How do I create a desktop or Start menu shortcut for a UWP or MSIX app?

How do I create a desktop or Start menu shortcut for a UWP or MSIX app such as the new Microsoft Teams?

UWP and MSIX apps do not have a regular executable you can point a shortcut at. Instead, they are launched through their Application User Model ID (AUMID) using the shell:AppsFolder namespace. This article explains how to find the AUMID, test it, and create the shortcut with PowerShell or with the ProfileUnity Shortcuts module, using the new Microsoft Teams as the example.

How UWP Shortcuts Work

Every app inside a UWP or MSIX package has an AUMID. It is built from the package family name and the application ID from the package manifest, separated by an exclamation mark:

<PackageFamilyName>!<ApplicationId>

For the new Microsoft Teams this is MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe!MSTeams. The shortcut then starts explorer.exe with shell:AppsFolder\<AUMID> as the argument, and Windows launches the app.

Find the AUMID

There are two ways to find the AUMID. Run the commands in PowerShell as the user who has the app installed.

1. Use Get-StartApps

This shows only the apps that have a Start menu entry, which are the ones meant to be launched by users. This is the quickest way to find the right AUMID.

Get-StartApps | Where-Object Name -like "*Teams*"

2. Read the package manifest

This lists every application entry in the package as a complete AUMID, including helper components that have no Start menu entry.

$pkg = Get-AppxPackage -Name MSTeams
(Get-AppxPackageManifest $pkg).Package.Applications.Application.Id |
    ForEach-Object { "$($pkg.PackageFamilyName)!$_" }

For Teams this returns four entries. Only one of them is the Teams client:

Test the Launch Command

Before you create the shortcut, check that the AUMID works. Run this from a command prompt or the Run dialog:

explorer.exe shell:AppsFolder\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe!MSTeams

If Teams opens, the AUMID is correct and you can use it in the shortcut.

Create the Shortcut with PowerShell

1. Save the icon to a fixed location

The app's install folder under C:\Program Files\WindowsApps contains the version number, so it changes with every update and the shortcut icon would go blank. Extract the icon once and store it somewhere that does not change. Run this as an administrator if access to the WindowsApps folder is denied.

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Drawing
$pkg     = Get-AppxPackage -Name MSTeams
$exe     = Join-Path $pkg.InstallLocation "ms-teams.exe"
$icoPath = "C:\ProgramData\Icons\MSTeams.ico"

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path (Split-Path $icoPath) -Force | Out-Null
$icon   = [System.Drawing.Icon]::ExtractAssociatedIcon($exe)
$stream = [System.IO.File]::Create($icoPath)
$icon.Save($stream)
$stream.Close()

2. Create the .lnk file

This example puts the shortcut on the public desktop. Change $lnk for another location, such as the user's Start menu folder.

$aumid = "MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe!MSTeams"
$lnk   = "$env:PUBLIC\Desktop\Microsoft Teams.lnk"

$ws = New-Object -ComObject WScript.Shell
$sc = $ws.CreateShortcut($lnk)
$sc.TargetPath   = "$env:WINDIR\explorer.exe"
$sc.Arguments    = "shell:AppsFolder\$aumid"
$sc.IconLocation = "C:\ProgramData\Icons\MSTeams.ico,0"
$sc.Save()

Create the Shortcut in ProfileUnity

To deliver the shortcut at logon, add a rule to the Shortcuts module of your ProfileUnity configuration and fill in the fields as follows:

Use filters to target the rule to the users or machines that have the app installed.

Alternative for Teams: App Execution Alias

The new Teams also registers an app execution alias. You can use it as a regular shortcut target without explorer.exe:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WindowsApps\ms-teams.exe

Not every UWP or MSIX app has an alias, so the shell:AppsFolder method is the one that works for all of them.

Troubleshooting

• The shortcut opens a File Explorer window or nothing at all. The AUMID is wrong or the package is not registered for this user. Run Get-StartApps as that user and check the AUMID.
• The icon is blank after an app update. The icon points to the versioned WindowsApps folder. Use a fixed icon path as described above.
• The wrong Teams component starts. Make sure the AUMID ends in !MSTeams and not one of the helper entries.

If the issue continues, contact Liquidware Support.