diff --git a/src/PackageIdentity/BuildSparsePackage.ps1 b/src/PackageIdentity/BuildSparsePackage.ps1
index 99aace3a48..0d93afb4ae 100644
--- a/src/PackageIdentity/BuildSparsePackage.ps1
+++ b/src/PackageIdentity/BuildSparsePackage.ps1
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@ Param(
 
     [switch]$Clean,
     [switch]$ForceCert,
-    [switch]$NoSign
+    [switch]$NoSign,
+    [switch]$CIBuild
 )
 
 # PowerToys sparse packaging helper.
@@ -21,6 +22,13 @@ Param(
 
 $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
 
+$isCIBuild = $false
+if ($CIBuild.IsPresent) {
+    $isCIBuild = $true
+} elseif ($env:CIBuild) {
+    $isCIBuild = $env:CIBuild -ieq 'true'
+}
+
 # Configuration constants - centralized management
 $script:Config = @{
     IdentityName   = "Microsoft.PowerToys.SparseApp"
@@ -239,7 +247,8 @@ if ($versionCandidate) {
 
 # Find MakeAppx.exe from Windows SDK
 try {
-    $makeAppxPath = Find-WindowsSDKTool -ToolName "makeappx.exe" -Architecture $Platform
+    $hostSdkArchitecture = if ([System.Environment]::Is64BitProcess) { 'x64' } else { 'x86' }
+    $makeAppxPath = Find-WindowsSDKTool -ToolName "makeappx.exe" -Architecture $hostSdkArchitecture
 } catch {
     Write-Error "MakeAppx.exe not found. Please ensure Windows SDK is installed."
     exit 1
@@ -304,7 +313,7 @@ try {
     
     # Ensure publisher matches the dev certificate for local builds
     $manifestStagingPath = Join-Path $stagingDir 'AppxManifest.xml'
-    $shouldUseDevPublisher = $env:CIBuild -ne 'true'
+    $shouldUseDevPublisher = -not $isCIBuild
     if (Test-Path $manifestStagingPath) {
         try {
             [xml]$manifestXml = Get-Content -Path $manifestStagingPath -Raw
diff --git a/src/PackageIdentity/PackageIdentity.vcxproj b/src/PackageIdentity/PackageIdentity.vcxproj
index 406b73d085..bdfa627a11 100644
--- a/src/PackageIdentity/PackageIdentity.vcxproj
+++ b/src/PackageIdentity/PackageIdentity.vcxproj
@@ -13,9 +13,11 @@
     <PropertyGroup>
       <NoSignParam Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Debug' OR '$(NoSignCI)' == 'true'">-NoSign</NoSignParam>
       <NoSignParam Condition="'$(Configuration)' != 'Debug' AND '$(NoSignCI)' != 'true'"></NoSignParam>
+      <CIBuildParam Condition="'$(CIBuild)' == 'true'">-CIBuild</CIBuildParam>
+      <CIBuildParam Condition="'$(CIBuild)' != 'true'"></CIBuildParam>
     </PropertyGroup>
     
-  <Exec Command="powershell -NonInteractive -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File &quot;$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)BuildSparsePackage.ps1&quot; -Platform $(Platform) -Configuration $(Configuration) $(NoSignParam)" 
+  <Exec Command="powershell -NonInteractive -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File &quot;$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)BuildSparsePackage.ps1&quot; -Platform $(Platform) -Configuration $(Configuration) $(NoSignParam) $(CIBuildParam)" 
           ContinueOnError="false"
           WorkingDirectory="$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)" />
   </Target>