Windows 10 - How to Run & Launch UWP Apps from CMD
Well, here's the general template:
explorer shell:appsFolder\[PackageFamilyName]![APP_ID]
or
start shell:appsFolder\[PackageFamilyName]![APP_ID]How to find PackageFamilyName
All UWP app folders are listed here: %LocalAppData%\Packages
The [PackageFamilyName] is the folder name of the app you wish to launch, which includes the PublisherID. As an example, Microsoft's PublisherID is 8wekyb3d8bbwe.
How to find App_ID
UWP apps are usually installed in C:\Program Files\WindowsApps. Look for the folder of the app you wish to launch and open it. Inside it, look for the AppxManifest.xml file. Open this file in Notepad or a similar text editor. Search for the string "Application ID=".
A 2nd way of finding the required strings:
The apps' XML files are all concentrated here: %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\AppRepository. Open the desired XML file and search for the string "Application ID=".
Note that there may be more than one XML file associated with each app. Try opening the most recent one, and look for the XML file that's larger than 1KB.
A 3rd way of finding the required strings (via registry):
Open the registry and navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModel\StateRepository\Cache\ApplicationUser\Data\
Inside you'll see many folders with hex numbers, each one corresponds to a certain UWP app.
In each folder, there's a value named "ApplicationUserModelId". The data of this value is what you need.
Copy the data to the command line, and simply prefix it with explorer shell:appsFolder\ .
Hit Enter, and the app should launch.
Examples:
Windows Explorer (UWP version): explorer shell:appsFolder\c5e2524a-ea46-4f67-841f-6a9465d9d515_cw5n1h2txyewy!App
MS Store: explorer shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.WindowsStore_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App
* NOTE: The MS Store app can also be launched with a shorter command (uap:Protocol) defined in its AppxManifest.xml file: explorer ms-windows-store:updates
Groove Music: explorer shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.ZuneMusic_8wekyb3d8bbwe!Microsoft.ZuneMusic
* NOTE: The Groove Music app can also be launched with a shorter command (uap:Protocol) defined in its AppxManifest.xml file: explorer mswindowsmusic:
Movies & TV: explorer shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.ZuneVideo_8wekyb3d8bbwe!Microsoft.ZuneVideo
* NOTE: The Movies & TV app can also be launched with a shorter command (uap:Protocol) defined in its AppxManifest.xml file: explorer mswindowsvideo:
MS Camera: explorer shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.WindowsCamera_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App
* NOTE: The MS Camera app can also be launched with a shorter command (uap:Protocol) defined in its AppxManifest.xml file: explorer microsoft.windows.camera:
MS Mail: explorer shell:appsFolder\microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps_8wekyb3d8bbwe!microsoft.windowslive.mail
* NOTE: The MS Mail app can also be launched with a shorter command (uap:Protocol) defined in its AppxManifest.xml file: explorer outlookmail:
MS Maps: explorer shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.WindowsMaps_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App
* NOTE: The MS Maps app can also be launched with a shorter command (uap:Protocol) defined in its AppxManifest.xml file: explorer bingmaps:
MS Photos: explorer shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App
* NOTE: The MS Photos app can also be launched with a shorter command (uap:Protocol) defined in its AppxManifest.xml file: explorer ms-photos:
Kali Linux: explorer shell:appsFolder\KaliLinux.54290C8133FEE_ey8k8hqnwqnmg!kali
MS Pay: explorer shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.Wallet_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App
MS People: explorer shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.People_8wekyb3d8bbwe!x4c7a3b7dy2188y46d4ya362y19ac5a5805e5x
* NOTE: The MS People app can also be launched with a shorter command (uap:Protocol) defined in its AppxManifest.xml file: explorer ms-people:
3d Viewer: explorer shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.Microsoft3DViewer_8wekyb3d8bbwe!Microsoft.Microsoft3DViewer
* NOTE: The 3D Viewer app can also be launched with a shorter command (uap:Protocol) defined in its AppxManifest.xml file: explorer com.microsoft.3dviewer:
PowerPoint (Win10 Team edition ONLY): explorer shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.Office.PowerPoint_8wekyb3d8bbwe!microsoft.pptim
* NOTE: The PowerPoint app can also be launched with a shorter command (uap:Protocol) defined in its AppxManifest.xml file: explorer ms-powerpoint:
Whatsapp: explorer shell:appsFolder\5319275A.WhatsAppDesktop_cv1g1gvanyjgm!App
* NOTE: Whatsapp can also be launched with a shorter command (uap:Protocol) defined in its AppxManifest.xml file: explorer whatsapp:
Telegram: explorer shell:appsFolder\TelegramMessengerLLP.TelegramDesktop_t4vj0pshhgkwm!Telegram.TelegramDesktop.Store
* NOTE: The Telegram app can also be launched with a shorter command (uap:Protocol) defined in its AppxManifest.xml file: explorer tg:
Windows Update: explorer ms-settings:windowsupdate
--------------
NOTE1: Some apps have more than one protocol. For example, the Mail app can be called by using explorer mailto: . The purpose of app protocols is to facilitate the use of arguments, so with this Mail app protocol, you can add a specific email to directly open a new mail to that person, for example explorer mailto:someone@home.com .
NOTE2: You can use the command "start" instead of "explorer" .
--------------
By the way, there's a entire list of shell commands that can be used in Windows 10.
All shell commands are listed under this key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions
In each subfolder/key, there's a value named "Name" and its data is the shell command.