Before advanced operations
- Do not take ownership of WindowsApps and do not delete its files by hand.
- Do not clean WinSxS “to recover a few GB” because of WindowsApps.
- The sizes below are a real snapshot, not normal or universal sizes.
- PowerIX @ Home does not ship a dedicated WindowsApps analyser yet. Disk diagnostics stay general.
The problem is not only “WindowsApps is big”
WindowsApps holds Microsoft Store apps and other AppX/MSIX packages. It is protected, often unreadable in Explorer, and its total size does not name the guilty app.
This field report is about mapping a technical folder name back to an app you can uninstall properly.
Measure and identify first. Manually deleting packages is not a normal procedure.
Why WindowsApps is protected
Windows protects this folder so a user or a “cleaner” cannot break system packages, runtimes or ACLs. That is by design.
If Explorer denies access, that is not a bug to bypass with takeown. It is the Store / AppX security model.
Why the size is hard to interpret
WindowsApps mixes user apps, frameworks, runtimes and Windows components. A 20 GB total does not mean “20 GB reclaimable”.
Folder names are technical: Publisher.AppName_version_arch__publisherid. They do not look like the Start menu name.
Inventory without breaking ACLs
Prefer Microsoft-supported mechanisms: Settings > Apps, and PowerShell Get-AppxPackage (plus Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers when you administer the machine).
A recursive Get-ChildItem on WindowsApps often hits ACLs. That is not an invitation to take ownership.
Microsoft’s Get-AppxPackage and Remove-AppxPackage docs are the supported frame. This page does not document a mass takeown.
Get-AppxPackage | Sort-Object -Property Name Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Select-Object Name, PackageFullName, InstallLocation
Real example: a snapshot, not a norm
On this machine, the following folders were observed, roughly sorted by size:
OpenAI.Codex_26.803.5235.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0: about 1693 MB. Microsoft.Windows.Photos_2026.11060.2004.0_…: about 878 MB. Spotify: about 411 MB. WhatsApp: about 386 MB.
Apple Devices, Gaming App and WinCommApp were also reviewed for a possible uninstall. This is not a global “apps to remove” list.
These numbers come from one real inventory. Another PC, another Store version, other sizes.
Map the folder back to the app
The folder prefix (Publisher.Name) is close to the PackageFamilyName. Cross-check it with Get-AppxPackage and with Settings > Apps.
That mapping decides: user app you can uninstall, shared runtime, or Windows component you should not touch.
Uninstall cleanly
For a user app, the supported path is Settings > Apps > Uninstall, or Remove-AppxPackage on that package.
I did not delete folders by hand. I also did not run a forum “WindowsApps cleaner” script.
# Microsoft-supported mechanism — not the exact command from this report Get-AppxPackage -Name <PackageName> | Remove-AppxPackage
Check the space you actually got back
After uninstall, re-check free space on C: and, if needed, list packages again. Windows may keep a cache or a shared runtime: reclaimed space is not always the folder size you saw earlier.
If WindowsApps is still large, that is not automatically a failure: other legitimate packages are still there.
What not to do
Do not mass takeown / icacls WindowsApps.
Do not manually delete packages or Publisher.* folders.
Do not “clean” WinSxS to compensate for WindowsApps.
Do not follow a tutorial that promises 20 GB by emptying the Store folder.
A manual delete can break the Store, runtimes or Windows Update. That is not troubleshooting.
How this relates to PowerIX
The topic matters for storage analysis: know what uses the disk without breaking Windows.
PowerIX @ Home already offers a disk / free-space diagnostic. There is no shipped “WindowsApps analyser” yet. This article does not announce one.
More than 20 years in IT operations, supervision and user support. Creator of PowerIX @ Home. This report documents a real case on his own hardware.
Frequently asked questions
Can I delete the WindowsApps folder?
Not as a normal procedure. It is a protected system folder. Identify the apps, then uninstall them from Settings or with Remove-AppxPackage.
Why is WindowsApps so large on Windows 11?
Because it mixes Store apps, frameworks and Windows components. A large size is not a problem by itself. You need to see which apps use the space.
Can PowerIX empty WindowsApps?
No. PowerIX does not ship a WindowsApps analyser today, and must not be presented as a cleaner for that folder.
A Windows disk that keeps filling up?
PowerIX can analyse disk space and storage signals on your Windows PC. It is not a tool for deleting WindowsApps by hand.
Diagnose my PC