How to Set Up Studio for WinJS: Step-by-Step TutorialThis tutorial walks through setting up a development environment for building Windows Store-style apps using WinJS (Windows Library for JavaScript) and a generic “Studio” — interpreted here as an IDE such as Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code configured for WinJS development. It covers installing prerequisites, creating a project, configuring tooling, running and debugging, and tips for deployment and optimization.
What is WinJS and which “Studio” to choose
WinJS is a JavaScript library originally developed by Microsoft to build Windows Store (UWP-style) applications using web technologies (HTML/CSS/JS). It provides UI controls, application lifecycle helpers, data-binding, and patterns that map well to Windows design language.
Choose your “Studio” based on goals:
- Visual Studio (full IDE) — best for creating packaged UWP/WinJS apps, debugging native integration, and deploying to the Microsoft Store.
- Visual Studio Code (lightweight editor) — great for quick development, web-hosted WinJS apps, or when you prefer a faster cross-platform workflow. Requires additional configuration for packaging and native debugging.
Prerequisites
- Windows 10 or later for UWP packaging and the full Visual Studio tooling. (You can develop WinJS web apps on other OSes, but packaging/deployment to Windows requires Windows.)
- Node.js (recommended for build tools, npm packages, and local servers).
- Visual Studio ⁄2022 (recommended workloads: Universal Windows Platform development, Node.js development) or Visual Studio Code with relevant extensions.
- Windows SDK (usually bundled with Visual Studio’s UWP workload).
- (Optional) Git for version control.
Step 1 — Install the IDE and SDK
-
Visual Studio:
- Download and run the Visual Studio installer.
- Select the “Universal Windows Platform development” workload. Add “Node.js development” and “ASP.NET and web development” if you plan on using Node tooling or web tooling.
- Confirm installation of the Windows ⁄11 SDK.
-
Visual Studio Code:
- Download and install VS Code.
- Install extensions: “Live Server” (local web server), “Debugger for Edge/Chrome”, “ESLint”, and “Prettier”.
- Install the “Windows Dev Center SDK” or ensure you have Windows SDK separately for packaging if needed.
-
Install Node.js (LTS) from nodejs.org. Confirm with:
node -v npm -v
Step 2 — Acquire WinJS
WinJS is available via npm and as downloadable packages. Use npm for easiest management.
To add WinJS to a project folder:
npm init -y npm install winjs Alternatively, use a CDN link or download the WinJS library and include it manually:
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/winjs/css/ui-dark.css"> <script src="https://unpkg.com/winjs/js/base.js"></script> <script src="https://unpkg.com/winjs/js/ui.js"></script> Step 3 — Create a new project
A. Visual Studio (UWP/Packaged WinJS app)
- Open Visual Studio → Create a new project.
- Search for “Blank App (Universal Windows)” or “Windows Universal JavaScript App” template if available.
- Choose JavaScript/HTML as the project language (older templates) or create a Cordova/Windows Bridge project and add WinJS files.
- Visual Studio will scaffold package.appxmanifest, default HTML/JS/CSS, and debugging targets (Local Machine, Simulator).
B. Visual Studio Code / Web project
- Create project folder and index.html, default.css, app.js files:
mkdir winjs-studio cd winjs-studio echo "<!doctype html><html><head>...</head><body></body></html>" > index.html - Include WinJS from npm (or CDN) in your HTML.
- Add a simple server script or use Live Server to run locally:
npx live-server
Example index.html skeleton:
<!doctype html> <html> <head> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="node_modules/winjs/css/ui-dark.css"> <script src="node_modules/winjs/js/base.js"></script> <script src="node_modules/winjs/js/ui.js"></script> <title>WinJS App</title> </head> <body> <div id="root" class="win-splitview">Hello WinJS</div> <script src="app.js"></script> </body> </html> Step 4 — Configure build and tooling
-
Use npm scripts in package.json for common tasks:
{ "scripts": { "start": "live-server --open=./index.html", "lint": "eslint .", "build": "echo build step" } } -
If using Visual Studio, configure bundling/minification via Task Runner or use MSBuild targets. For VS Code, set up tasks.json to run npm scripts, and launch.json to configure the browser or Edge debugger.
-
Enable ESLint and Prettier integration for consistent code style. Create .eslintrc and .prettierrc files as needed.
Step 5 — Implement basic WinJS features
-
App structure and activation:
WinJS.Application.onactivated = function (args) { if (args.detail.kind === Windows.ApplicationModel.Activation.ActivationKind.launch) { WinJS.UI.processAll(); } }; WinJS.Application.start(); -
Use WinJS controls (example: ListView):
<div id="listView" data-win-control="WinJS.UI.ListView"></div>var data = new WinJS.Binding.List([{ title: "Item 1" }, { title: "Item 2" }]); var listView = document.getElementById('listView').winControl; listView.itemDataSource = data.dataSource; listView.itemTemplate = function (itemPromise) { return itemPromise.then(function (item) { var el = document.createElement('div'); el.textContent = item.data.title; return el; }); }; -
Navigation and page control:
- Use WinJS.UI.Pages.define to create page lifecycle handlers (ready, unload, updateLayout).
Step 6 — Debugging and testing
Visual Studio:
- Choose target (Local Machine, Simulator) and press F5. Use the Diagnostic Tools and Output windows.
- Set breakpoints in JavaScript files; use the DOM and WinJS helpers in the debugger.
VS Code / Browser:
- Use the Debugger for Edge or Chrome extension. Configure launch.json to attach to a browser instance or open the served page.
- Use DevTools for network, performance, and layout profiling.
Automated testing:
- Use frameworks like Mocha or Jest for JavaScript tests. For UI tests in Visual Studio, use Appium or WinAppDriver for automated UI interaction.
Step 7 — Packaging and deployment
Visual Studio (UWP Packaging):
- Right-click project → Store → Create App Packages.
- Follow wizard to generate .appxupload for submission to Microsoft Store.
For web-hosted WinJS apps:
- Host static files on any web server or CDN.
- If a Progressive Web App (PWA) is desired, add a manifest.json and service worker.
Step 8 — Performance and common gotchas
- Minimize DOM reflows: use document fragments or WinJS.Binding.List and ListView for large data.
- Avoid synchronous long-running scripts on activation; use async patterns (Promises/async-await).
- Watch memory leaks: detach event handlers in page unload/cleanup.
- Ensure correct CSS for different Windows scaling/DPI to preserve layout.
Example small project structure
- winjs-studio/
- index.html
- css/
- site.css
- js/
- app.js
- node_modules/
- package.json
Troubleshooting checklist
- App won’t launch in Visual Studio: confirm UWP workload and Windows SDK installed.
- WinJS controls not rendering: ensure WinJS scripts are loaded before calling WinJS.UI.processAll().
- Debugger not attaching: verify target browser is launched with remote debugging enabled (for Chrome/Edge) or use Visual Studio debug targets.
Further learning resources
- WinJS API reference and docs (search for WinJS or WinJS UI components).
- Tutorials on UWP app packaging and the Microsoft Store submission process.
- Examples and community samples on GitHub that show WinJS patterns.
This guide provides a practical, end-to-end setup workflow for developing with WinJS in either Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code. If you want, I can generate a ready-to-run sample project (zipped file structure and code) or tailor instructions specifically for Visual Studio 2022 or VS Code.
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