By Paul Thurrott
Publication Date: 2026-01-22 18:39:00
Microsoft today announced the release of the Windows App Development CLI (winapp) in public preview. This open source command line utility is designed to simplify the development lifecycle for Windows apps across multiple frameworks and toolchains, Microsoft says.
“The winapp CLI is specifically tailored for cross-platform frameworks and developers working outside of Visual Studio or MSBuild,” Microsoft product manager Nikola Metulev writes. “Whether you are a web developer building with Electron, a C++ veteran using CMake, or a .NET, Rust, or Dart developer building apps for Windows, the CLI can streamline the complexities of Windows development—from setting up your environment to packaging for distribution. This makes it significantly easier to access modern APIs—including Windows AI APIs, security features and shell integrations, directly from any toolchain.”
The winapp CLI provides the following features:
One-command environment setup. You can use…
