MSIX Supported Features by OS Version
Building an MSIX package for your app? Use the table below to check what Windows version you can target, depending on the features you are using.
To avoid repeating Windows 10 through the entire table, we’ll use the update short name. Functionality not present in this table is considered to be available on all supported Windows 10 versions.
The MSIX support was officially released with the Windows 10, 1809
update. Support for previous Windows versions was added later on,
requiring the latest version of the AppInstaller app from
Microsoft
| MSIX Features & Tooling | Minimum OS Version | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MSIX self extraction, no containerization | Windows 7 | |
| AppInstaller (GUI) | 1709 | |
| Package Management PowerShell Cmdlets | 1709 | |
| Auto-updates | 1709 | |
| PSF Fixups | 1709 | |
| PowerShell Scripting | 1709 | Available through PSF |
| Fonts | 2004 | Support for fonts in the package. The fonts remain contained within the package but are made available both inside and outside the container. |
| allowElevation flag | 1809 | Works if the Win32 app has the execution level set to “requireAdministrator“. |
| ForceUpdateFromAnyVersion flag | 1809 | Enables downgrade scenarios |
| Modification Packages | 1809 | |
| Microsoft Store Publishing | 1809 | |
| Windows 10 S (device targeting) | 1809 | As a target device for deploying apps in your infrastructure. |
| Protocol Handlers | 1909 | |
| Shell Extensions | 1909 | Support for Context Menu shell extensions. Other shell extensions might work. |
| User Registry Changes | 2004 | Support for user modification of HKCU items in the package. Only available if the package has a User.Reg file. |
| MSIX Bundles | 1809 | For 1709 and 1803 you can use .appxbundles as alternative. |
| NT Services | 2004 | The services actually run outside the MSIX container. |
| Start Menu folders/grouping | 20H2 | |
| Shared Package Container | n\a | Presented at Ignite 2021 (March edition) as a future feature. |
| Flexible Container | n\a | Presented at Ignite 2021 (March edition) as a future feature. Support for unvirtualized writes to HKCU and AppData. |
| Drivers | n\a | |
| Configurable Container Level | n\a | Presented by Microsoft at Ignite 2018 as a future feature. |
Learn more about the MSIX format by reading our MSIX Introduction: A comprehensive 24-chapter guide.