Microsoft Store distribution

Microsoft Store distribution applies only to Vollcrypt Shield Viewer. The Rust crates, Node binding, filesystem agent, and CLI remain independent packages and do not require consumers to purchase or manage a certificate.

Responsibility boundary

• Vollcrypt, as publisher, owns release signing, Store identity, package qualification, provenance, and supported-platform evidence.
• A user installs the Store-signed Viewer or consumes the published library. They do not add a Vollcrypt root certificate to Windows.
• The temporary Vollcrypt Shield CI certificate exists only inside disposable Windows qualification runners. It is never shipped and is removed after the install/uninstall smoke test.
• Direct GitHub CLI binaries are authenticated by detached GPG signatures and GitHub build provenance. Microsoft Store signing does not sign those files.

Package pipeline

build-store-msix.ps1 creates architecture-specific unsigned MSIX packages from the exact Tauri release executable. It sets the Partner Center identity using structured XML, generates required raster assets, invokes MakeAppx, and unpacks the result before accepting it.

CI builds x64 and ARM64 packages with a non-production identity, applies an ephemeral local qualification signature, installs the package, validates the installed executable architecture, removes the package, and deletes the exact temporary certificate.

Release runs use these repository variables:

• VOLLCRYPT_STORE_IDENTITY_NAME
• VOLLCRYPT_STORE_PUBLISHER
• VOLLCRYPT_STORE_PUBLISHER_DISPLAY_NAME

The values must exactly match Product identity in Partner Center. When all three exist, the release workflow creates unsigned x64 and ARM64 packages, smokes copies of them, and combines the untouched originals into one msixbundle. The bundle is retained as the store-submission-* workflow artifact and is not added to the GitHub release. Microsoft validates and signs that bundle during Store certification.

First publication

1. Create the no-cost Microsoft Store developer account.
2. Reserve the product name Vollcrypt Shield.
3. Copy the assigned package identity values into the repository variables.
4. Run the exact-commit Shield release workflow.
5. Download the store-submission-* artifact and submit the MSIX bundle in Partner Center.
6. Retain certification and installation evidence for x64 and ARM64.

The public privacy policy is https://beratvural.github.io/vollcrypt/PRIVACY-SHIELD.html.