winmd-api-search
Search and explore Windows desktop APIs with full type signatures and members.
- Indexes Windows Platform SDK, WinAppSDK, NuGet packages, and project-output WinMD files; Platform SDK and WinAppSDK are available immediately on fresh clones without restore or build
- Two workflows: discover mode for finding the right API by capability keywords, and lookup mode for retrieving exact methods, properties, events, and enum values of known types
- Requires .NET SDK 8.0+ and a one-time cache generation via
Update-WinMdCache.ps1before queries can run - Search scoring ranks results by match type (exact, starts-with, contains, fuzzy) and groups by namespace; low-scoring results can fall back to Microsoft Learn documentation
WinMD API Search
This skill helps you find the right Windows API for any capability and get its full details. It searches a local cache of all WinMD metadata from:
- Windows Platform SDK — all
Windows.*WinRT APIs (always available, no restore needed) - WinAppSDK / WinUI — bundled as a baseline in the cache generator (always available, no restore needed)
- NuGet packages — any additional packages in restored projects that contain
.winmdfiles - Project-output WinMD — class libraries (C++/WinRT, C#) that produce
.winmdas build output
Even on a fresh clone with no restore or build, you still get full Platform SDK + WinAppSDK coverage.
When to Use This Skill
- User wants to build a feature and you need to find which API provides that capability
- User asks "how do I do X?" where X involves a platform feature (camera, files, notifications, sensors, AI, etc.)
- You need the exact methods, properties, events, or enumeration values of a type before writing code
- You're unsure which control, class, or interface to use for a UI or system task
Prerequisites
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