MSIX Extension Mastery: A Practical Guide to Microsoft Store Add-Ons

The new Microsoft Store on Windows 11 works great for the most part. But, for the times it doesn’t, Windows lets you sideload Microsoft Store apps in appx, appxBundle, msixbundle app files on your computer.

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You can download the appx or msix package from the app developer’s website, GitHub, or directly from the Microsoft Store server using third-party utilities. Here we show how to download appx/appxbundle and msixbundle package files from Microsoft Store and install them on your Windows computer.

1. How to Download Appx/AppxBundle Files Using Adguard

Adguard is a third-party web service and an online link generator for Microsoft Store. It makes it easy to download appx and appxbundle files from the Microsoft Store for sideloading them on your Windows computer.

To download appx, appxbundle or msixbundle using Adguard:

1. Go to Microsoft Store on your browser, search, and open the app you want to download.
2. Copy the app URL, including the product ID, from the address bar. For example, the app URL for the Xbox app on Microsoft Store will look like this:
   https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/xbox/9MV0B5HZVK9Z
3. Next, go to the Adguard page and paste the app URL.
4. On the right side, click theRP drop-down and selectRetail .
5. Click theCheck mark button to generate a direct download link. It will populate the page with msixbundle, appx or appxbundle, and other associated files.
6. You only need to download the full app package. The rest are app dependencies that you don’t need to download in most cases. For example, in this instance, we only need to downloadmsixbundle , which is also the largest file in the list.
7. Make sure to check the architecture compatibility (x64, x86, Arm) for the files depending on your system architecture.
8. Next, click on the msixbudle link to download. Microsoft Edge may sometimes block the download as not secure. You can use alternative browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox to compelete the download.

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Fiddler Classic is a network tracking and monitoring tool to log HTTP(s) traffic from web browsers and installed apps. You can use this app to track Microsoft Store network when downloading an app to your computer. Then use the URL as a direct download link to download appx, msixbundle, and appxbundle files using any web browser.

To generate a Microsoft Store app downloading link using Fiddler:

1. Download and install the Fidler Classic app . You’ll need to enter your email and territory to download the app.

2. OpenFiddler , and click theWinConfig button in the top left corner. ClickYes if prompted by User Account Control.
   

   

3. In theAppContainer Lookback Exception Utility dialog, scroll down and check theMicrosoft Store box.
   

4. Click onSave Changes.

5. Next, click onEdit and go toRemove , and selectAll Sessions . Alternatively, pressCtrl + X to do the same.
   

   

6. Next, launchMicrosoft Store, search for the app you want to download, and clickInstall . Wait for the app to download and install completely. Fiddler will start capturing the traffic as the necessary files for the app download and install.

7. Once the download is complete, open theFiddler app and pressCtrl + F to openFind .

8. Typeappx in theFind dialog. Leave the rest options as default and clickFind Sessions . It will scan through the recently captured Microsoft Store traffic and highlight the matching entries in yellow.
   

   

9. If no entries are highlighted, openFind (Ctrl+F) and typemsixbundle, appx orappxbundle in theFind field, and click onFind Sessions .
   

   

10. Right-click on any entry highlighted in yellow and selectCopy > Just URL.

11. OpenGoogle Chrome orFirefox and paste the copied URL in the address bar. PressEnter and clickSave to download the file. On Microsoft Edge, you may face a connection is not secure error. If so, switch to a different browser to complete the download.

To install the downloaded appx, appxbundle, or msixbundle file, you can use PowerShell or the App Installer.

How to Install Appx, Appxbundle and Msixbundle Apps

In an ideal situation, you can double-click on the app file package to install it on your Windows computer. However, if that does not work, you can sideload the apps using PowerShell and the official App Installer. Here are the three ways to install the appxbundle and msixbundle file packages on Windows 10 and 11.

1. Install Appx/Appxbundle/Msixbundle App By Running the File

You can install some appx, appxbundle, and msixbundle files like you would do with any .exe file. Follow these steps to sideload and install Universal Windows Platform apps.

1. Locate the saved app package in theDownloads folder.
2. Next, double-click on the file to open the installation wizard and click on theInstall button to install the software.

Unfortunately, this installation method does not work always. You are likely to run into errors like this app package is not support installation . What you can do instead is try to install the app using the App Installer app or PowerShell. You can use PowerShell to install apps not signed by Microsoft Store.

2. Install Appx, Appxbundle, and Msixbundle using App Installer

Microsoft offers an official App Installer to sideload Windows 10 apps. However, this app installer also works on Windows 11. If you encounter an error when sideloading apps using the convention double-click method, the App Installer will do the trick.

Make sure to create a restore point before installing App Installer. Once installed, you may not be able to uninstall the app. And it can also fiddle with Windows PowerShell’s ability to sideload apps.

To install App Installer:

1. LaunchMicrosoft Store and search for the app installer.
2. Click onApp Installer from the search results. The description reads the app lets you sideload Windows 10 apps.
3. Click on Install and wait for it to complete the process.
4. Once installed, click on the appx, appxbundle, or msixbundle file to open it inApp Installer.
5. ClickInstall and wait for the app installation to finish.

3. Install Appx, Msixbundle, and Appxbundle Using PowerShell

You can use Windows PowerShell to sideload Microsoft Store app on Windows. This is an efficient way to sideload apps on multiple computers or when you get an error while running the msixbundle or other package files.

To install appx, msixbudnle, and appxbundle apps using PowerShell:

1. Press theWin key andpowershell .
2. Right-click onWindows PowerShell and selectRun as administrator.
3. Next, type the following command and pressEnter to install the app:
   Add-AppxPackage -Path $AppFilePath
4. In the above command, replace AppFilePath with the appx, msixbundle, or appxbundle file path. To get the file path, right-click on the file and selectCopy as path.
5. For example, if you want to install msixbundle for Files Apps, the full command will be something like this:
   Add-AppxPackage -Path $C:\Users\Username\Downloads\Files.Package.msixbundle
6. PowerShell will show a progress bar to indicate the installation. Once done, you can launch the app from the Start menu.

In addition, if you want to install a non-Microsoft Store app file package, you may also need to enable Developer Mode to install UWP apps from third-party sources.

To enable Developer Mode on Windows 11

1. PressWin + I to openSettings .
2. Open thePrivacy & Security tab in the left pane,
3. Click onFor Developers and then toggle the switch forDeveloper Mode.

Download and Install Appx, Appxbundle, and Msixbundle from Microsoft Store on Windows

Thanks to the built-in sideload support on Windows, you can easily install Microsoft Store and non-store apps on your computer. Adguard and Fiddler handle the important aspect of allowing to download app package files for sideload.