"Access Denied" with latest Phi Silica capabilities with 1.7 experimental 3

[StevenBucher98]

Describe the bug

I have been having some trouble getting the new phi silica SDK capabilities working on the experiment 3 release. For one I had to add <WindowsAppSDKSelfContained>true</WindowsAppSDKSelfContained> to my csproj file in order for the program to fine the registered files so I suggest adding details on adding this in the instructions in the docs.

My main issue now is with some weird "Access Denied" bug when I try to run the simple console app example.

Steps to reproduce the bug

In VSCode try the following code given all necessary pre-reqs in the doc and try running it.

using Microsoft.Windows.AI.Generative;

if (!LanguageModel.IsAvailable())
{
    var op = LanguageModel.MakeAvailableAsync().GetResults();
}

using LanguageModel languageModel = LanguageModel.CreateAsync().GetResults();

string prompt = "Provide the molecular formula for glucose.";

var result = languageModel.GenerateResponseAsync(prompt).GetResults();

Console.WriteLine(result.Response);

Expected behavior

The molecular formula for glucose is C6H12O6.

Screenshots

NuGet package version

Windows App SDK 1.7 Experimental 3: 1.7.250127003-experimental3

Packaging type

Unpackaged

Windows version

Windows 11 version 24H2 (22621, October 2024 Update)

IDE

Visual Studio 2022

Additional context

I am not sure if this is packaged or unpackaged

[eduhrami]

If the app is not packaged it will not work. You can check if your app is a package in the debug button.

[connorMicrosoft]

Hey Steven,

Thanks for trying this out!

There are two issues here:

1. You're trying to use self-contained mode, which we don't currently support. We'll get our release notes updates to make this more clear.
2. You're trying to use .GetResults() incorrectly. The docs are correct - they use await instead. There is additional work if you want to use GetResults() . You can use await keyword for async function or .GetAwaiter().GetResult() instead for a similar result.

[StevenBucher98]

Thank you both! If I don't include the <WindowsAppSDKSelfContained>true</WindowsAppSDKSelfContained> in the csproj then I get this following error

I changed back to use await like in the docs.

My debug button looks like this

@eduhrami does this mean its unpackaged? and if so how do I package it?

[eduhrami]

Hey @StevenBucher98 , sorry the late reply. The easiest way to get a packaged app would be to create your project using the "Blank App, Packaged Win UI" template from the Create New Project Wizard.

[pratikone]

Thanks for reporting this @StevenBucher98
WCR apis will work with packaged as well as unpackaged apps.
I followed your instructions and found the issue too.
Turns out a C# console app due to some issue, doesn't define itself as packaged or unpackaged. This confuses WCR apis and they don't work. I will file a bug internally.

As for a workaround, you can explicitly mentiond
<WindowsPackageType>None</WindowsPackageType> in your .csproj of the project and WCR apis should start working.This will define your app as unpackaged.

I am using the following snippet . You can use something similar or the await instructions from the docs.

if (!LanguageModel.IsAvailable())
{
    var op = LanguageModel.MakeAvailableAsync().GetAwaiter().GetResult();
}

using LanguageModel languageModel = LanguageModel.CreateAsync().GetResults();
string prompt = "Provide the molecular formula for glucose.";

var result = languageModel.GenerateResponseAsync(prompt).GetAwaiter().GetResult();
Console.WriteLine(result.Response);
`

[daxian-dbw]

@pratikone This is great to know! Thank you!

The documentation says "Unpackaged apps are currently unsupported", so will it suddenly stops working for an unpackaged app (regular console app) at some point?

[pratikone]

That is definitely a mistake. Self-contained are currently unsupported. We will get the docs fixed. Thanks for reporting.
Unpackaged apps are supported. They require installing winappruntime explicitly from the installer (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/windows-app-sdk/downloads)

Edit : It is fixed in docs https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ai/apis/

[daxian-dbw]

@pratikone That's great to know. Thank you very much!