Installation files for Microsoft Store apps are not always easy to obtain and are rarely provided as MSI or EXE files.
Microsoft Store Apps are user-based, and most client management tools are executing scripts in the SYSTEM account context

Download application files for deployment

First we need to download the installation files for the Microsoft Store app – these files are using AppxBundle as file extension.

In this article we will use the Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter app.

Open the Microsoft Online Store (not the built-in Microsoft Store) in your favorite webbrowser and search for the desired app.

Copy the URL from the address bar.

Remove all text after and including the question mark.

Open your favorite online link generator for Microsoft Store. In this example we are using https://store.rg-adguard.net/

Copy the link into the online link generator and choose Retail as type

You are now presented with a long list of files for the both the application and for all the mandatory prerequisites.

Download the newest version of the application (AppxBundle) you want to install.

You have now solved the first major challenge

Enable Apps Sideload

Before we can install the application, we need to allow Windows to Sideload apps

You can use the interface to enable the setting

.. or you can use the registry editor to enable the setting

Test installation

We are now ready to test the installation. Install the downloaded application using the PowerShell command below from an elevated PowerShell command prompt.

Add-AppxPackage -Path C:tempMicrosoft.SurfaceWirelessDisplayAdapter_3.4.137.1000_neutral___8wekyb3d8bbwe.AppxBundle

Deploy through CapaInstaller

CapaInstaller has an option to execute package scripts in user context – the scripts are called User Configuration Scripts

User configuration scripts are executed the first time a user logs on, after the computer package containing the user configuation script has been installed.

Hence, all you need to do, is to create a computer package with a user configuration script.

The main script in the computer package is used to copy the installation files to a temporary location on the computer.

The user configuration ccript in the computer package is used to install the application from the temporary location.

You have now solved the second major challenge and are ready to deploy the Microsoft Store app.

Field Notes

This section contains various notes from the field, that might come in handy when deploying or testing Microsoft Store apps.

Application Dependencies

Even though AppxBundle files contains all mandatory dependencies, sometimes a core component in the operating system is outdated and not compatible with the application that you are trying to install.

In the example below, we are trying to install the Microsoft Company Portal 2019 app, but the Microsoft .NET Framework component is outdated. The required .NET component version is 2.2.27405.0 but the installed version is 2.2.27011.0

If you already have the concerned app installed somewhere, you can query all the mandatory dependencies using the PowerShell command described later in this post.