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set-up-your-development-environment.md

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title Install tools for the Windows App SDK
description Configure your development computer with the tools required to build Windows apps with the Windows App SDK] and WinUI 3.
ms.topic how-to
ms.date 07/14/2025
keywords windows win32, windows app development, Windows App SDK, stable
ms.custom
kr2b-contr-experiment

Install tools for the Windows App SDK

Configure your development computer with the tools required to build Windows apps using the Windows App SDK (stable release channel) and WinUI.

Before installing any tools, see System requirements for Windows app development.

Important

This article applies only to the stable release channel of the Windows App SDK. For other release channels, see Install tools for preview and experimental channels of the Windows App SDK.

Install tools with winget

[Visual Studio 2022 and later] Install the required tools and workloads using the console and one of the following commands. These commands will open Visual Studio Installer with any missing workloads selected, for which you can select Modify to install the required workloads.

For C# developers

Visual Studio Community

winget install "Visual Studio Community 2022"  --override "--add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.ManagedDesktop Microsoft.VisualStudio.ComponentGroup.WindowsAppSDK.Cs" -s msstore

Visual Studio Enterprise

winget install "Visual Studio Enterprise 2022"  --override "--add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.ManagedDesktop Microsoft.VisualStudio.ComponentGroup.WindowsAppSDK.Cs"

Visual Studio Professional

winget install "Visual Studio Professional 2022"  --override "--add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.ManagedDesktop Microsoft.VisualStudio.ComponentGroup.WindowsAppSDK.Cs"

For C++ developers

Visual Studio Community

winget install "Visual Studio Community 2022"  --override "--add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NativeDesktop  Microsoft.VisualStudio.ComponentGroup.WindowsAppSDK.Cpp"  -s msstore

Visual Studio Enterprise

winget install "Visual Studio Enterprise 2022"  --override "--add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NativeDesktop  Microsoft.VisualStudio.ComponentGroup.WindowsAppSDK.Cpp"

Visual Studio Professional

winget install "Visual Studio Professional 2022"  --override "--add  Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NativeDesktop  Microsoft.VisualStudio.ComponentGroup.WindowsAppSDK.Cpp"

Install tools manually

The following sections describe how to install the required tools and workloads manually.

Install Visual Studio

Use the following link to install Visual Studio 2022. You can choose between the free Visual Studio Community Edition, Visual Studio Professional, or Visual Studio Enterprise. Before installing either, see System requirements for Windows app development.

[!div class="button"] Download Visual Studio 2022

Required workloads and components

During Visual Studio installation, you have the option to install workloads and components (you can also open the Visual Studio Installer and select Modify to add workloads and components after installation). We recommend installing the following:

Visual Studio 2022 version 17.10 and later

From within the Visual Studio Installer app:

  • On the Workloads tab:

    • For C# app development using the Windows App SDK, select WinUI application development.
    • For C++ app development using the Windows App SDK, select WinUI application development
      • Then in the Installation details pane of the installation dialog box, under the WinUI application development node, select C++ WinUI app development tools. (This will also select any additional required components.)

Note

In Visual Studio 17.10 - 17.12, this workload is called Windows application development.

Visual Studio 2022 version 17.1 and 17.9

From within the Visual Studio Installer app:

  • On the Workloads tab:

    • For C# app development using the Windows App SDK, select .NET Desktop Development.
      • Then in the Installation details pane of the installation dialog box, select Windows App SDK C# Templates (at the bottom of the list).
    • For C++ app development using the Windows App SDK, select Desktop development with C++
      • Then in the Installation details pane of the installation dialog box, select Windows App SDK C++ Templates (at the bottom of the list).

  • On the Individual components tab, in the SDKs, libraries, and frameworks section, make sure Windows 10 SDK (10.0.19041.0) is selected.

Other Visual Studio versions

From within the Visual Studio Installer app:

  • On the Workloads tab:

    • For C# app development using the Windows App SDK, select .NET Desktop Development.
    • For C++ app development using the Windows App SDK, select Desktop development with C++.

  • On the Individual components tab, in the SDKs, libraries, and frameworks section, make sure Windows 10 SDK (10.0.19041.0) is selected.

Visual Studio project and item templates

The Windows App SDK includes Visual Studio project and item templates for creating and developing apps that use the WinUI 3 library to implement the user interface.

Visual Studio 2022 version 17.1 and later

If you followed the instructions in Required workloads and components above, the templates should already be installed.

Select C# or C++ as the language, Windows as the platform, and WinUI as the Project type to create a new Windows App SDK project.

Optionally, install Template Studio for WinUI (C#) to accelerate the creation of new .NET WinUI apps using a wizard-based UI. Select from a variety of project types and features to generate a project template customized for you.

Visual Studio 2022 version 17.0

The templates are available by installing a Visual Studio extension (VSIX).

Note

If you have a Windows App SDK Visual Studio extension (VSIX) already installed, then uninstall it before installing a new version. For directions, see Manage extensions for Visual Studio.

Download the extension directly, and install it:

[!div class="button"] Download latest C# stable release

[!div class="button"] Download latest C++ stable release

Visual Studio 2019

Important

Visual Studio 2019 does not support the Windows App SDK.

For more versions of the Windows App SDK, see Downloads for the Windows App SDK.

Hybrid C/C++ runtime library linkage

In releases 1.0.3 and 1.1 Preview 2 and later, the Windows App SDK uses Hybrid C/C++ runtime library linkage (hybrid CRT linkage). This is a CRT linkage technique that simplifies deployment. Whether you're a C++ application developer or a C++ library developer, here are some resources for learning about hybrid CRT linkage:

Next steps

To create your first WinUI 3 app that uses the Windows App SDK, see Create your first WinUI 3 project.

Also see Use the Windows App SDK in an existing project.

Related topics