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Allow exporting to hidden files #5795

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Allow exporting to hidden files #5795

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0814cf9
Allow exporting to hidden files
Trenly Oct 10, 2025
b9f4eae
Merge branch 'master' into ExportToHidden
Trenly Oct 15, 2025
ca26d5b
Update release notes
Trenly Oct 15, 2025
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3 changes: 3 additions & 0 deletions doc/ReleaseNotes.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
## New in v1.28

<!-- Nothing yet! -->

## Bug Fixes
* `winget export` now works when the destination path is a hidden file
17 changes: 17 additions & 0 deletions src/AppInstallerCLICore/Workflows/ImportExportFlow.cpp
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Expand Up @@ -157,8 +157,25 @@ namespace AppInstaller::CLI::Workflow
auto packages = PackagesJson::CreateJson(context.Get<Execution::Data::PackageCollection>());

std::filesystem::path outputFilePath{ context.Args.GetArg(Execution::Args::Type::OutputFile) };

// Check if the file exists and is hidden
DWORD attrs = std::filesystem::exists(outputFilePath) ? GetFileAttributesW(outputFilePath.c_str()) : INVALID_FILE_ATTRIBUTES;
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@JohnMcPMS JohnMcPMS Dec 17, 2025

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The exists check shouldn't be necessary; the return value from GetFileAttributesW should be INVALID_FILE_ATTRIBUTES for a non-existent file as well.

bool isHidden = (attrs != INVALID_FILE_ATTRIBUTES && (attrs & FILE_ATTRIBUTE_HIDDEN));

if (isHidden)
{
// Remove hidden attribute so we can write to it
SetFileAttributesW(outputFilePath.c_str(), attrs & ~FILE_ATTRIBUTE_HIDDEN);
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@JohnMcPMS JohnMcPMS Dec 17, 2025

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I would really like it if there were a way to simply open the hidden file rather than changing the attribute. There might be a set of mode options that change the CreateFile call to avoid the documented error state (I would think specifically anything that moves to "open only existing files" might do it. So more of a if (exists) open_existing_with_truncate() else create().

If that cannot be done, then at a minimum we should use a scope exit to reset the attributes.

}

std::ofstream outputFileStream{ outputFilePath };
outputFileStream << packages;

if (isHidden)
{
// Restore hidden attribute
SetFileAttributesW(outputFilePath.c_str(), attrs);
}
}

void ReadImportFile(Execution::Context& context)
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