Installation

Prism for AL comes as two packages of the same release. The standard package installs on Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025. The compat package installs on the versions of Windows older than build 22000, which cannot install the standard package. Both are on the download page.

Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025

Install on the download page downloads an App Installer file. Open it, and Windows installs Prism for AL. Without a connection to the internet, download the .msix instead and open it.

Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019–2022

The compat package, Prism for AL 5.0.1.1 SE Setup x64 Compat.msix, shows as Prism for AL (compat) in the Start menu.

Uninstall any existing Prism for AL first. The compat package has a different identity, so it installs alongside the standard package rather than replacing it. This is only needed once: later compat packages upgrade your compat installation.
Your license and recent workspaces carry over, so there is nothing to enter again.
The package cache starts empty, so the first workspace load is slow. Existing anti-virus exclusions point at the old location; see Package cache and anti-virus.
Windows 10 and Windows Server do not ship the icon font, see Segoe Fluent Icons.

On Windows 10, open the downloaded package and choose Install.

On Windows Server 2019 and 2022:

Copy the downloaded package to the server.
On Windows Server 2019 only, select Sideload apps or Developer mode in Settings › Update & Security › For developers. Windows Server 2022 needs no setting.

In PowerShell, where you saved the package, run:

Add-AppxPackage -Path ".\Prism for AL 5.0.1.1 SE Setup x64 Compat.msix"

Windows Server 2016

Windows Server 2016 installs MSIX packages through Microsoft's MSIX Core technology. MSIX Core does not implement publisher bridging either, so you need both MSIX Core and the compat package. Customers have run earlier releases this way; we have not tested the compat package on it. Once the compat package has been downloaded:

Ensure MSIX Core has been installed.

Run:

msixmgr.exe -AddPackage ".\Prism for AL 5.0.1.1 SE Setup x64 Compat.msix"

Point the Connector and command line at Prism on Windows Server 2016

Under MSIX Core, Visual Studio Code's Prism for AL Connector and the command line cannot find Prism for AL by name. Point them at it:

Pin Prism for AL to the Start menu. This also keeps upgrades smooth.

Pin Prism for AL to the Start menu.
Use Open file location to find the full path of the shortcut. MSIX Core names the shortcut after the package, “Prism for AL Standard Edition (compat)”, not after the Start menu entry, so the path is normally:
```
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Prism for AL Standard Edition (compat).lnk
```
In Visual Studio Code, paste the path into the Connector's setting Prism Exe (see Settings).

The Connector's Prism Exe setting.
For the command line, and for the Connector's Prism Cmd Exe setting, which runs the MCP server, use the exact location of the exe:
```
C:\Program Files\MsixCoreApps\PrismForAL_5.0.1.1_x64__9e6gzh17hrv2t\bin\StaticalPrismCmd.exe
```
Prism for AL's version is part of the folder name, so the path changes with every new version.

Segoe Fluent Icons

Prism for AL needs the Segoe Fluent Icons font to display all icons; without it, some show as boxes. It ships with Windows 11; on older versions, download the zip file with the font and its EULA, then unzip and install it. Microsoft's licensing does not allow us to distribute the font.

Package cache and anti-virus

When Prism for AL meets a package for the first time, it caches the package's source files in the file system, and it uses the file system heavily when it builds a code graph. Anti-virus programs can slow both down considerably, so consider excluding Prism for AL's local application data path, %LOCALAPPDATA%\Statical\PrismAL or its MSIX virtualized equivalent, from scanning.

In the Control Panel, Help › Optimize Prism Package Cache Performance copies a PowerShell script to the clipboard that excludes these paths from Windows Defender; run it as administrator. With another anti-virus program, read the paths to exclude in the script.

If your anti-virus program flags Prism for AL, see how to solve a false positive detection.