WinUI Blank App (Unpackaged) - Visual Studio Template

A custom Visual Studio project template for creating unpackaged WinUI 3 desktop applications with a ready-to-run .exe file.

Perfect for developers who want to build modern WinUI 3 apps without MSIX packaging, deployment complexity, or the Windows App SDK packaging toolchain.

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Features

• Unpackaged WinUI 3 application (no MSIX)
• Directly produces a runnable .exe file
• Easy debugging with "EXE" launch profile
• Configured for x64 platform only (can be extended)
• Uses latest Windows App SDK 1.8 and .NET 8/10
• Includes all necessary assets and manifest files
• Ready for single-file publishing (if you enable it later)

Note: Publishing via FolderProfile currently has limitations (as mentioned in the template description).

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Installation

Option 1: Manual Installation (Recommended)

1. Download the latest release or clone this repository.

2. Extract the contents.

3. Copy the folder WinUI Blank App (Unpackaged) to your Visual Studio templates location:

   Common paths:

   • %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Visual Studio 18\Templates\ProjectTemplates\C#\
   • Or for Visual Studio 2022 (preview): %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Visual Studio 2022\Preview\Templates\ProjectTemplates\

4. Restart Visual Studio.

Option 2: .vstemplate Import

You can also import the .vstemplate file directly via Visual Studio's "Export Template" / "Manage Project Templates" feature.

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How to Use

1. Open Visual Studio
2. Go to File > New > Project
3. Search for "WinUI Blank App (Unpackaged)"
4. Create the project
5. Press F5 to run — it should launch the app directly as a normal desktop .exe

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Project Structure

• App.xaml / App.xaml.cs — Application entry point
• MainWindow.xaml / MainWindow.xaml.cs — Main window
• app.manifest — Application manifest with PerMonitorV2 DPI awareness
• Package.appxmanifest — Kept for reference (not used in unpackaged mode)
• Assets folder with default logos and splash screen

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Important Notes

• This template sets <WindowsPackageType>None</WindowsPackageType> to disable packaging.
• Publishing is currently not fully functional with the included FolderProfile.
• Designed primarily for development and direct .exe execution.
• Self-contained, single-file, and trimmed publishing can be enabled manually in the .csproj file.

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Requirements

• Visual Studio 2022 (17.8 or newer recommended)
• .NET 8.0/10.0 SDK
• Windows 10 17763 or higher (Windows 11 recommended)
• Windows App SDK workload installed

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Contributing

Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome!

Feel free to fork the project and submit a pull request.

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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Made with ❤️ for the WinUI community