Docs Index

Use official Microsoft docs first. Use Context7 for quick API and sample recall. Use local guardrail repos only for agent failure-mode checklists, not as platform authority.

Source Priority

Priority	Source class	Use for
1	Microsoft Learn and official release notes	APIs, setup, runtime, Store, certification, signing, testing, support windows
2	Official Microsoft sample repos	Current sample structure and scenario code after cloning is approved
3	Context7 Microsoft Learn mirrors	API refreshes and small examples
4	Existing local agent guidance	Stale UWP pattern detection and review checklists
5	Community tutorials	Ideas only after checking against official docs

Warning: Do not clone, install, build, test, or run official or third-party repos from this pack unless the user approves that source step. This pack was written under a no-clone, no-install constraint.

Primary Official Sources

Area	Source	Trust	Freshness	Use For
Windows App SDK overview	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/windows-app-sdk/`	official	Last checked: 2026-07-19	Platform role and feature map
WinUI 3 overview	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/winui/winui3/`	official	Last checked: 2026-07-19	UI framework role and scope
Quickstart	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/get-started/start-here`	official	Last checked: 2026-07-19	Current Visual Studio, .NET, and template setup
Downloads	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/windows-app-sdk/downloads`	official	Last checked: 2026-07-19; stable seen: 2.3.1	Runtime installers, redistributables, release notes, current version check
Package and deploy	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/package-and-deploy/`	official	Last checked: 2026-07-19	Packaging and runtime scenario map
Packaging overview	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/package-and-deploy/packaging/`	official	From plan research	Packaged, external-location, and unpackaged models
Deployment architecture	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/windows-app-sdk/deployment-architecture`	official	From plan research	Framework, Main, Singleton, DDLM, bootstrapper concepts
Packaged deployment	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/windows-app-sdk/deploy-packaged-apps`	official	From plan research	Deployment API and packaged framework dependencies
Unpackaged deployment	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/windows-app-sdk/deploy-unpackaged-apps`	official	From plan research	Bootstrapper and runtime installer obligations
Self-contained deployment	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/package-and-deploy/self-contained-deploy/deploy-self-contained-apps`	official	From plan research	`WindowsAppSDKSelfContained` and self-contained caveats
Distribution paths	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/package-and-deploy/choose-distribution-path`	official	Last checked: 2026-07-19	Store, MSIX, MSI/EXE, sideload, direct download trade-offs
Code signing	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/package-and-deploy/code-signing-options`	official	From plan research	Store re-signing, Azure Artifact Signing, OV/EV, self-signed options
Store MSIX submission	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/publish/publish-your-app/msix/create-app-submission`	official	From plan research	Partner Center submission dry-run checklist
MSIX package requirements	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/publish/publish-your-app/msix/app-package-requirements`	official	Context7 checked 2026-07-19	WACK, signing, package upload, Store re-signing
Existing project adoption	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/windows-app-sdk/use-windows-app-sdk-in-existing-project`	official	From plan research	WPF, WinForms, Win32 incremental adoption
Windowing	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/develop/ui/windowing-overview`	official	From plan research	`Window`, HWND, `AppWindow`, unsupported UWP window APIs
Manage windows	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/develop/ui/manage-app-windows`	official	From plan research	AppWindow, presenter, HWND interop patterns
Title bar	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/develop/title-bar`	official	From plan research	`AppWindowTitleBar`, custom title bars, Windows App SDK 1.7 TitleBar note
Notifications	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/develop/notifications/app-notifications/`	official	From plan research	Local app notification concepts and elevated-app limitation
Notification quickstart	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/develop/notifications/app-notifications/app-notifications-quickstart`	official	Last checked: 2026-07-19	Manifest COM activation, `AppNotificationManager`, activation handling
Testing	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/develop/testing/`	official	Last checked: 2026-07-19	WinUI Unit Test App, Appium Windows driver, Accessibility Insights, analyzers
WebView2 WinUI 3	`https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/get-started/winui`	official	From plan research	WebView2 control and WinUI 3 setup

Context7 IDs

Library ID	Use
`/websites/learn_microsoft_en-us_windows_windows-app-sdk`	Windows App SDK conceptual docs and bootstrapper details
`/websites/learn_microsoft_en-us_windows_windows-app-sdk_api_winrt`	API signatures for `AppWindow`, `AppNotificationManager`, `DeploymentManager`, and related WinRT APIs
`/websites/learn_microsoft_en-us_windows_apps`	Packaging, Store, signing, certification, and testing docs
`/websites/learn_microsoft_en-us_microsoft-edge_webview2`	WebView2 WinUI 3 runtime, Evergreen, fixed runtime, testing, and security docs
`/microsoft/windowsappsdk`	Official source fallback if Context7 source snippets are needed
`/microsoft/windowsappsdk-samples`	Official sample fallback if repo cloning is not approved but sample recall is needed

Local-Docs Status

Official Windows App SDK, WinUI Gallery, WindowsAppSDK-Samples, and WebView2Samples repos were not indexed during this run.

Alias	Status	Use
`github-awesome-copilot`	indexed, non-official	AI guardrails for stale UWP patterns
`openai-skills`	indexed, non-official	Source routing and review checklist hints

Official Repos To Add Later

Do not clone these without approval.

Repo	First use
`microsoft/WindowsAppSDK-Samples`	Notifications, deployment, lifecycle, windowing, Mica, unpackaged, and self-contained samples
`microsoft/WinUI-Gallery`	Controls, navigation, title bars, materials, and accessibility examples
`MicrosoftEdge/WebView2Samples`	WebView2 fixed-version runtime and WinUI samples
`microsoft/WindowsAppSDK`	Release/source implementation details, specs, and issue context
`microsoft/microsoft-ui-xaml`	WinUI source and release tags referenced by Windows App SDK downloads

Freshness Rules

Recheck the downloads page before recommending a Windows App SDK version. The latest stable seen during this run was 2.3.1 on 2026-07-19.
Recheck the quickstart before naming Visual Studio or .NET versions. The quickstart fetched during this run named Visual Studio 2026 and .NET 10 SDK.
Recheck Store package requirements, WACK, and signing docs before release work.
Recheck WebView2 runtime guidance before choosing Evergreen or fixed-version deployment.
Treat UWP, WinUI 2, XAML Islands, and old Windows Community Toolkit examples as suspect until verified against current WinUI 3 docs.