own Skia Desktop implementation.

Build the app for publishing

Packaging the app without a code signature allows the app to be installed on a machine without installing the signer's certificate. This guide portion is derived from the official Windows App SDK documentation.

To publish your app:

  1. Navigate to the folder of the app's .csproj (Building at the solution level is not supported)

  2. Build your app using the following command:

    msbuild /r /t:publish /p:TargetFramework=net8.0-windows10.0.19041 /p:Configuration=Release /p:Platform=x64 /p:PublishDir=c:\temp\myoutput

In order to build for additional platforms, change the Platform parameter to x86 or arm64 to create additional MSIX files.

Publish the Windows app

Publishing your app can be done through different means:

  • ClickOnce
  • Using a Zip file, then running the app using [yourapp].exe