Files
PowerToys/doc
Jiří Polášek c4ff073d01 CmdPal: Extension Gallery (#46636)
## Summary of the Pull Request

Adds the **Extension Gallery** to Command Palette — a built-in page
where users can discover, browse, and install community extensions
without leaving the app.


https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e4565333-b970-4085-9e40-5cfd207e533b

## How it works

### 1. The extension author's side

Extensions are listed in the external repo
**[`microsoft/CmdPal-Extensions`](https://github.com/microsoft/CmdPal-Extensions)**.
To get an extension into the in-app gallery, an author opens a PR there
that adds a single entry to `extensions.json`. Nothing in PowerToys
itself needs to change. A typical entry looks like:

```json
{
  "id": "contoso.sample",
  "title": "Sample Extension",
  "description": "Short blurb shown in the list and detail view.",
  "author": { "name": "Contoso", "url": "https://github.com/contoso" },
  "homepage": "https://github.com/contoso/sample",
  "iconUrl": "https://.../icon.png",
  "screenshotUrls": ["https://.../screenshot-1.png"],
  "tags": ["sample"],
  "installSources": [
    { "type": "winget",  "id":  "Contoso.SampleExtension" },
    { "type": "msstore", "id":  "9P..." },
    { "type": "url",     "uri": "https://github.com/contoso/sample/releases/latest" }
  ],
  "detection": { "packageFamilyName": "Contoso.SampleExtension_8wekyb..." }
}
```

- `id`, `title`, `description`, `author.name`, and at least one
`installSources` entry are required; everything else is optional.
- `installSources` can mix and match `winget` / `msstore` / `url`. The
gallery shows an install button for the first source it can handle
(WinGet preferred) and exposes any remaining sources as links.
- `detection.packageFamilyName` lets CmdPal recognise an
already-installed packaged extension before any WinGet lookup resolves,
so the "Installed" badge appears instantly.

Once the PR is merged into `CmdPal-Extensions`, every running copy of
CmdPal picks the new entry up the next time its feed cache expires
(within 4 hours) or when the user clicks **Refresh**.

### 2. What CmdPal does with it

`ExtensionGalleryService` (in `Microsoft.CmdPal.Common`) owns the whole
pipeline:

1. **Resolve the feed URL.** Default is
`https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/CmdPal-Extensions/refs/heads/main/extensions.json`.
A hidden setting (`GalleryFeedUrl`) lets developers point at a custom
URL or a `file://` path for local testing.
2. **Fetch** the feed through `ExtensionGalleryHttpClient`, which wraps
`HttpCachingClient` — a conditional-GET + on-disk cache layer built on
`HttpClient` (ETag / `If-None-Match`, 30 s timeout, UA
`PowerToys-CmdPal/1.0`).
3. **Parse** with the source-generated `GallerySerializationContext`
into a strongly-typed `GalleryRemoteIndex` (`{ "extensions": [ ... ]
}`). Entries without an `id` are dropped.
4. **Normalize** relative `iconUrl` / `screenshotUrls` against the feed
URL (useful for local `file://` feeds).
5. **Localize icons.** Each HTTP icon URL is pulled through the same
cache and rewritten to a local `file://` URI before the view model binds
to it, so the list renders instantly on subsequent loads and works
offline.
6. **Prune** cached resources that are no longer referenced, but only
after a successful forced refresh.

The gallery page itself is built on top of `ExtensionGalleryViewModel`,
with `ExtensionGalleryItemViewModel` handling per-entry concerns —
install/update/uninstall (via the shared WinGet service),
installed-state detection, and joining in-flight install progress so the
global `WinGetOperationsButton` in the top bar stays in sync.

### 3. Caching + offline behaviour

The cache lives under
`ApplicationData.Current.LocalCacheFolder\GalleryCache\` when CmdPal
runs packaged, or
`%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\PowerToys\Microsoft.CmdPal\Cache\GalleryCache\`
when unpackaged.

| Resource        | TTL      |
|-----------------|----------|
| `extensions.json` feed | 4 hours |
| Icons (per URL) | 24 hours |

Each fetch returns a `GalleryFetchResult` whose flags drive the UI:

- `FromCache` — cache was still fresh, no network call was made.
- `UsedFallbackCache` — network failed; the last-known-good cached copy
was served instead. The page shows a "showing cached data" info bar.
- `RateLimited` — origin returned `429` and no fallback was available.
The page shows a rate-limit error.

`RefreshAsync` (wired up to the gallery's refresh button) forces a fresh
conditional GET, then prunes any cached files that the new feed no
longer references.

### 4. WinGet install flow

- `installSources[type=winget].id` is handed to the shared WinGet
service for install/update/uninstall.
- In-flight operations are surfaced by `WinGetOperationsButton` in the
top bar with per-operation progress.
- `detection.packageFamilyName` is consulted first so that the gallery
can show "Installed" / "Update available" without waiting on WinGet
metadata.

### Top-level command cleanup

- Removed the separate "Find extensions from WinGet" and "Find
extensions from the Store" top-level commands — the gallery replaces
both.
- Renamed the gallery command to **"Find and install Command Palette
extensions"** and gave it the extensions puzzle-piece icon.

## PR Checklist

- [ ] **Communication:** I've discussed this with core contributors
already. If the work hasn't been agreed, this work might be rejected
- [ ] **Tests:** Added/updated and all pass
- [ ] **Localization:** All end-user-facing strings can be localized
- [ ] **Dev docs:** Added/updated
- [ ] **New binaries:** Added on the required places
- [ ] [JSON for
signing](https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/blob/main/.pipelines/ESRPSigning_core.json)
for new binaries
- [ ] [WXS for
installer](https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/blob/main/installer/PowerToysSetup/Product.wxs)
for new binaries and localization folder
- [ ] [YML for CI
pipeline](https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/blob/main/.pipelines/ci/templates/build-powertoys-steps.yml)
for new test projects
- [ ] [YML for signed
pipeline](https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/blob/main/.pipelines/release.yml)
- [ ] **Documentation updated:** If checked, please file a pull request
on [our docs
repo](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/windows-uwp/tree/docs/hub/powertoys)
and link it here: #xxx

## New projects / areas

| Area | What |
|------|------|
| Microsoft.CmdPal.Common | Gallery models, `ExtensionGalleryService`
(fetch + cache), HTTP caching layer (`HttpCachingClient`,
`FileSystemHttpResourceCacheStore`), WinGet service abstractions and
implementations |
| Microsoft.CmdPal.UI.ViewModels | `ExtensionGalleryViewModel`,
`ExtensionGalleryItemViewModel`, WinGet operation view models, gallery
sort options |
| Microsoft.CmdPal.UI | `ExtensionGalleryPage.xaml`,
`ExtensionGalleryItemPage.xaml`, `IconCarouselControl`,
`WinGetOperationsButton`, service registrations |
| Microsoft.CmdPal.Ext.WinGet | Streamlined — removed the two redundant
"find extensions" top-level commands, kept the general WinGet search
page |
| Tests | Unit tests for gallery service, gallery view models, WinGet
services |
| Docs |
[`doc/devdocs/modules/cmdpal/extension-gallery/extension-gallery.md`](https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/blob/dev/jpolasek/f/46628-cmdpal-extension-gallery/doc/devdocs/modules/cmdpal/extension-gallery/extension-gallery.md)
— dev reference for the runtime, caching, and feed shape |

## Validation Steps Performed

- Gallery loads and displays extensions from the remote index
- Search, sort, and filtering work as expected
- WinGet install/update/uninstall flow works end-to-end with progress
tracking
- Loading state correctly hides all content until data is fetched
- Offline / cache-fallback path surfaces the info bar as expected
- Spell-check CI workflow passes

---------

Co-authored-by: Niels Laute <niels.laute@live.nl>
Co-authored-by: niels9001 <9866362+niels9001@users.noreply.github.com>
2026-05-14 16:30:20 -05:00
..