Conversion with the command line

Automate conversion of Windows installers to MSIX packages using scripts

The MSIX Packaging Tool supports a command line interface for creating MSIX application packages. This enables you to automate the process of repackaging app installers and perform bulk conversions.

For sample PowerShell and Bash scripts that demonstrate how to automate the process of packaging, signing, managing and distributing MSIX packages, see the scripts folder of the MSIX Toolkit.

Use the command line with the Command Prompt

To create a new MSIX package for your application, run the MsixPackagingTool.exe create-package command in an administrator Command prompt window. Please note this is an app execution alias to make it easier to run the application without specifying the full path.

Here are the parameters that can be passed as command line arguments(case sensitive):

Parameter Description
-? --help Show help information
--template [required] path to the conversion template XML file containing package information and settings for this conversion
--virtualMachinePassword [optional] The password for the Virtual Machine to be used for the conversion environment. Note: The template file must contain a VirtualMachine element and the Settings::AllowPromptForPassword attribute must not be set to true.
--machinePassword [optional] The password for the remote machine to be used for the conversion environment. Note: The template file must contain a RemoteMachine or VirtualMachine element and the Settings::AllowPromptForPassword attribute must not be set to true.
--resume [optional] Used to resume the conversion flow after a reboot.
-v --verbose [optional] Print verbose logs to the console.

Examples:


    MsixPackagingTool.exe create-package --template c:\users\documents\ConversionTemplate.xml -v

    MSIXPackagingTool.exe create-package --template c:\users\documents\ConversionTemplate.xml --virtualMachinePassword pswd112893
    

Note

App-V 5.x conversion is currently supported to be converted throught the command line. This includes capabilities.

You can generate a command line template file through the MSIX Packaging Tool by going through the conversion process with an application or you can build one from our sample template.