distributing-your-app.md

title	Deploy your app that uses Windows ML
description	Learn how to deploy your app that uses Windows Machine Learning (ML).
ms.date	03/20/2026
ms.topic	concept-article

Deploy your app that uses Windows ML

Windows ML is deployed like any other Windows App SDK component, supporting both framework-dependent and self-contained deployment. See the Windows App SDK deployment overview for more details about the deployment options in Windows App SDK.

Framework-dependent

Your app depends on the Windows App SDK runtime and/or framework package being present on the target machine. This minimizes the dependencies your app has to carry (by using shared system-wide copies of Windows App SDK runtime), and enables evergreen servicing without you needing to release an update to your app. When targeting the main Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK NuGet package, framework-dependent deployment is the default deployment mode. See Deployment architecture and overview for framework-dependent apps for more details.

Self-contained

Your app carries the Windows ML dependencies with it. When your app uses individual Windows App SDK component NuGet packages, like the Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK.ML NuGet package for Windows ML, self-contained deployment is the default deployment mode. See Deployment guide for self-contained apps for more details.

In self-contained mode, ONNX Runtime binaries are deployed alongside your application:

MyApp/
├── MyApp.exe
├── Microsoft.Windows.AI.MachineLearning.dll
├── onnxruntime.dll
├── onnxruntime_providers_shared.dll
└── DirectML.dll

Additional resources

For more detailed information on deploying Windows App SDK applications, refer to these resources:

• Get started with the Windows App SDK
• Windows App SDK deployment guide
• Windows ML samples