Windows App Certification Kit

Before you submit your app for certification and listing in the Windows Store, use the Windows App Certification Kit (ACK) to test your app and make sure it's ready for submission.

The Windows SDK includes the Windows ACK to test your app for the Windows 8 Certification Program and the Windows 7 Logo Program.

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To self-test your app on Windows RT, use the separate Windows App Certification Kit for Windows RT download.

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What's New

November 16, 2012: Windows ACK 2.2 is now available; this version is required for app submissions to the Windows Store as of December 11, 2012. Windows ACK 2.2 includes bug fixes as well as three new tests:

Optimized binding references (when using bindings, WinJS.Binding.optimizeBindingReferences should be set to TRUE in the app's JavaScript to otpimize the memory usage).
Branding validation (apps should not use the default icons generated by Visual Studio or included in the SDK samples).
Private code signing (remove any private code signing keys, such as .pfx files, from the package).

System requirements

Windows App Certification Kit (Windows SDK)

Note: the Windows SDK for Windows 8 cannot be installed directly on the ARM architecture. You can install the Windows SDK on an x86 or x64 platform to build applications that target the ARM architecture, and then use the Windows App Certification Kit for Windows RT download to test the app on that platform.

Supported Operating Systems: Windows 8 (x86 and x64)
Hardware Requirements: The complete installation of the Windows SDK requires 10 MB to 1 GB hard disk space for installation, depending on the features selected.

Windows App Certification Kit for Windows RT

Supported Operating Systems: Windows RT
Hardware Requirements:

1.6 GHz or faster processor
1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB if running on a virtual machine)
5.0 GB of available hard disk space
5400 RPM hard drive
DirectX 9-capable video card running at 1024 x 768 or higher display resolution