Microsoft Store
Open Publish › Windows. The Microsoft Store card publishes your app on the
Microsoft Store, where Windows users find, install and
update it. Studio packages the app as an MSIX (.msix) for the Store, and Microsoft
signs the package once it passes certification: you need no code-signing certificate.
You need a Microsoft Store developer account. Registration is free, for individuals and companies: start it at storedeveloper.microsoft.com.
Publishing to the Microsoft Store is part of the Creator plan. On Explorer, the Free trial link on its card opens the plans, where you can start a free 7-day Creator trial with 500 bonus credits. See Plans.
Connect Microsoft Store
Studio submits your app's updates with an application you add to your Partner Center account:
- In Partner Center, open Account settings › User management › Microsoft Entra applications. Your Partner Center account must be associated with a Microsoft Entra tenant (Account settings › Tenants), which needs someone with Global administrator rights in it.
- Add an application, or create one there (Create Microsoft Entra application),
with the Manager role. Studio doesn't use its Reply URL: enter
https://localhost/(Partner Center refuses some addresses, such as one without the trailing slash). - Select Add new key and copy the key: Partner Center shows it once. Note when it expires.
- Select the application's name in the list (or Cancel on the key screen) and copy its Tenant ID and Client ID.
- On the card, select Connect Microsoft Store and enter them. Studio lists your apps with it to check it.
The key stays on Studio's servers; it never reaches a build.
Choose the app
Reserve your app's name in Partner Center
first: Apps and games › New product › MSIX or PWA app, enter the name, then
Reserve product name. Then choose it on the card. Studio takes the package's
identity from Partner Center (Package/Identity/Name and Package/Identity/Publisher);
the API doesn't give the publisher display name, so copy it once from the app's
Product identity page (Package/Properties/PublisherDisplayName), exactly as shown.
It's the same for all apps in your account: Studio remembers it for the next one. The package is named as the app you
reserved (Partner Center accepts no other name), whatever the app's Product name.
The first submission
Microsoft takes an app's first submission only in Partner Center, where it also asks the age-ratings questionnaire. The card walks you through it:
- Create Store package (.msix) and download it.
- In Partner Center, on the app's overview page, select Start submission, then
complete each section
(Microsoft's checklist):
- Pricing and availability: a base price (Free or a price). Markets, audience, discoverability and schedule have defaults.
- Properties: a category, and a privacy policy URL if the app collects or transmits personal information.
- Age ratings: the questionnaire.
- Packages: upload the
.msix. - Store listings: a description and at least one screenshot (1366 × 768 or larger), in at least one language. To take one, preview the app on Windows 11, open the preview options, turn on Pin to 1280×720, then Screen: it saves the app at 1920 × 1080.
- Submission options › Restricted capabilities: explain why the app needs
runFullTrust. The card has a ready-to-paste explanation.
- Select Submit for certification.
Once Microsoft publishes it, the card shows the app on the Store and Studio sends the updates.
Updates
Select Update on the card. Studio builds the app, packages it, and submits it to Partner Center: a new submission that keeps your listing, pricing and age rating from the last one, with the new package. Tick Also send the store listing to send your store listing in the same submission. Certification takes up to three business days; the card shows where it is (In certification, Published) and why when it fails, with a link to the certification report.
Versions
The Store's versions have three numbers, like 1.2.0. The first can't be 0, and the
build number isn't part of them, so every update needs a higher version. The
Publish screen says which version the Store has and offers the next one.
Store listing
The card's Store listing row opens the listing: its texts and screenshots, kept in
the app's .store/microsoft-store/ folder (never packaged into the app). Import from
Partner Center fills it from the published listing.
| Field | Limit |
|---|---|
| Description | 10,000 characters (required) |
| Short description | 1,000; shown at the top of the listing, best under 270 |
| Product features | One per line: up to 20, 200 characters each |
| What's new in this version | 1,500 |
| Keywords | One per line: up to 7, 40 characters each, 21 words in all (not shown) |
| Screenshots | 1 to 10 PNG files, 1366 × 768 or larger |
| App tile icon | Optional, 300 × 300 PNG |
The app-wide Details are the copyright and trademark info, Developed by, and additional license terms. The product name is always the name you reserved.
Take screenshots in the Preview: choose Windows 11, open the preview options, turn on Pin to 1280×720, then Add to the Microsoft Store listing › Screen (1920 × 1080).
Every listing change is a submission that Microsoft certifies, like a new package. Send it on its own with Send to the Microsoft Store on the listing screen (no build, no credits), or with the next Update.
A few things to know:
- Screenshots stay in Partner Center until you add your own. The Store can't send images back, so an import brings the texts only, and a language without screenshots keeps the ones in Partner Center. Once you add screenshots, they replace those.
- A language without its own screenshots or tile icon uses the default language's.
- Languages that Partner Center has and Studio doesn't are left as they are.
Questions
Is the Store app signed with my Artifact Signing certificate?
No. Microsoft signs Store packages itself, so Studio doesn't sign the files inside them either, even if you sign your Windows app: Store packages don't use up your Artifact Signing signatures.
Can I publish an update while one is in certification?
No. Partner Center takes one submission at a time: wait until it's published, or delete it in Partner Center.