APPX is the installer file for Windows Store apps. Here are the steps to direct download APPX file of any Windows Store app in Windows 10.
The Windows Store or Microsoft store provides a simple way to quickly install or uninstall any app you want with just a couple of clicks. No need to go through the installation wizard with a ton of options. Unlike the regular installer files that use EXE or MSI formats, Windows store apps use APPX format. The problem is, the Windows Store won’t give you the installer file when you click the install button. Rather it automatically downloads the installer file, installs the application, and deletes the installer file.
Though the installation is easy, there might be times when you need the app’s installer file. There may be any number of reasons for this like installing the app in an offline computer, to store the APPX installer file in your software repository, etc.
So, if you ever need, follow the steps shown below to manually download the APPX file from Windows Store, no matter the app.
Note: I assume that the app for which you want to download the APPX file is not installed in your system. If it is already installed, uninstall it. We are going to install it again.
Steps to Download APPX File from Store
Since Windows has no official tool, we are going to use a free tool called Fiddler to download APPX file. Fiddler is a web debugging proxy tool. We are going to use this tool to intercept requests made by Windows Store to get the direct download link for the APPX package file. Once we have the download like, we can use it to download the APPX file. Though sounds complicated, it is really easy to do. Let me show you how.
1. First, download Fiddler from the official website. Once downloaded, install the application in Windows 10.
2. After installing Fiddler, launch from the Start menu or by clicking on the desktop icon.
3. As soon as the application is opened, go to the “File” menu and make sure the “Capture Traffic” option is checked, like showing the below image. If the option is not checked, select it to enable Fiddler to capture network traffic.
4. Now, click on the “WinConfig” button.
5. As soon as you click on the button, Fiddler will open the AppContainer Loopback Exemption Utility window. From the list, find the “Microsoft Store” option, select its checkbox and click on the “Save Changes” button.
6. Now open the Microsoft Store app, find your favorite app and click on the “Install” button. This should start the installation process.
7. Back to the Fiddler application. Here, click on the “Find” button on the top navigation bar.
8. In the blank field, type “appx” and click on the “Fine Sessions” button.
9. This action will scan the entire capture session and highlights the appx file download links. There will be several. We just need the first one.
10. Right-click on the first highlighted entry and select the “Copy → Just URL” option. This action will copy the download link to your clipboard.
11. Now, open the browser of your choice, paste the copied URL in the address bar and press Enter.
12. If everything goes well, the APPX file download should start. Once downloaded, you can find it in the default downloads folder.
Install Downloaded APPX File
To install the downloaded APPX file, simply double-click on the file and click on the “Install” button in the wizard. Alternatively, you can use the PowerShell commands. Open PowerShell as administrator and execute the below command while replacing “APPX_PATH” with the actual path of the APPX location. This should install the APPX file.
add-appxpackage -path "APPX_PATH"
As you can see, it is pretty easy to download the APPX file from Windows Store or Microsoft Store. After downloading the file, you can safely close the Fiddler application.
I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible. If you like this article, do check out how to uninstall default store apps in Windows 10.
