C# sample: app submission with game options and trailers

This article provides C# code examples that demonstrate how to use the Microsoft Store submission API for these tasks:

  • Obtain an Azure AD access token to use with the Microsoft Store submission API.
  • Create an app submission
  • Configure Store listing data for the app submission, including the gaming and trailers advanced listing options.
  • Upload the ZIP file containing the packages, listing images, and trailer files for the app submission.
  • Commit the app submission.

You can review each example to learn more about the task it demonstrates, or you can build all the code examples in this article into a console application. To build the examples, create a C# console application named DevCenterApiSample in Visual Studio, copy each example to a separate code file in the project, and build the project.

Prerequisites

These examples have the following requirements:

  • Add a reference to the System.Web assembly in your project.
  • Install the Newtonsoft.Json NuGet package from Newtonsoft to your project.

Create an app submission

The CreateAndSubmitSubmissionExample class defines a public Execute method that calls other example methods to use the Microsoft Store submission API to create and commit an app submission that contains game options and a trailer. To adapt this code for your own use:

using System;
using System.Threading;
using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;

namespace DevCenterApiSample
{
    public class CreateAndSubmitSubmissionExample
    {
        public static void Execute()
        {
            // Add your tenant ID, client ID, and client secret here.
            string tenantId = "";
            string clientId = "";
            string clientSecret = "";
            var accessTokenClient = new DevCenterAccessTokenClient(tenantId, clientId, clientSecret);

            string accessToken = accessTokenClient.GetAccessToken("https://manage.devcenter.microsoft.com");
            var devCenter = new DevCenterClient(accessToken);

            // The application ID is taken from your app dashboard page's URI in Dev Center,
            // e.g. https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/dashboard/apps/{application_id}/
            string applicationId = "{application_id}";

            // Get the application object, and cancel any in progress submissions.
            JObject app = devCenter.GetApplication(applicationId);
            JToken inProgressSubmission = app.GetValue("pendingApplicationSubmission");
            if (inProgressSubmission != null)
            {
                string inProgressSubmissionId = inProgressSubmission.Value<string>("id");
                devCenter.CancelInProgressSubmission(applicationId, inProgressSubmissionId);
            }

            // Create a new submission, based on the last published submission.
            JObject submission = devCenter.CreateSubmission(applicationId);
            string submissionId = submission.GetValue("id").Value<string>();

            // The following fields are required.
            submission["applicationCategory"] = "Games_Fighting";
            submission["listings"] = GetListingsObject();
            submission["pricing"] = GetPricingObject();
            submission["packages"] = new JArray() { GetPackageObject() };
            submission["allowTargetFutureDeviceFamilies"] = GetDeviceFamiliesObject();

            // The app must have the hasAdvancedListingPermission set to True in order for gaming options
            // and trailers to be applied. If that's not the case, you can still update the app and
            // its submissions through the API, but gaming options and trailers won't be saved.
            if (app["hasAdvancedListingPermission"] == null || app["hasAdvancedListingPermission"].Value<bool>() == false)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("This application does not support gaming options or trailers.");
            }
            else
            {
                // Gaming options is an array. A maximum of one value may be provided.
                submission["gamingOptions"] = new JArray(GetGamingOptionsObject());

                // A maximum of 15 trailers may be provided in the trailers array.
                submission["trailers"] = new JArray(GetTrailerObject());
            }                

            // Continue updating the submission_json object with additional options as needed.
            // After you've finished, call the Update API with the code below to save it.
            JObject updatedSubmission = devCenter.UpdateSubmission(applicationId, submissionId, submission);

            // All images and packages should be located in a single ZIP file. In the submission JSON, 
            // the file names for all objects requiring them (icons, packages, etc.) must exactly 
            // match the file names from the ZIP file.
            string zipFilePath = "";
            devCenter.UploadZipFileForSubmission(applicationId, submissionId, zipFilePath);

            // Committing the submission will start the submission process for it. Once committed,
            // the submission can no longer be changed.
            devCenter.CommitSubmission(applicationId, submissionId);

            // After committing, you can poll the commit API for the status of the submission's process using
            // the following code.
            bool waitingForCommitToStart = true;
            while (waitingForCommitToStart)
            {
                string status = devCenter.GetSubmissionStatus(applicationId, submissionId);
                Console.WriteLine($"Submission status: {status}");
                waitingForCommitToStart = status.Equals("CommitStarted");
                if (waitingForCommitToStart)
                {
                    Thread.Sleep(TimeSpan.FromMinutes(1)); // Wait to check Dev Center again.	
                }
            }
        }

        private static JObject GetListingsObject()
        {
            // This structure holds basic information to display in the store.
            var baseListing = new JObject();
            baseListing.Add("copyrightAndTrademarkInfo", "(C) 2017 Microsoft");
            baseListing.Add("licenseTerms", "http://example.com/licenseTerms.aspx");
            baseListing.Add("privacyPolicy", "http://example.com/privacyPolicy.aspx");
            baseListing.Add("supportContact", "support@example.com");
            baseListing.Add("websiteUrl", "http://example.com");
            baseListing.Add("description", "A sample game showing off gameplay options code.");
            baseListing.Add("releaseNotes", "Initial release");

            // The title of the app must match a reserved name for the app in Dev Center.
            // If it doesn't, attempting to update the submission will fail.
            baseListing.Add("title", "Super Game Options API Simulator 2017");

            var keywords = new JArray();
            keywords.Add("SampleApp");
            keywords.Add("SampleFightingGame");
            keywords.Add("GameOptions");
            baseListing.Add("keywords", keywords);

            var features = new JArray();
            features.Add("Doesn't crash");
            features.Add("Likes to eat chips");
            baseListing.Add("features", features);

            // If your app works better with specific hardware (or needs it), you can
            // add or update values here.
            var hardwarePreferences = new JArray()
            {
                "Keyboard",
                "Mouse"
            };
            baseListing.Add("hardwarePreferences", hardwarePreferences);

            var images = new JArray();

            // There are several types of images available; at least one screenshot
            // is required.
            var image = new JObject();

            // The file name is relative to the root of the uploaded ZIP file.
            image.Add("fileName", "img/screenshot.png");
            image.Add("description", "A basic screenshot of the app.");
            image.Add("imageType", "Screenshot");
            images.Add(image);
            baseListing.Add("images", images);

            var listing = new JObject();
            listing.Add("baseListing", baseListing);

            // If there are any specific overrides to above information for Windows 8,
            // Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 7.1, 8.0, or 8.1, you can add information here.
            listing.Add("platformOverrides", new JObject());

            // Each listing is targeted at a specific language-locale code, e.g. EN-US.
            var listings = new JObject();
            listings.Add("en-us", listing);
            return listings;
        }

        private static JObject GetPackageObject()
        {
            var package = new JObject()
            {
                // The file name is relative to the root of the uploaded ZIP file.
                ["fileName"] = "bin/super_dev_ctr_api_sim.appxupload",

                // If you haven't begun to upload the file yet, set this value to "PendingUpload".
                ["fileStatus"] = "PendingUpload"
            };
            return package;
        }

        private static JObject GetPricingObject()
        {
            var pricing = new JObject();

            // How long the trial period is, if one is allowed. Valid values are NoFreeTrial,
            // OneDay, SevenDays, FifteenDays, ThirtyDays, or TrialNeverExpires.
            pricing.Add("trialPeriod", "NoFreeTrial");

            // Maps to the default price for the app.
            pricing.Add("priceId", "Free");

            // If you'd like to offer your app in different markets at different prices, you
            // can provide priceId values per language/locale code.
            pricing.Add("marketSpecificPricing", new JObject());
            return pricing;
        }

        private static JObject GetDeviceFamiliesObject()
        {
            var futureDeviceFamilies = new JObject();

            // Supported values are Desktop, Mobile, Xbox, and Holographic. To make
            // the app available on that specific platform, set the value to True.
            futureDeviceFamilies.Add("Desktop", true);
            futureDeviceFamilies.Add("Mobile", false);
            futureDeviceFamilies.Add("Xbox", true);
            futureDeviceFamilies.Add("Holographic", false);
            return futureDeviceFamilies;
        }
        
        private static JObject GetTrailerObject()
        {
            // Add an example trailer.
            var trailer = new JObject();

            // This is the filename of the trailer. The file name is a relative path to the
            // root of the ZIP file to be uploaded to the API.
            trailer["VideoFileName"] = "trailers/main/my_awesome_trailer.mpeg";

            // Aside from the video itself, a trailer can have image assets such as screenshots
            // or alternate images.
            var trailerAssets = new JObject();
            trailer["TrailerAssets"] = trailerAssets;

            // Add trailer assets for the EN-US market.
            var trailerAsset = new JObject();
            trailerAssets["en-us"] = trailerAsset;

            // The title of the trailer to display in the store.
            trailerAsset["Title"] = "Main Trailer";

            // The list of images provided with the trailer that are shown
            // when the trailer isn't playing.
            var imageList = new JArray();
            trailerAsset["ImageList"] = imageList;

            // Add a few images to the image list.
            var thumbnailImage = new JObject()
            {
                // The file name of the image. The file name is a relative
                // path to the root of the ZIP
                // file to be uploaded to the API.
                ["FileName"] = "trailers/main/thumbnail.png",

                // A plaintext description of what the image represents.
                ["Description"] = "The thumbnail for the trailer shown " + "before the user clicks play"
            };
            imageList.Add(thumbnailImage);

            var altImage = new JObject()
            {
                ["FileName"] = "trailers/main/alt-img.png",
                ["Description"] = "The image to show after the trailer plays"
            };
            imageList.Add(altImage);

            return trailer;
        }

        private static JObject GetGamingOptionsObject()
        {
            var gamingOptions = new JObject();

            // The genres of your game.
            var genres = new JArray();
            genres.Add("Games_Fighting");
            gamingOptions["genres"] = genres;

            // Set this to true if your game supports local multiplayer. This field
            // is required.
            gamingOptions["isLocalMultiplayer"] = true;

            // If local multiplayer is supported, you must provide the minimum and
            // maximum players supported. Valid values are between 2 and 1000 inclusive.
            gamingOptions["localMultiplayerMinPlayers"] = 2;
            gamingOptions["localMultiplayerMaxPlayers"] = 4;

            // Set this to True if your game supports local co-op play. This field is required.
            gamingOptions["isLocalCooperative"] = true;

            // If local co-op is supported, you must provide the minimum and maximum players
            // supported. Valid values are between 2 and 1000 inclusive.			
            gamingOptions["localCooperativeMinPlayers"] = 2;
            gamingOptions["localCooperativeMaxPlayers"] = 4;

            // Set this to True if your game supports online multiplayer. This field is required.
            gamingOptions["isOnlineMultiplayer"] = true;

            // If online multiplayer is supported, you must provide the minimum and maximum players
            // supported. Valid values are between 2 and 1000 inclusive.
            gamingOptions["onlineMultiplayerMinPlayers"] = 2;
            gamingOptions["onlineMultiplayerMaxPlayers"] = 4;

            // Set this to true if your game supports online co-op play. This field is required. 
            gamingOptions["isOnlineCooperative"] = true;

            // If online co-op is supported, you must provide the minimum and maximum players
            // supported. Valid values are between 2 and 1000 inclusive.
            gamingOptions["onlineCooperativeMinPlayers"] = 2;
            gamingOptions["onlineCooperativeMaxPlayers"] = 4;

            // If your game supports broadcasting a stream to other players, set this field to True.
            // This field is required.
            gamingOptions["isBroadcastingPrivilegeGranted"] = true;

            // If your game supports cross-device play (e.g. a player can play on an Xbox One with
            // their friend who's playing on a PC), set this field to True. This field is required.
            gamingOptions["isCrossPlayEnabled"] = true;

            // If your game supports Kinect usage, set this field to "Enabled", otherwise, set it to
            // "Disabled". This field is required.
            gamingOptions["kinectDataForExternal"] = "Disabled";

            // Free text about any other peripherals that your game supports. This field is optional.
            gamingOptions["otherPeripherals"] = "Supports the usage of all fighting joysticks.";
            return gamingOptions;
        }
    }
}

Obtain an Azure AD access token

The DevCenterAccessTokenClient class defines a helper method that uses the your tenantId, clientId and clientSecret values to create an Azure AD access token to use with the Microsoft Store submission API.

using System.Net.Http;
using System.Text;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;

namespace DevCenterApiSample
{
    /// <summary>
    /// A client for getting access tokens to the Dev Center API.
    /// </summary>
    public class DevCenterAccessTokenClient
    {
        private string _tenantId;
        private string _clientId;
        private string _clientSecret;

        /// <summary>
        /// Creates a new instance of the <see cref="DevCenterAccessTokenClient"/> class.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="tenantId">The AAD tenant ID.</param>
        /// <param name="clientId">The AAD client ID.</param>
        /// <param name="clientSecret">The AAD client secret.</param>
        public DevCenterAccessTokenClient(string tenantId, string clientId, string clientSecret)
        {
            _tenantId = tenantId;
            _clientId = clientId;
            _clientSecret = clientSecret;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Generates an access token to the specified resource URI.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="resource">The resource URI.</param>
        /// <returns>An access token for authentication.</returns>
        public string GetAccessToken(string resource)
        {
            // Generate access token. Access token is valid for 1 hour. Regenerate access token when needed
            HttpRequestMessage tokenRequest = new HttpRequestMessage(HttpMethod.Post, $"https://login.microsoftonline.com/{_tenantId}/oauth2/token");
            string tokenRequestBody = $"grant_type=client_credentials&client_id={_clientId}&client_secret={_clientSecret}&resource={resource}";
            tokenRequest.Content = new StringContent(tokenRequestBody, Encoding.UTF8, "application/x-www-form-urlencoded");

            HttpClient client = new HttpClient();
            HttpResponseMessage response = client.SendAsync(tokenRequest).GetAwaiter().GetResult();
            string responseBody = response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync().GetAwaiter().GetResult();
            JObject responseJson = (JObject)JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(responseBody);

            tokenRequest.Dispose();
            client.Dispose();
            response.Dispose();

            return responseJson["access_token"].Value<string>() ?? string.Empty;
        }
    }
}

Helper methods to invoke the submission API and upload submission files

The DevCenterClient class defines helper methods that invoke a variety of methods in the Microsoft Store submission API and upload the ZIP file containing the packages, listing images, and trailer files for the app submission.

using System;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Net.Http.Headers;
using System.Text;
using System.Web;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;
using System.IO;

namespace DevCenterApiSample
{
    /// <summary>
    /// A client for accessing the Dev Center APIs.
    /// </summary>
    public class DevCenterClient
    {
        private string _accessToken;
        private Uri _baseUri;

        /// <summary>
        /// Creates a new instance of the <see cref="DevCenterClient"/> class.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="accessToken">The access token to authenticate to the service with.</param>
        public DevCenterClient(string accessToken)
        {
            _baseUri = new Uri("https://manage.devcenter.microsoft.com");
            _accessToken = accessToken;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Retrieves the JSON object representing the application from Dev Center.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="applicationId">The application ID.</param>
        /// <returns>A JObject that may be navigated.</returns>
        /// <remarks>
        /// The application ID is taken from your app dashboard page's URI in Dev Center,
        /// e.g. https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/dashboard/apps/{application_id}/
        /// </remarks>
        public JObject GetApplication(string applicationId) 
            => Invoke(HttpMethod.Get, $"/v1.0/my/applications/{applicationId}");

        /// <summary>
        /// Cancels an in-progress submission for the app.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="applicationId">The application ID.</param>
        /// <param name="submissionId">The submission ID.</param>
        /// <returns></returns>
        public void CancelInProgressSubmission(string applicationId, string submissionId)
            => Invoke(HttpMethod.Delete, $"/v1.0/my/applications/{applicationId}/submissions/{submissionId}");

        /// <summary>
        /// Creates a new in-progress submission for the application.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="applicationId">The application ID.</param>
        /// <returns>A JObject that may navigated.</returns>
        public JObject CreateSubmission(string applicationId)
            => Invoke(HttpMethod.Post, $"/v1.0/my/applications/{applicationId}/submissions");

        /// <summary>
        /// Updates the submission with the new data provided.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="applicationId">The application ID.</param>
        /// <param name="submissionId">The submission ID.</param>
        /// <param name="submission">The submission body.</param>
        /// <returns>The updated submission JObject.</returns>
        public JObject UpdateSubmission(string applicationId, string submissionId, JObject submission)
            => Invoke(HttpMethod.Put, $"/v1.0/my/applications/{applicationId}/submissions/{submissionId}", submission);

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets the submission from Dev Center.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="applicationId">The application ID.</param>
        /// <param name="submissionId">The submission ID.</param>
        /// <returns>The submission object from Dev Center.</returns>
        public JObject GetSubmission(string applicationId, string submissionId)
            => Invoke(HttpMethod.Get, $"/v1.0/my/applications/{applicationId}/submissions/{submissionId}");

        /// <summary>
        /// Commits the submission to Dev Center.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="applicationId">The application ID.</param>
        /// <param name="submissionId">The submission ID.</param>
        /// <remarks>
        /// Once a submission is committed, Dev Center will begin processing and certifying it;
        /// it can no longer be changed after this point.
        /// </remarks>
        public void CommitSubmission(string applicationId, string submissionId)
            => Invoke(HttpMethod.Post, $"/v1.0/my/applications/{applicationId}/submissions/{submissionId}/commit");

        /// <summary>
        /// Returns the current submission commit status.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="applicationId">The application ID.</param>
        /// <param name="submissionId">The submission ID.</param>
        /// <returns>The submission status.</returns>
        public string GetSubmissionStatus(string applicationId, string submissionId)
        {
            JObject response = GetSubmission(applicationId, submissionId);
            string status = response.Value<string>("status") ?? "Unknown";
            return status;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Uploads the ZIP file containing assets for the submission to the submission in Dev Center.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="applicationId">The application ID.</param>
        /// <param name="submissionId">The submission ID.</param>
        /// <param name="zipFilePath">The path to the ZIP file.</param>
        public void UploadZipFileForSubmission(string applicationId, string submissionId, string zipFilePath)
        {
            JObject submission = GetSubmission(applicationId, submissionId);
            string fileUploadUrl = submission["fileUploadUri"].Value<string>();

            HttpRequestMessage uploadRequest = new HttpRequestMessage(HttpMethod.Put, fileUploadUrl.Replace("+", "%2B")); // Encode '+', otherwise it will be decoded as ' ' 
            uploadRequest.Content = new StreamContent(File.OpenRead(zipFilePath));
            uploadRequest.Headers.Add("x-ms-blob-type", "BlockBlob");

            HttpClient httpClient = new HttpClient();
            HttpResponseMessage uploadResponse = httpClient.SendAsync(uploadRequest).GetAwaiter().GetResult();
            uploadResponse.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();

            uploadRequest.Dispose();
            uploadResponse.Dispose();
            httpClient.Dispose();
        }

        private JObject Invoke(HttpMethod method, string path, JObject body = null)
        {
            HttpRequestMessage request = new HttpRequestMessage(method, new Uri(_baseUri, path));
            request.Headers.Authorization = new AuthenticationHeaderValue("Bearer", _accessToken);
            request.Headers.UserAgent.ParseAdd("C-Sharp");
            if (body != null)
            {
                request.Content = new StringContent(body.ToString(), Encoding.UTF8, "application/json");
            }

            HttpClient client = new HttpClient();
            HttpResponseMessage response = client.SendAsync(request).GetAwaiter().GetResult();
            string responseContent = response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync().GetAwaiter().GetResult();

            if (!response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
            {
                string message = string.IsNullOrEmpty(responseContent) ? response.ReasonPhrase : responseContent;
                throw new HttpException((int)response.StatusCode, message);
            }

            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(responseContent))
            {
                return null;
            }

            client.Dispose();
            request.Dispose();
            response.Dispose();

            JObject responseObject = (JObject)JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(responseContent);
            return responseObject;
        }
    }
}