Microsoft has introduced a command-line tool called winapp, which attempts to address the complexity of calling the latest Windows APIs for developers not using Visual Studio.
The issue, says the Windows team, is that “Windows development often involves managing multiple SDKs, creating and editing multiple manifests, generating certificates and navigating intricate packaging requirements.”
The winapp CLI (command line interface) both prepares a development environment and configures application code to support modern Windows APIs, without the need for Visual Studio.
Although not itself an AI tool, the recent Windows AI APIs are among those unlocked by the winapp CLI, including use of Phi Silica, a local language model in development and available on Copilot+ PCs which have an NPU (neural processing unit).
The rationale for the winapp CLI is itself complicated. Windows is a multi-faceted platform which has both a classic Win32 API (now simply called the Windows API) which dates back to the early days of Windows, and a modern API which supports newer features of Windows including the WinUI user interface framework, Windows AI APIs, notifications and widgets.
