---
title: "Applications Are Not Packages"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/applications-are-not-packages-jt1mal77v
source_url: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/insidemsix/applications-are-not-packages
type: article
source: "DevBlogs"
published: 2026-07-07T16:05:18.182Z
updated: 2026-07-07T16:05:36.071Z
tags: ["architecture", "windows"]
reading_time: 4
upvotes: 0
comments: 0
language: en
---

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# Applications Are Not Packages

**[DevBlogs](https://daily.dev/sources/devblogs)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

MSIX packages and applications are distinct concepts that are often confused. A package is a unit of distribution and deployment, while an application is a user-facing construct identified by an ApplicationUserModelID (AUMID). Windows historically lacked a formal definition of 'application', so MSIX introduced the AUMID as a way to tag and group the collection of windows, processes, and resources that form a single application. This distinction matters because packages distribute applications, but an application is not the same as the package that delivers it.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://devblogs.microsoft.com/insidemsix/applications-are-not-packages>

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---

Tags: [#architecture](https://daily.dev/tags/architecture), [#windows](https://daily.dev/tags/windows)

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