Register a Background Task without running the app

Question

tl;dr: How do I register a Background Task without having to run the app?

Long version:

I want to register a Background Task to run every time the user logs in using SystemTriggerType.UserPresent .

I've found information about registering the Task, but that is code that has to be executed. That would be fine if the Task only has to be executed after the app runs. But how do I register the Task without running the app? A Background Task can be registered by

var builder = new BackgroundTaskBuilder();

and then

builder.Name = taskName;
builder.TaskEntryPoint = taskEntryPoint;
builder.SetTrigger(trigger);
BackgroundTaskRegistration task = builder.Register();

As mentioned here: Register a background task .

But as I said - my question is how to run this code before the app has ever been executed.

Vincent Vincent · Accepted Answer · 2016-12-02T15:18:22

You can use the preInstalledConfigTask extension in your manifest. This task will be started after your application is installed.

Sometimes your application will need to update immediately after being installed. This contract will enable you to immediately launch an update task without any user interaction to make sure your application is updated immediately.

Here is the full list of all the available extensions.

The preInstalledConfigtask can be set using the manifest editor:

 <Extensions>
    <Extension Category="windows.preInstalledConfigTask" EntryPoint="PreInstallTask.Task" />
  </Extensions>

You will find the extension definition in the manifest schema

Register a Background Task without running the app

2 Answers