We can no longer run Microsoft Store on 1809/LTSC 2019
50 comments
·May 13, 2025bradford
sgjohnson
> Why doesn't the README file explain what this repository is doing?
It explains exactly what it's doing.
"Microsoft Store package for Windows LTSC."
It provides a Microsoft Store package for LTSC builds, and an install script that allows it to actually work. Windows LTSC builds don't have Microsoft Store preinstalled, and Microsoft offers no official way to re-enable it.
bradford
Ok, but the brief README links to an actual microsoft.com domain (https://www.microsoft.com/store).
Why would you need a package to wrap a website? Wouldn't the website be accessible on a LTSC build, even if the official package isn't available?
If this is filling a highly useful role that I'm admittedly oblivious to, why are there only three commits in the project history?
(Best I can tell, this is a personal project that somehow made it to HN front page)
nodja
The store is also an app on windows and is sometimes an hard dependency to install apps that only exist on the windows store without having to jump through many hoops. It's usually part of windows itself in the regular retail builds of windows, but LTSC which is meant for enterprise and embedded system does not include it. Installing it is not straightforward which is what this repo provides.
There's no source code, it's a just a bunch of binaries and an install/uninstall script.
Edit: I should clarify that the link provided in the repo is not the microsoft store that the apps refer to. This would be a better link https://apps.microsoft.com
donnachangstein
> Windows LTSC builds don't have Microsoft Store preinstalled
No, it's not that it isn't "preinstalled", the Microsoft Store is literally not supported on LTSC, by design. LTSC was never intended to run the Store. The original use case for LTSC was for ATMs, industrial control equipment, hospitals, and the like, where IoT wasn't appropriate, where you needed the ability to run full desktop applications.
> Microsoft offers no official way to re-enable it.
Yeah that's because the Store was never supposed to run on LTSC. It's not supported. Why would they offer an official way to re-enable it? The whole point of LTSC is that it doesn't include the store.
If someone cobbled together an ugly hack to shoehorn it in, by definition it could break at any time.
Which it has.
There is no customer for this.
jaoane
If by "customer" you mean "way of making money", I agree, since I didn’t pay for it. OTOH, I have been running LTSC on my desktop for years because it's the best edition of Windows, and I haven't had any issues with the Store, which I had to install manually, thus far.
qmr
> There is no customer for this.
Lots of people including myself run LTSC to minimize Microsoft shitware.
sarahdellysse
Yeah they do. Run `wsreset.exe -i` in powershell and it'll install the Windows Store after a few minutes.
lp0_on_fire
I don't think there's anything nefarious going on here but to someone just quickly looking over the page it has the impression of being an official Microsoft project, given the gratuitous use of their trademark and zero mention of it being a "community" effort.
numpad0
I'm guessing this is "Tell HN: $TITLE", with a random README.md as source, in lieu of some random blog post
richardwhiuk
The license file in that repo is truely comical.
thangngoc89
FYI: 1809/LTSC 2019 refer to the long term support build of Windows 10. Took me a while to figure this out.
throitallaway
Microsoft has jumped the shark with the way they're pushing their apps through this. It recently took me ~15 minutes of figuring out how to install the Windows Terminal on a newish version of Windows Server. Visiting Microsoft's website to download it was fruitless; the Github releases page was where I needed to be.
steelbrain
In Windows terminology LTSC = Long-Term Servicing Channel
which is similar to
Ubuntu, Node.js etc calling it it LTS = Long Term Support
nodja
It's more than that, or in this case, less.
This is a build of windows targeting long term deployments and embedded system, so it's essentially a pared down version of windows to reduce memory requirements. One of those things is the microsoft store which is often needed to install certain apps without having to mess around with the command line, etc.
doublerabbit
Sounds more like a blessing than a curse.
jandrese
Especially on LTSC hosts.
I had a very Jeremy Clarkson "Oh no! Anyway..." moment reading the headline.
lousken
does it mean winget will stop working as well?
SSLy
only for the msstore hosted stuff, repo should be fine
bongodongobob
Yeah, you're on LTSC. The only reason you should be using it is because you have a critical app that requires it for some reason, not the app store.
sgjohnson
Or you run it because you don't want all the bloat that Windows comes with by default...
My gaming PC runs Windows 11 LTSC.
bigyabai
Using LTSC to avoid bloat is like removing the chairs and radio from your car to reduce weight. My experience with Win 10 LTSC was not terribly faster than Windows 10 Home, and night-and-day slower compared to a GNOME or KDE setup.
I suppose it's a fair play if you're contractually obligated to play Riot-published games or something, but... man. I've had better performance playing games on DXVK since 2016. Windows is a heavy hog.
thot_experiment
> Using LTSC to avoid bloat is like removing the chairs and radio from your car to reduce weight.
LOL, I don't think that's how you meant it, but 100% agreed those are some of the first things to go when you wanna have fun in a car.
Windows LTSC is an amazing experience compared to vanilla windows, it's actually a decent OS that you can more or less control and you don't have to spend a weekend debloating and figuing out how to rip out cortana and ads and all the other garbage.
sgjohnson
It's not about performance. It's about not having Candy Crush Saga ads in the Start menu.
DrillShopper
I considered that on my new gaming PC, but I installed Arch and it plays every game that I care about just fine.
throitallaway
I have a dedicated Windows 11 gaming laptop and I'm about at my breaking point of putting another drive in it to test out the games that I care about on Linux. Windows was tolerable to use just for gaming, but the hoops that you have to go through to do some things in Windows are ridiculous. Removing the Game Bar (and stopping Windows from bugging you about it afterwards) is way more difficult than it should be. Also the driver update ping-pong that happens with my Intel video card is maddening. I'll have the driver fully updated and functional, then Windows Update periodically decides to downgrade it to one that's ~2 years old (which breaks stuff.)
jaoane
>The only reason you should be using it is because you have a critical app that requires it for some reason
Yes, my sanity.
CamperBob2
Oh no!
Anyway
Havoc
Honestly if I never see MS store again I’ll consider it a win. Had plenty frustrating experiences with it and very positives
Demiurge
If Windows was open source, we could have avoided this.
notpushkin
Microsoft <3 Open Source! (but only if they can make money on it)
redundantly
Microsoft EEEs Open Source.
dehrmann
How many major distros support releases for 6 years?
flmontpetit
From a quick search, Ubuntu LTS releases are supported for 5 years as a baseline, and Ubuntu Pro goes up to 12 years. RHEL releases are supported for 10 years.
I'm guessing it's similar with SUSE and other "business" distros.
carlwgeorge
Ubuntu Pro and RHEL are both 10 years for their standard lifecycle, with optional add-ons to go longer. Ubuntu's is called "Legacy Support" to get an extra 2 years, RHEL's is called "Extended Life-cycle Support" to get an extra 3-4 years.
https://ubuntu.com/about/release-cycle#server-desktop-eol-ol...
https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata#Life...
Demiurge
I was wondering how many people would take my comment seriously. Looks like at least 5 people.
axus
CentOS 7 is open source but here we are!
Why is a repository called 'Microsoft Store' being hosted on a seemingly random github account?
Why doesn't the README file explain what this repository is doing?
OP, what did you hope to accomplish with this submission?
The lack of support on LTSC is the least baffling thing going on here but I'm open to the possibility that I'm misunderstanding something....