Windows App SDK
Windows App SDK is Microsoft’s modern desktop app platform layer. It delivers APIs through NuGet and runtime packages instead of waiting for every feature to ship only with the OS.
What It Provides
| Area | Examples |
|---|---|
| UI | WinUI 3 controls, XAML, Fluent Design |
| App lifecycle | Activation, instancing, restart, notifications-related activation |
| Windowing | AppWindow, presenters, title bar support |
| Notifications | Local app notifications through Microsoft.Windows.AppNotifications |
| Deployment | Runtime packages, bootstrapper, Deployment API |
| Resource management | Modern resource APIs and package-aware behavior |
Release Channels
Use stable for production apps. Preview and experimental channels are for testing upcoming features and should not be the default for solo-dev shipping work.
Recheck Latest Windows App SDK downloads before choosing versions. During this pack run, the latest stable version seen was 2.3.1, but that is intentionally not a durable recommendation.
Relationship To Windows SDK
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Windows SDK | OS SDK: headers, metadata, tools, base Windows API surface |
| Windows App SDK | App platform APIs shipped through NuGet and runtime packages |
| Windows App Runtime | Runtime packages used by framework-dependent Windows App SDK apps |
| WinUI 3 | UI framework included in Windows App SDK |
Supported OS Baseline
Microsoft docs describe Windows App SDK/WinUI 3 as supporting Windows 10 version 1809 and later. Project templates may use newer target framework or target platform values. Follow the current template and release notes.