On December 17, 2014, Microsoft added a way to import eligible TouchDevelop scripts and games into Windows App Studio projects as data-source sections. The feature let creators add interactive elements—such as the quiz in Microsoft’s SocialSki example—but it did not work with every script. Windows App Studio shut down on December 1, 2017, so this is a historical feature, not a current app-building workflow.
What the TouchDevelop integration did
Microsoft described TouchDevelop as a touch-friendly programming environment with a physics engine, a UI framework for composing forms, and high-level APIs for sensors and media. In the December 17, 2014 update, App Studio users could add one or more supported TouchDevelop scripts to a project as sections backed by a TouchDevelop data source. Microsoft’s announcement framed the feature as a way to combine App Studio-built apps with interactive script-based content.
Microsoft illustrated the idea with SocialSki, an App Studio app that presented snow-condition feeds and Vermont ski resort updates, plus a quiz game added from TouchDevelop. The post also mentioned calculators and translators as possible examples; those were suggestions, not documented tests or guarantees about what the integration could support.
Which scripts could be imported?
Compatibility depended on the individual script. Microsoft warned that not every TouchDevelop app or game could be imported, specifically naming scripts that used web requests or certain device capabilities such as Bluetooth and Calendar as possible problems.
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In the original workflow, an App Studio author copied a TouchDevelop script ID into the TouchDevelop DataSource and let App Studio check whether it could import the script. That verification step was specific to the App Studio service; it cannot be used now that the service has ended.
What happened to Windows App Studio?
Microsoft’s Windows Apps Team announced the service’s sunset on June 30, 2017. The notice set out a staged closure: from July 15, 2017, sign-in and project-download changes would restrict access to existing users; on September 15, the editor would stop working and the Dynamic Collections API would stop providing data; and the service would shut down fully on December 1, 2017. Microsoft’s sunset notice described App Studio as a free online app-creation tool.
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The same notice called Windows Template Studio “the evolution of Windows App Studio.” Microsoft had introduced Template Studio in May 2017 as an open-source Visual Studio wizard for scaffolding Universal Windows Platform projects. The cited successor materials do not say that it retained TouchDevelop script import, so the App Studio integration should not be assumed to have carried over.
What the announcement meant for app distribution
In the 2014 release context, App Studio projects containing imported scripts could be generated as AppX packages for sideloading on a phone, tablet, or PC running Windows 8.1, or distributed through the Windows Phone or Windows Store channels described in the announcement. These are historical platform and distribution details, not current instructions for publishing an app.
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Microsoft reported 2.3 million Windows App Studio users and more than 250,000 registered TouchDevelop users in that announcement. Those are Microsoft’s figures from 2014; the post does not explain how they were measured, and they should not be read as current user counts.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.TouchDevelop today
Microsoft Research’s TouchDevelop page describes a touchscreen-oriented programming environment where people could write scripts on a device, use sensor data, and work with cloud features. It records the project’s establishment as July 20, 2011 and includes historical Windows Phone release notes. That page does not establish whether the legacy TouchDevelop app, web services, or script bazaar are operational today; their present availability should therefore be treated as unverified.
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