PWAs on Windows

In one line: On Windows, Microsoft Edge installs a qualifying PWA through its own install feature, and per Microsoft’s documentation the installed app then runs “like other apps” — appearing in the Taskbar (where it can be pinned), listed in the Start menu, and shown when switching windows with Alt+Tab.

Installing on Windows

Per Microsoft’s UX documentation, when Edge determines a site is an installable PWA, an App available icon appears in the address bar. Clicking it opens an install flyout with an Install button; once installed, “the PWA runs in Windows.”

Many PWAs are also listed in the Microsoft Store and, per Microsoft’s overview documentation, are “treated like other apps in the Microsoft Store,” so users can go from discovery to installation to running the app without opening the browser.

Windows integration

Per Microsoft’s documentation, an installed PWA is displayed like a native app on Windows:

• It appears in the Taskbar, where it can be pinned.
• It appears in the Start menu.
• It appears when switching between apps with Alt+Tab.

Users can also set an installed PWA to start automatically when they sign in to Windows, either during installation or afterward from edge://apps.

How to use it

Per MDN’s CSS documentation, display-mode is a media feature whose standalone value matches when “the application will look and feel like a standalone application,” including “its own icon in the application launcher.” Per MDN’s Window.matchMedia() documentation, that method “returns a new MediaQueryList object that can then be used to determine if the document matches the media query,” which lets that CSS media feature be queried from script:

function isStandaloneDisplayMode() {
  if (!('matchMedia' in window)) {
    // Fallback: matchMedia isn't available — assume this is an ordinary tab.
    return false;
  }
  return window.matchMedia('(display-mode: standalone)').matches;
}

if (isStandaloneDisplayMode()) {
  // Currently displayed in standalone mode: skip the install pitch.
} else {
  // Show an install call-to-action instead.
}

Detecting and falling back

The same isStandaloneDisplayMode() check above is the feature-detection step: it tests whether matchMedia exists before calling it, and falls back to treating the page as an ordinary browser tab when the API is unavailable, rather than throwing.

Where it is supported

This entry describes Windows behaviour specific to Microsoft Edge, per Microsoft’s own documentation. The display-mode: standalone media feature queried above is part of the CSS Media Queries specification documented by MDN and is not Windows- or Edge-specific.

Practical checklist

• Don’t assume every user installs from the browser — Microsoft’s documentation says many PWAs are also installed directly from the Microsoft Store listing.
• Per Microsoft’s documentation, PWAs are not supported in FSLogix environments: a PWA can be installed there, but the installation is lost after the user logs off and back on. Warn FSLogix/virtual-desktop users, or avoid relying on a persistent Windows install in that environment.
• Test uninstall behaviour through edge://apps or Windows’ own Apps & features settings, both of which Microsoft documents as valid management surfaces.

Where to go next

• PWAs on Microsoft Edge (sidebar, store)
• Desktop install
• WebAPK availability