Feature request: Support for Microsoft's new MSIX installer format

[jakubsuchybio]

• Describe the scenario and benefits that the feature supports. Microsoft released new MSIX installer format. More info here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/837saq/microsoft_announces_msix_installer_format_that/ Will you support it in your WixToolset in the future? It looks really promissing.

[robmen]

As we understand it at this time, MSIX is essentially a rename of Desktop Bridge use of AppX. FireGiant already provides tooling that supports creating AppX using from WiX Toolset.

[jakubsuchybio]

Well that is not my understanding of it. I think it is more like having win32 app with msi installer and making it msix that can also be submitted into Windows Store. But can be also installed manually on older system without Windows Store. I might be wrong though.

[robmen]

Wow, I've not heard of that capability at all. But there hasn't been a lot of solid technical details made available. I was told we'd get more details in a couple months or so.

[jakubsuchybio]

Yes :) well it is still in diapers. But if they can deliver, this could be huge. I just think that you would want to support that in wix.

[robmen]

I know FireGiant is very much down that path.

[ghost]

Microsoft is creating a new, open-source packaging format that is not locked down to their store. This format has support for both Windows 7 and 10. They are working with multiple partners for this packaging as seen below:

See:

• MSIX: Inside and Out
• Accelerating Windows 10 enterprise app deployment with MSIX
• MSIX - Microsoft Tech Community
• MSIX on Github

@robmen I think this packaging format has a larger future than the existing bridge with Win7 support. With all those partners with them this may be worth investigating.

[jozefizso]

Is MSIX really supported on Windows 7? I though it is exlusive to the latest Windows 10 releases.

[ghost]

@jozefizso See the first video at this timestamp: https://youtu.be/FKCX4Rzfysk?t=2947 . They have working (I assumed working and prototype implied the same thing) prototype support for Win7 this time and should be fully fleshed out by the next windows release.

[jozefizso]

That's a prototype - a custom script which just unzips the files. They explicitly say that none of the MSIX features are supported on Windows 7.

[aplocher]

It seems like Microsoft would definitely like this to be THE future installation platform for all Windows apps pretty soon. If their wish comes true, it definitely seems like this would need to become a first-class citizen in WiX in order for WiX to survive.

In fact, not just Windows. It looks like they're making this something that can be used on Linux, MacOS, and even Android. Having full cross platform support may complicate things with WiX's implementation.

They have a GitHub repo here.

But, then again, Microsoft has been known to shove some new tech down our throats only to leave those adopters behind and cursing their name in the end (ex: kinect, winphone, access web apps, groove music, just to name a few that I've been burned on)...

EDIT: Just wanted to add Visual Studio Installer Projects to the list of things that they left me high and dry on, which is how I found WiX... Then they decided to resurrect that one. But I'm glad I found WiX and have never looked back :)

[BMurri]

The repo is just a "subset of the functionality contained within appxpackaging.dll on Windows" without any instruction on MSIX layouts/differences from AppX, etc. So... FireGiant currently has as much working code for this as anyone else possibly could. As soon as there's some actionable information released, we'll have something we can work on.

The WIP would then be based on that actionable info, and any tasks needed would be assigned out once the path forward is agreed to.

I agree with you on their abandonware problem.

[barnson]

Also worth noting: http://www.joyofsetup.com/2018/05/19/msix-slightly-more-detail-about-what-might-be-something-huge-but-probably-wont-be/

[RaulRG]

We develop a client-server software and use WiX for installing a Windows service. The clients for this Windows service are deployed using ClickOnce. We would love to use MSIX for this as ClickOnce seems to be on a roadblock. A +1 from us to this request!

[superusercode]

Looks like MSIX support for WiX is a paid offering managed by FireGiant now https://www.firegiant.com/products/wix-expansion-pack/msix/

If FireGiant does it on their own does it mean WiX will never have it (i.e. how the gitlab CE/EE model works)?

[rseanhall]

No. What FireGiant implements has no bearing on what we will accept into the WiX Toolset. If we weren't going to allow the feature then we would have closed this issue.

That being said, this is a massive feature. As the wip-required label indicates, it will require a WiX Improvement Proposal to discuss the design of the feature to make sure it fits in with the rest of the toolset. "Drive-by" pull requests would not be accepted. As with any large feature, part of the decision of accepting it would be figuring out who's going to maintain it. If the core team has doubts about whether the implementer will stick around and provide ongoing maintenance, and no one on the core team is interested in maintaining it, then that would be a problem.

[madaster97]

Hi there,

I've been researching this topic to access some UWP features in non-UWP apps. Wanted to call out these 2 Microsoft articles that came out this summer: MSIX Packaging Tool Building MSIX from source code (without UWP)

I'm not sure if/how these could be integrated with Wix, but it seems promising to either turn a wix msi into an msix, or to inject source-code based build options into Wix.

[robmen]

FireGiant provides a WiX Extension that builds MSIX packages. Note that is a commercial solution today because it took significant resources to develop.

[tjmoore]

MSIX appears to have the advantage of being able to build on Linux?

Very useful for those with Linux based CI. Build anywhere. WiX is limited to building on Windows it seems.