Make it possible to install apps from the Store

[kelps]

There should be a way to improve the scripts to make it possible to install apps directly from the Store. Example: when I repave my dev machines, i install some apps like "Open Live Writer", Paint.NET, Spotify, some Edge extensions e a few other Store apps I use regularly.

It looks like the current scripts already install some appx files that supposedly come from the store, but the process it uses to do so seems to be a hack. It downloads the appx from a minified shortened url and then sideloads it. As far as I could tell, there is no way to get a fixed url to the appx files I want from the Store and do the same, as the urls have information as version in them. I also don't know if installing an app this way has any side effects on how the app is updated from the Store from that point forward, if at all, since it was sideloaded.

The optimal option would be to call some official Windows API passing the Store ID for the app we want to install and let it do it's thing by installing from the Store instead of sideloading. If the user doesn't already "own" the app, it could ask to confirm the purchase (even if free) or have a flag to do it if necessary (similar to the "-y" in Chocolatey).

[yodurr]

Love this feedback, thank you.

[WSLUser]

So in Windows proper we do have this Powershell command (The example comes from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-on-server):

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://aka.ms/wsl-ubuntu-1604 -OutFile ~/Ubuntu.zip -UseBasicParsing

(due to this example there are extra bits on the end and thus require the below)

Expand-Archive ~/Ubuntu.zip ~/Ubuntu

Distro.exe where Distro in this case = Ubuntu

We also have curl and tar available in Windows now. Don't see tar being very useful other than for Linux distros (or any tar files that somehow make it into the Store) but curl does sorta replace (but not entirely) Invoke-WebRequest

[kelps]

@DarthSpock this doesn't address the issue I presented. This command is simply downloading something from somewhere. I want to install something from the Store, preferably using official Store APIs in my computer.

The .ps1 scripts here use this to download the .appx file from somewhere and then sideload them. My concerns with this are twofold:

1. The .appx download origin is not the Store (maybe the files in the script is the same file that is in the Store, but it is not coming from the same url the Store uses)
2. The .appx is being sideloaded. I'm not sure, but I think it will not get updated if the developer updates it in the Store. (please correct me if I'm wrong)

How do I install, for example, "Paint.NET" from the Store using scripting? Is it possible to generate an official download url for a Store .appx and use the combination Invoke-WebRequest + Add-AppxPackage to install it and still get updates? Do I need to know the app version in the Store to get the url or can I get a "default" url for the app that will always point to the latest version? How would I generate such urls for the apps I want/need to install when I repave?

An even better solution would be to have something like Acquire-StorePackage, where you would pass the app name, key or guid (or something) and it would install it from the Store. I understand that this request is more for the Windows Store team than for the champions in this repo, but I suppose the relevant people might see this and take pity on us folks trying to automate things...

[kelps]

Reading some documentation while replying to @DarthSpock's comment, I found a few articles using a combination of Get-AppxPackage + Add-AppxPackage to reinstall apps the current user removed or that got "lost" in some Insiders update. It got me thinking:

If I use Get-AppxPackage on my machine before repaving it to get and save the manifest files for the apps I will want to get back after the repave, it might be possible to use Add-AppxPackage later pointing to the saved manifests and have the apps reinstalled. I'll have to investigate that on my next repave (might be time to do it on my old Surface Pro 2 anyway). If I find the time over the weekend, I'll let you know of my findings.

I'm now also thinking of using Remove-AppxPackage in my script to remove some unwanted apps that Microsoft now insists on pushing to users (I am looking at you Candy Crush...)

[WSLUser]

So the https://aka.ms/wsl-ubuntu-1604 is from the Store but automatically provides the option to install the appx without the need to go through the Store to get it. As far as getting updates goes, well if you're in a corporate network, you probably won't get them if you don't have Store access. Which makes standalone appx for different apps extremely useful. In larger organizations, there is typically a workstation that will have access in order to obtain certain apps and will go through a test, then update phase. We can't assume all devs will have access to the Store so while this may not fit your specific needs, it will address somebody else's.

[gep13]

@kelps can you perhaps to the documentation that you were looking at? Thanks!

[kelps]

@gep13, maybe "documentation" isn't a proper way to classify them. How about "tech articles"? Here are a couple:
How to reinstall default apps in Windows 10
Adding and Removing Windows 10 Apps with PowerShell

[gep13]

@kelps thanks for providing those links, appreciate it!

[kelps]

@DarthSpock Yep, I understand and agree this is a valid approach, but catering only to big companies isn't how things should work anymore. Specially in the dev circles, we have more and more hobbyists, remote workers and BYOD friendly companies.

What I am asking here (hoping actually) is for someone from Microsoft to acknowledge and address (or at least start the process of addressing) the need for APIs that will allow end users and IT managers to install apps from the Store in an automated way.

Of course, I also understand these kinds of APIs may be posed as a security threat and need to be properly implemented so as to not be abused by malicious actors (malware, viruses, rogue programs, hackers, disgruntled employees, bored/grounded kids, ...).

Anyway, hoping for a better automation story here and really excited by the mere existence of this repo. We are making progress ;)

[WSLUser]

Yes, I think this project needs to address both scenarios. Those who can use the Store and those can't. I'm still looking forward to the day when we can honestly get all dev work done using a combo of WSL and Windows but unfortunately the dev community targetted doesn't include anything GUI or hardware related if it's for Linux, which is a shame in my mind. If they could get AMD/NVIDIA/Intel onto WSL, well now, they would be able to bring in far more profit and the rest of us would have the advantage of fully harnessing our hardware for WSL (thus drastically improving performance).

[bitcrazed]

Thanks for discussing & sharing your thoughts on this.

As @DarthSpock points out, to temporarily circumvent this limitation, we re-publish Store WSL distros on our CDN, but this isn't a scalable way to deal with the issue.

We regularly make the request to the Store team for a way to install Store packages via the command-line, and encourage you to do the same via Feedback Hub - your voices often carry more weight than ours ;)

[WSLUser]

We regularly make the request to the Store team for a way to install Store packages via the command-line

Where on the Feedback Hub would you recommend providing input or similarly, would a UWP UserVoice be appropiate? This is bearing in mind it would need to encompass more than just WSL Distros. (We'll need a make a list of commonly used apps)

[kelps]

I am almost sure I had already added this feedback using the Feedback Hub app a long time ago (certainly more than a year).

I didn't find it, so I created a new one in the following link. Upvotes are appreciated. Provide a way (scripting api/commands) for users to install/remove Store apps via command-line scripts

[kelps]

@DarthSpock I think the apis should allow installing apps directly from the Store, no matter what kind of app it is, so not only WSL or a specific kind/category. It should behave with the same restrictions you would get when using the Store app, so if an app is blocked by a policy or unavailable to the user, it also would be blocked via scripts. Any powershell commands created for this should use the same code the Store already uses, to ensure all the same rules apply.

I would also add some security features like: by default the command only installs apps the user already owns or apps that are free (there should be argument flags to override this behavior, of course). If the user doesn't own the app, the Store purchase UI should be displayed to confirme the purchase (there could be a flag that dispenses this step if the app is free, but it shouldn't be on by default).

[WSLUser]

@kelps Nothing you said is opposite of what I was saying. I'm in full agreement, there should be APIs for installing from the store. But if those APIs require connectivity to the Store itself, it will most likely be blocked on most corporate networks. But it also might be an easier sell to corporations to allow API connectivity for command-line only access vice giving users Store access (not to mention no admin account should have web access whatsoever including the API connectivity). This access could then be created as a security group in AD that only those who require it would be granted access to it.