Launching a Store-Installed App From the Command Line

Starting a normal app from the command line (or a script or a scheduled task) is easy. Just start the executable.

However, apps that are installed from the Windows Store don't have executables. So, how do you start them?

The simplest way is if the app has a custom protocol. If it does, then it's just a case of calling start and then the protocol. So, you could do something like this:

start microsoftvideo:

If you want to add a custom protocol to your app, see this link. 

If the app doesn't have its own custom protocol, then you'll have to launch it via the shell. Actually, the shell has its own protocol, so you call something like this:

start shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.WindowsStore_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App

Here,  Microsoft.WindowsStore_8wekyb3d8bbwe is the PFN (Product Family Name) of the app to launch. Fortunately, these names are easy to find as there are folders with these names for each of the installed apps at  C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Packages.

That folder also includes some things you can't call directly plus some folders that are actually part of other experiences (try start shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.Windows.SecondaryTileExperience_cw5n1h2txyewy!App) so you can't use everything there.