How to install Win32 apps directly from the new Microsoft Store

If you work with traditional desktop applications and want to distribute them on Windows with guarantees, the Microsoft Store and its integration with Intune open the door for you. several reliable paths to install Win32 apps. In this guide we review all the options.

In addition to explaining the “how”, we will see concrete advantages for developers (own commerce, analytics, shipping APIs and CI/CD from GitHub) and recommendations for a smooth user experience. We'll also tell you what isn't supported, what you need to prepare in advance, and how to diagnose dependencies, detect rules, and replace versions.

Distribution options in the Microsoft Store

To bring a Win32 app to the Microsoft Store or two main roads, both compatible with technologies such as the Windows App SDK, WPF, WinForms, Electron, Qt, and more. Choosing one or the other depends on the experience you want for your users and your organization's requirements.

• Option A: Package as MSIX to benefit from full system integration (updates, identity, installation experience, etc.) Thanks to MSIX packaging, the user can discover, acquire, and install more easily, and you can take advantage of advanced features of Windows and the Store.
• Option B: Publish your EXE or MSI installer as is, hosted on your website This option lists your app on the Store, keeping your original installer and CDN. It's ideal if you want to maintain your current build and delivery workflow with minimal changes.

To orient you at a glance, here is a summary of key differences between both modalities. Keep in mind that both can coexist depending on the scenario.

Feature	MSIX (packaged)	Win32 (original installer)
Hosting	Free hosting provided by Microsoft	The publisher hosts and assumes costs
Stores	Microsoft Store retail platform or your own system	Your payment/commerce platform
Code signing	Provided free by Microsoft	By the publisher with CA of the Microsoft root program
Updates	Automatic check every 24 hours by the OS	The app manages its updates
S mode	Compatible	Not compatible
Private listings and flights	Available	Not available
Advanced integration with Windows	Yes (share, launch from Store, etc.)	No
Backup/restore Windows 11	Automatic restoration and installation	Start menu icons are restored by pointing to the Store tab

Option 1: Package the Win32 app as MSIX

Packaging in MSIX is straightforward and there are several ways to do it with minimal friction. Choose the one that best fits your project and your current tools.

• Visual Studio: Add a Windows Application Packaging Project to your solution and configure MSIX packaging for your desktop app.
• Third-party installers: take advantage of partner solutions that generate MSIX for desktop projects.
• MSIX Packaging Tool- Create MSIX packages from existing installers (MSI, EXE, ClickOnce or App-V) in a guided way.

Before publishing, Validate your MSIX with the Windows App Certification Kit to check compliance with the Microsoft Store and detect possible incidents.

Option 2: Publish the unmodified EXE/MSI installer

Since June 2021, the Microsoft Store supports unpacked Win32 apps, which allows you to list your application while keeping the original installer and controlling your CDN/versioning.

The process is simple: Share the installer URL in Partner Center and fill in the required informationAfter validation by the certification team, your app will appear in the Store, and the user will continue the installation with your silent installer.

For the installer to be accepted, respect these guidelines and you will avoid rejections:

• Format: must be a . MSI or .exe.
• Mode: the installer must be able to work offline.
• Immutability: the binary pointed to by the URL should not change once sent.
• Scope: the installer must install exclusively the expected product.

Installing and managing Intune using the Microsoft Store

Microsoft Intune integrates with the Microsoft Store to Search, add, assign, and keep up-to-date UWP, MSIX, and Win32 (EXE/MSI) appsAdministrators can centrally deploy and monitor applications, delegating automatic updates when appropriate.

Prerequisites for using the Store with Intune

• Hardware: devices with at least two cores.
• IME Client: support for the Intune Management Extension.
• Connectivity: access to Microsoft Store and target content (check proxy settings if applicable).

Add and deploy a new Microsoft Store app

The flow is composed of three stages: Application Information, Tasks, and Review/Creation. You start it in Intune under Apps > All apps > Create > Microsoft Store app (new).

When you search the Store from Intune, you'll see columns like Name, Publisher, and Type (Win32 or UWP). When you select an app, metadata is preloaded, which you can edit in fields like:

• Name and description for the Company Portal.
• Publisher, category, logo. and brands like featured app.
• Package identifier (read-only) and type of installer (UWP/Win32).
• Installation behavior (system or user), URLs information/privacy, owner, Developer y notes.

Updates

Apps published from the Microsoft Store are automatically updated to the latest version.For UWP, do not enable the “Disable automatic download and installation of updates” policy.

Microsoft Store Win32 Apps: Behavior in Intune

When a Win32 Store app is targeted as Required and is not detected correctly (by version or context), Intune attempts to reinstall it in the targeted context.For existing apps, management begins once the user installs them from the Company Portal.

The Store supports EXE and MSI installers with publisher-hosted content. According to the definition, each app can be installed in the context of user or work. Review the “Traditional desktop apps in the Microsoft Store” documentation for additional details.

UWP Apps from the Store: System Context and Recommendations

You can now also deploy UWP from “Microsoft Store App (New)” in system context. If you provision an appx on the system, It will be installed for each user who logs in..

Avoid mixing installation contexts on the same device, as this complicates management and perception of the installed state, especially if a user uninstalls the app during their session while it is still provisioned.

Microsoft Store Policies and Their Impact

Some system policies directly influence app deployments.. Configure them carefully to balance security and automation.

• Disable all apps from the Microsoft Store: Recommended Not configured or Enabled to preserve integration with Intune.
• Disable automatic download and installation of updates: Recommended Not Configured or Disabled if you want to allow UWP auto-updates.
• Enable Microsoft Store source for App Installer y Enable App Installer: recommended Not configured or Enabled.
• Deactivate the Store app:
  • Not configured: The OS may allow arbitrary installations by the user.
  • Able: Prevents manual installations and updates by the user from the Store.
  • Disabled: allows manual installations and updates by the user.

Key aspects: If you want to allow automatic UWP updates (including built-in apps) and block manual or winget installations, Leave auto-updates Not configured/Disabled and the App Store Enabled/Not configured. For Win32 apps from the Store, if you disable OS auto-updates, Intune will continue to apply updates when there is an active assignment.

Prerequisites and limitations

Before starting, confirm that you meet the requirements and know what is not supported to avoid crashes.

• Microsoft Store with Intune: at least two cores CPU, support for NAME y access to the Store and content (adjust proxy if necessary).
• Managing Win32 apps in Intune: Windows 10 1607 or higher (Enterprise, Pro, Education), devices registered or joined to Microsoft Entra ID (includes hybrid and GPO), and maximum size 30 GB by app.
• Not supported: installers with ARM64 for Microsoft Store apps.

Prepare a Win32 app for Intune: .intunewin format

Classic Win32 apps are preprocessed with the Microsoft Win32 Content Prep Tool, which converts your installer to the format .intunewin y detects attributes that Intune uses to determine the installation status.

You can download the tool from GitHub as a ZIP (includes license, release notes, and the “Microsoft-Win32-Content-Prep-Tool-master” folder). Run IntuneWinAppUtil.exe without parameters for an interactive wizard or use command line.

Available parameters

• -h: help.
• -c: folder with all the installation files (compressed in .intunewin).
• -s: installation file (for example, setup.exe o setup.msi).
• -either: output folder of the generated .intunewin.
• -q: silent mode.

Examples

• show help: IntuneWinAppUtil -h
• Convert installer: IntuneWinAppUtil -c c:\testapp\v1.0 -s c:\testapp\v1.0\setup.exe -o c:\testappoutput\v1.0 -q

Council- If you need to reference additional files (e.g. licenses), place them in a subfolder under the installer folder and use relative paths within your installation logic (e.g., licenses\license.txt).

Add a Win32 app to Intune: detailed steps

This is the step-by-step process:

Step 1: Application Information

Select the .intunewin file and fill in the metadata that users will see in the Company Portal.

• Name (only), Description (you can format with a subset of Markdown; HTML is not supported), Editor.
• Categories, Featured, Information URL, Privacy URL, Developer, Owners, Notes, Logo.

Step 2: Program

Configure installation/uninstallation commands and behavior to have the Intune agent run your installer silently and in a controlled manner.

• Installation command: for example, for MSI msiexec /p "MyApp123.msp" or for EXE ApplicationName.exe /quiet (adjust modifiers according to the supplier).
• Uninstall command: use the Product GUID if applicable, for example msiexec /x "{12345A67-89B0-1234-5678-000001000000}".
• Maximum time installation time (minutes), uninstallation available in the Company Portal and installation behavior (System or User).
• Device restart: determines whether to suppress, allow or force, or decide according to return codes (hard/soft reset).
• Return codes: Define types (Success, Error, Retry, Hard/Soft Reboot). Intune automatically retries until 3 times with waits for 5 minutes when appropriate.

Step 3: Requirements

Set device prerequisites so that the app is installed only where it makes sense.

• Architecture, Minimal OS, disc space, RAM, Minimum logical CPU, minimum frequency.
• Additional rules:
  • Archive: Detects presence/date/version/size with support for 32/64-bit context.
  • Register: Validates keys/values/strings/integers/version in HKLM/HKCU with option to 32/64-bit Vista.
  • Script (PowerShell): Evaluate STDOUT y exit code (0 = installed), with 32/64-bit signing and context options or user credentials.

Step 4: Detection Rules

Defines how Intune will know that the app is installed: Manual configuration or custom script.

• MSI: uses product code and, if you want, version checking.
• Archive: Check existence/date/version/size with proper path and detection method.
• Register: Check key/value with comparison method and correct record view.
• Script: a PowerShell that returns 0 and write a string in STDOUT to mark “Installed”.

The Win32 app version appears in Intune and you can filter it in the “All Apps” list by activating the version column.

Step 5: Dependencies

Relate apps that must be installed first to satisfy functional requirements. Only dependencies between Win32 apps.

• Limit: until 100 in the total graph (main app + dependencies and subdependencies).
• Self-installation: default Yes, even if the dependency is not explicitly targeted to the device/user.
• Order and recursion: Subdependencies are evaluated before the main dependency; within the same level, there is no guaranteed order.
• Restriction: You cannot remove a Win32 app that is part of a dependency graph until the relationship is broken.

Notifications and errorsWindows notifies the user of dependency downloads and installations. If they fail, you'll see messages like "could not install dependencies" or "pending restart," and the report shows the reason and how many retries were attempted.

Step 6: Replacement

Update or replace previous versions defining which apps will be replaced and if you should uninstall the previous version. The limit is 10 apps including transitive references.

Step 7: Assignments

Choose the type: Required, Available for enrolled devices, or Uninstall; add included/excluded groups, notifications, availability, deadline y distribution optimization priority (download in foreground/background).

Step 8: Review and Create

Validate the configuration and create the applicationFrom there, you can monitor statuses and expand or adjust allocations as your needs evolve.

Advantages for developers when publishing Win32 in the Store

• You can bring your own commerce system for in-app purchases in non-game apps and keep 100% of the revenue. (subject to your payment provider), no platform fees for listing or selling on the Store.
• Your app, your installer, your CDN: your installer is used in silent mode from your Versioned URL, unchanged. The Store manages standard MSI codes and allows you to contribute custom codes for EXE, displaying appropriate messages to the client during installation.
• Automate shipments and updates with the Shipping APIs from the Microsoft Store and GitHub Actions (CI/CD) to automatically build, package, and update your listing as part of your pipeline.
• Enriched analytics since acquisition: get data from installation codes (including custom EXE versions), app usage, and health status without additional instrumentation. Gain visibility into where and why an installer fails and prioritize fixes wisely.
• Review management and review processes: responds to customer reviews From the Partner Center, view details of failed reviews (policies, repro, remediation guide) and align your roadmap with real feedback.
• Pop-up store: integrates a mini installation window that launches from your website, maintaining your web-first experience without giving up the benefits of installing through the Microsoft Store.