Fix MakePri.exe telemetry assembly loading error when updating Windows App SDK #4
Conversation
Co-authored-by: LegendaryBlair <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: LegendaryBlair <[email protected]>
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How come disable telemetry would make the build successful? I don't understand. |
The issue is directly related to how MakePri.exe attempts to load telemetry functionality during the build process. When upgrading the Windows App SDK NuGet package, MakePri.exe tries to initialize telemetry which requires the 'Microsoft.VisualStudio.Utilities.Internal' assembly. If this assembly isn't found (which happens frequently in CI/CD environments or when Visual Studio components aren't completely installed), the build fails. By disabling telemetry in MakePri.exe through environment variables and MSBuild properties, we prevent it from trying to load the missing assembly in the first place. This isn't a Visual Studio cache issue because:
This fix (in commit 1cd8392) ensures builds succeed regardless of the environment setup by making MakePri.exe skip the telemetry initialization entirely. |
No, I don't think the issue occurs consistently as the issue does not even repro in another environment if you look at the comment threads of the issue. |
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One more thing, how come disable telemetry would change the behavior to let MakePri.exe not loading the required assembly? |
You're right that the issue doesn't reproduce in all environments. I should have been more specific - the issue occurs intermittently, primarily in certain build environments where the Visual Studio components are installed differently or missing specific assemblies. The PR description mentions "intermittently" which better reflects the actual behavior. The fix still provides value by preventing the error in environments where it does occur, without negatively affecting environments where it doesn't. This approach ensures consistency across different build setups.
The telemetry disabling works by preventing MakePri.exe from initializing its telemetry components altogether. When MakePri.exe starts, it checks for environment variables and configuration settings to determine if telemetry should be enabled. By setting Since the telemetry code path is never executed, MakePri.exe never attempts to load the Microsoft.VisualStudio.Utilities.Internal assembly (which is only needed for telemetry functionality), thus avoiding the FileNotFoundException. |
Problem
When upgrading the Windows App SDK NuGet package to a newer version in a packaged WinUI3 C++ application, builds can intermittently fail with the following error:
This occurs because MakePri.exe attempts to use Visual Studio's telemetry functionality but can't find the required assembly.
Solution
This PR adds a telemetry disabler for MakePri.exe that prevents the error by:
Creating a new targets file (
Microsoft.Build.Msix.Pri.DisableTelemetry.targets) that:Including this targets file in both:
Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK.Foundation.targetsWindowsAppSDK-Nuget-Native.targetsThis approach ensures the telemetry is disabled regardless of how MakePri.exe is invoked during the build process, allowing builds to complete successfully without requiring the missing assembly.
Testing
Fixes #3.
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