Store Dock: Windows
From a MAUI or WinUI project to a Microsoft Store listing: build, test, screenshot, localize, submit.
- Windows 11 VM
- .NET 9
- Partner Center API
What it does
Shipping a Windows app to the Microsoft Store is a dozen fiddly steps: package identity, MSIX signing, screenshots at the right sizes, listings in every market, age ratings, add-ons and the certification report that comes back two days later. Store Dock: Windows turns them into one pipeline you can run from a Mac or Linux machine.
- MSIX builds in a VM. Drive a Windows 11 virtual machine from the host: restore, build, sign and collect packages for x64 and ARM64.
- Tests before reviewers see it. UI Automation smoke tests that click through your app and fail the build when a page crashes or stays blank.
- Real screenshots. Store-size captures taken from the running app, not mock-ups, with the classic capture traps already solved.
- 41 locales. Listing text and keywords in every Store locale, with rules that keep pricing words and claims out of the fields reviewers reject.
- Submission with brakes. The Microsoft Store submission API, plus guards: a daily cap, no resubmission storms, no new app while the account is on hold.
What is inside
VM build
Host scripts that drive the Windows VM: build, sign, collect and clean.
UI tests
A PowerShell UI Automation harness and example tests.
Screenshots
A capture tool for Store-size images from the live app.
Listings
Listing and keyword generator for 41 locales with review-safe rules.
Submission
API client, the submission guard and a certification-report reader.
Playbook
The certification failures we met and the fix for each.
Requirements
- A Windows 11 VM (VMware, Hyper-V or Parallels) with the .NET 9 SDK.
- A Partner Center account with an Azure AD app for the submission API.
- Python 3.10 or newer on the host.
Good to know
- Microsoft removes accounts that submit too often or publish near-duplicate apps. The guards are on by default; switching them off is your risk.
- Some Partner Center steps have no API. The Console Autopilots kit covers them with a browser robot.
Questions
Does it work for WPF or Win32 apps?
The submission, listing and screenshot parts do. The build scripts target .NET MAUI and WinUI 3 projects.
Can it sell subscriptions?
Yes. Add-ons are prepared by the pipeline and payments go through the Microsoft Store, as the Store requires.
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