Using the Uno.Sdk

Uno Platform projects use the Uno.Sdk package that is designed to keep projects simple, yet configurable. It imports the Microsoft.Net.Sdk (and the Microsoft.Net.Sdk.Web for WebAssembly).

This document explains the many features of this SDK and how to configure its behavior.

Tip

Uno.Sdk enabled projects are best experienced using the MSBuild Editor Visual Studio Extension to provide intellisense.

Managing the Uno.Sdk version

Updating the Uno.Sdk is done through the global.json file.

Uno Platform Features

As Uno Platform can be used in many different ways, in order to reduce the build time and avoid downloading many packages, the Uno.Sdk offers a way to simplify which Uno Platform features should be enabled.

You can use the UnoFeatures property in the csproj or Directory.Build.props as shown here:

<UnoFeatures>
    Material;
    Hosting;
    Toolkit;
    Logging;
    Serilog;
    MVUX;
    Configuration;
    Http;
    HttpRefit;
    HttpKiota;
    Serialization;
    Localization;
    Navigation;
    SkiaRenderer;
</UnoFeatures>

Important

Once you have changed the features list, Visual Studio requires restoring packages explicitly, or building the app once for the change to take effect.

This allows for the SDK to selectively include references to relevant sets of Nuget packages to enable features for your app.

Here are the supported features:

Feature	Description
`Authentication`	Adds the Uno.Extensions packages for Custom Authentication.
`AuthenticationMsal`	Adds the Uno.Extensions packages for Authentication using Microsoft.Identity.Client.
`AuthenticationOidc`	Adds the Uno.Extensions packages for Authentication using a custom Oidc client.
`Configuration`	Adds the Uno.Extensions packages for Configuration.
`CSharpMarkup`	Adds support for C# Markup.
`Cupertino`	Adds support for the Cupertino Design Theme library. If the `Toolkit` feature is also used, it will add support for the Cupertino Design Toolkit library.
`Dsp`	Adds support for the Uno.Dsp.Tasks packages.
`Extensions`	Adds the most commonly used Extensions Packages for Hosting, Configuration, and Logging.
`Foldable`	Adds a reference to Uno.WinUI.Foldable.
`GLCanvas`	Adds support for the OpenGL Canvas.
`SpellChecking`	Adds support for spell checking.
`GooglePlay`	Adds support for In App Reviews. For more information, see the Store Context documentation.
`Hosting`	Adds support for Dependency Injection using Uno.Extensions.Hosting packages.
`Http`	Adds support for custom Http Clients with Uno.Extensions.
`HttpRefit`	Adds support for strongly-typed REST API clients via Refit
`HttpKiota`	Adds support for OpenAPI-generated clients via Kiota
`Localization`	Adds support for Localization using Uno.Extensions.
`Logging`	Adds support for Logging using Uno.Extensions.
`LoggingSerilog`	Adds support for Serilog using Uno.Extensions.
`Lottie`	Adds support for Lottie animations.
`Material`	Adds support for the Material Design Theme library. If the `Toolkit` feature is also used, it will add support for the Material Design Toolkit library.
`MauiEmbedding`	Adds support for embedding Maui controls in Uno Platform applications.
`MediaPlayerElement`	Adds native references where needed to use MediaPlayerElement.
`Mvvm`	Adds support for the CommunityToolkit.Mvvm package.
`MVUX`	Adds support for MVUX.
`Navigation`	Adds support for Navigation using Uno.Extensions.
`Prism`	Adds Prism support for Uno Platform applications WinUI.
`Serialization`	Adds support for Serialization using Uno.Extensions.
`SimpleTheme`	Adds support for the Simple Design Theme library. If the `Toolkit` feature is also used, it will add support for the Simple Design Toolkit library.
`Skia`	Adds support for SkiaSharp.
`SkiaRenderer`	Adds support for using Skia as the graphics rendering engine. For more details, see Skia Rendering documentation.
`SpellChecking`	Adds support for spell-checking in TextBox controls on all Skia-based targets via Uno.WinUI.SpellChecking.
`Storage`	Adds support for Storage using Uno.Extensions.
`Svg`	SVG support for iOS, and Android. This option is not needed when only targeting WebAssembly and WinAppSDK.
`ThemeService`	Adds the Uno.Extensions.Core.WinUI package.
`Toolkit`	Adds support for the Uno.Toolkit.
`WebView`	Adds support for the WebView2 control.

Implicit Packages

Uno Platform is composed of many required and optional NuGet packages. By default, the SDK automatically references the Uno.UI required packages based on the current target framework, using versions appropriate for the version of Uno Platform being used.

It is possible to configure the version of those packages in two ways. The first is by using an explicit PackageReference to any of the Uno Platform packages, or by using the *Version properties supported by the SDK. These versions are used by the UnoFeatures defined for your app.

Here are the supported properties:

Uno Platform Packages
Third Party Packages

Property	NuGet Package(s)	Description
`UnoCoreLoggingSingletonVersion`	Uno.Core.Extensions.Logging.Singleton	Provides a logging singleton pattern with helpers and extension methods for simplified logging.
`UnoCSharpMarkupVersion`	Uno.WinUI.Markup and similar packages	Enables C# Markup, the use of C# for building UI markup, similar to XAML but with C# syntax.
`UnoDspTasksVersion`	Uno.Dsp.Tasks and similar packages	Includes tasks for Uno DSP (Theme colors import) within Uno Platform projects.
`UnoExtensionsVersion`	Uno.Extensions.Storage.WinUI and similar packages	Extends the Uno Platform with additional methods and classes for more versatile application development.
`UnoLoggingVersion`	Uno.Extensions.Logging.OSLog and similar packages	Implements logging mechanisms to help with monitoring and debugging Uno Platform applications.
`UnoResizetizerVersion`	Uno.Resizetizer	Provides tools for automatically resizing and managing image assets in Uno Platform projects.
`UnoThemesVersion`	Uno.Material.WinUI and similar packages	Supplies a variety of themes that can be applied to Uno Platform applications to enhance the UI.
`UnoToolkitVersion`	Uno.Toolkit.WinUI and similar packages	Offers a collection of controls, helpers, and tools to complement the standard WinUI components.
`UnoUniversalImageLoaderVersion`	Uno.UniversalImageLoader	Facilitates the loading and displaying of images across different platforms supported by Uno.
`UnoWasmBootstrapVersion`	Uno.Wasm.Bootstrap and similar packages	Enables the bootstrapping of Uno Platform applications running on WebAssembly.

Note

In the 5.2 version of the Uno.Sdk you must provide a value for UnoExtensionsVersion, UnoThemesVersion, UnoToolkitVersion, and UnoCSharpMarkupVersion in order to use the packages associated with the UnoFeatures from these libraries as they are downstream dependencies of the Uno repository.

Property	NuGet Package(s)	Description
`AndroidMaterialVersion`	Xamarin.Google.Android.Material	Implements Material Design components for Android using Xamarin bindings.
`AndroidXActivityVersion`	Xamarin.AndroidX.Activity	Provides classes to build Android activities with AndroidX libraries.
`AndroidXAppCompatVersion`	Xamarin.AndroidX.AppCompat	Offers backward-compatible versions of Android components with AndroidX.
`AndroidXBrowserVersion`	Xamarin.AndroidX.Browser	Contains components to implement browser features with AndroidX.
`AndroidXCollectionVersion`	Xamarin.AndroidX.Collection and similar packages	Provides AndroidX extensions for collections like sparse arrays and bundles.
`AndroidXLegacySupportV4Version`	Xamarin.AndroidX.Legacy.Support.V4	Supports older Android versions with AndroidX compatibility libraries.
`AndroidXSplashScreenVersion`	Xamarin.AndroidX.Core.SplashScreen	Support for Android splash screen customization.
`AndroidXNavigationVersion`	Xamarin.AndroidX.Navigation.UI and similar packages	Facilitates navigation within an Android app using AndroidX.
`AndroidXRecyclerViewVersion`	Xamarin.AndroidX.RecyclerView	Implements a flexible view for providing a limited window into large datasets with AndroidX.
`AndroidXSwipeRefreshLayoutVersion`	Xamarin.AndroidX.SwipeRefreshLayout	Provides a swipe-to-refresh UI pattern with AndroidX.
`AndroidXLeanbackVersion`	Xamarin.AndroidX.Leanback and similar packages	Provides UI components for Android TV applications.
`AndroidXCarAppVersion`	Xamarin.AndroidX.Car.App.App and similar packages	Provides the Android for Cars App Library for building automotive apps.
`AndroidXWearVersion`	Xamarin.AndroidX.Wear and similar packages	Provides support for Wear OS watch applications.
`AndroidXWearTilesVersion`	Xamarin.AndroidX.Wear.Tiles and similar packages	Provides Tiles API for Wear OS watch faces and complications.
`CommunityToolkitMvvmVersion`	CommunityToolkit.Mvvm	Delivers a set of MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) components for .NET applications.
`MicrosoftIdentityClientVersion`	Microsoft.Identity.Client	Provides an authentication library for Microsoft Identity Platform.
`MicrosoftLoggingVersion`	Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Console	Enables logging to the console with Microsoft's extensions.
`PrismVersion`	Prism.Uno.WinUI and similar packages	Integrates the Prism library, which aids in building loosely coupled, maintainable, and testable applications.
`SkiaSharpVersion`	SkiaSharp.Skottie and similar packages	Provides a cross-platform 2D graphics API for .NET platforms based on Google's Skia Graphics Library.
`SvgSkiaVersion`	Svg.Skia	Renders SVG files using the SkiaSharp graphics engine.
`WinAppSdkBuildToolsVersion`	Microsoft.Windows.SDK.BuildTools	Contains the tools required to build applications for the Microsoft Windows App SDK.
`WinAppSdkBuildToolsWinAppVersion`	Microsoft.Windows.SDK.BuildTools.WinApp	Enables `dotnet run` to launch the packaged WinAppSDK app with package identity. See Running packaged WinUI apps with `dotnet run`.
`WinAppSdkVersion`	Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK	Provides project templates and tools for building Windows applications.
`WindowsCompatibilityVersion`	Microsoft.Windows.Compatibility	Enables Windows desktop apps to use .NET Core by providing access to additional Windows APIs.

Those properties can be set from Directory.Build.props or may be set in the csproj file for your project.

<!-- .csproj file -->
<Project Sdk="Uno.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>

      ...

      <UnoFeatures>
        Material;
        Dsp;
        Hosting;
        Toolkit;
        Logging;
        MVUX;
        Configuration;
        Http;
        Serialization;
        Localization;
        Navigation;
        ThemeService;
        Mvvm;
        SkiaRenderer;
      </UnoFeatures>
      
      <UnoToolkitVersion>6.3.6</UnoToolkitVersion>
      <MicrosoftLoggingVersion>9.0.1</MicrosoftLoggingVersion>
      <CommunityToolkitMvvmVersion>8.4.0</CommunityToolkitMvvmVersion>
  </PropertyGroup>    
</Project>

In the sample above, we are overriding the default versions of the UnoToolkit, MicrosoftLogging, and CommunityToolkitMvvm packages.

Disabling Implicit Uno Packages

If you wish to disable Implicit package usage, add the following:

<DisableImplicitUnoPackages>true</DisableImplicitUnoPackages>

to your Directory.Build.props file or csproj file. You will be then able to manually add the NuGet packages for your project.

Note

When disabling Implicit Uno Packages it is recommended that you use the $(UnoVersion) to set the version of the core Uno packages that are versioned with the SDK as the SDK requires Uno.WinUI to be the same version as the SDK to ensure proper compatibility.

For the narrower scenario of a library that is essentially a WinUI library that also happens to support Uno cross-targets — and that should not leak Uno.WinUI to WinAppSDK-only consumers, or needs a strong-named output on Windows — see the WinAppSDK-only libraries section below.

WinAppSDK-only libraries

When you author a library that is only a WinUI library on the Windows App SDK target (and uses the rest of the Uno.Sdk solely for cross-platform target frameworks), you may want the Windows build to contain no implicit Uno dependencies. Two common motivations:

Avoid leaking Uno.WinUI as a transitive NuGet dependency to consumers that only target the Windows App SDK.
Compile to a strong-named assembly on Windows for scenarios that require a fully strong-named dependency chain (organizational policy, certain hosts, or downstream consumers that only accept strong-named references). Uno.WinUI is not strong-named, so leaving it as an implicit reference would block those scenarios.

Enable this with:

<DisableImplicitUnoWinAppSdkPackages>true</DisableImplicitUnoWinAppSdkPackages>

When set, Uno.Sdk stops adding the following implicit package references on the net*-windows10* target framework:

Uno.WinUI (also removes the bundled Uno.UI.Toolkit.dll it ships under lib/net*-windows10.0.19041.0/)
Uno.Resizetizer
Uno.Sdk.Extras
Uno.Settings.DevServer

The property is intentionally scoped:

It only takes effect on the Windows App SDK target framework. Other targets (Android, iOS, Skia Desktop, WebAssembly, …) are unaffected, so the cross-platform side of your library still uses Uno.WinUI and the rest of the Uno stack.
Packages added through UnoFeatures (Toolkit, Material, Cupertino, Simple, csharpmarkup, prism, maps, foldable, skia/Graphics2DSK, glcanvas, mvvm, dsp, Uno.Extensions.*, …) are not stripped. Opting into a UnoFeatures value is treated as an explicit request for that package, even when this property is set.
Non-Uno implicit packages (Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK, Microsoft.Windows.SDK.BuildTools, CommunityToolkit.Mvvm, SkiaSharp.Views.WinUI, …) keep flowing as usual.

If you still need one of the stripped packages on Windows for a specific reason, add it back explicitly:

<ItemGroup Condition="$(TargetFramework.Contains('windows10'))">
    <PackageReference Include="Uno.Resizetizer" Version="$(UnoResizetizerVersion)" PrivateAssets="all" />
</ItemGroup>

Note

This property is aimed at libraries (IsPackable=true). Application heads typically need the implicit Uno packages on Windows to run, so setting this on a head project is not recommended.

Running packaged WinUI apps with `dotnet run`

On the Windows App SDK target, the Uno.Sdk implicitly references the Microsoft.Windows.SDK.BuildTools.WinApp package for executable (application head) projects. This package overrides the dotnet run behavior so that, instead of launching the raw executable, it registers a loose-layout package and launches the app with package identity — matching the experience of the dotnet new templates for WinUI. This means features that require package identity (such as notifications, app data, or ApplicationData) work the same way they do when the app is deployed from its MSIX package.

The package is referenced with PrivateAssets="all", so it does not flow to consumers of your project. It is only added to executable heads — libraries never pull it in.

You can control this behavior with the following properties:

Property	Default	Effect
`EnableWinAppRunSupport`	`true`	Set to `false` to keep the package reference but disable the `dotnet run` interception (the app then launches as a plain executable, without package identity).
`UnoDisableWinAppRunSupport`	`false`	Set to `true` to suppress the implicit `Microsoft.Windows.SDK.BuildTools.WinApp` reference entirely, so the package is never restored.
`WinAppSdkBuildToolsWinAppVersion`	(SDK-managed)	Overrides the version of the `Microsoft.Windows.SDK.BuildTools.WinApp` package.

For example, to turn the feature off while still restoring the package (useful if you set it conditionally), add to your csproj or Directory.Build.props:

<PropertyGroup>
  <EnableWinAppRunSupport>false</EnableWinAppRunSupport>
</PropertyGroup>

Or, to avoid restoring the package altogether:

<PropertyGroup>
  <UnoDisableWinAppRunSupport>true</UnoDisableWinAppRunSupport>
</PropertyGroup>

Note

EnableWinAppRunSupport is provided by the Microsoft.Windows.SDK.BuildTools.WinApp package itself, so it also works when you add the package explicitly. UnoDisableWinAppRunSupport is specific to the Uno.Sdk and only affects the implicit reference.

Supported OS Platform versions

By default, the Uno.Sdk specifies a set of OS Platform versions, as follows:

Target	`SupportedOSPlatformVersion`
Android	21
iOS	14.2
macOS	10.14
tvOS	14.2
WinUI	10.0.18362.0

You can set this property in a Choose MSBuild block in order to alter its value based on the active TargetFramework.

 <Choose>
    <When Condition="$([MSBuild]::GetTargetPlatformIdentifier('$(TargetFramework)')) == 'android'">
      <PropertyGroup>
        <SupportedOSPlatformVersion>21.0</SupportedOSPlatformVersion>
      </PropertyGroup>
    </When>
    <When Condition="$([MSBuild]::GetTargetPlatformIdentifier('$(TargetFramework)')) == 'ios'">
      <PropertyGroup>
        <SupportedOSPlatformVersion>14.2</SupportedOSPlatformVersion>
      </PropertyGroup>
    </When>
    <When Condition="$([MSBuild]::GetTargetPlatformIdentifier('$(TargetFramework)')) == 'macos'">
      <PropertyGroup>
        <SupportedOSPlatformVersion>10.14</SupportedOSPlatformVersion>
      </PropertyGroup>
    </When>
    <When Condition="$([MSBuild]::GetTargetPlatformIdentifier('$(TargetFramework)')) == 'tvOS'">
      <PropertyGroup>
        <SupportedOSPlatformVersion>14.2</SupportedOSPlatformVersion>
      </PropertyGroup>
    </When>
    <When Condition="$(TargetFramework.Contains('windows10'))">
      <PropertyGroup>
        <SupportedOSPlatformVersion>10.0.18362.0</SupportedOSPlatformVersion>
        <TargetPlatformMinVersion>10.0.18362.0</TargetPlatformMinVersion>
      </PropertyGroup>
    </When>
  </Choose>

Visual Studio First-TargetFramework Workarounds

Using a Single Project in Visual Studio requires the Uno Platform tooling to apply workarounds in order to have an acceptable debugging experience.

For some of the platforms (Desktop, WinAppSDK, and WebAssembly), the corresponding target frameworks must be placed first in order for debugging and publishing to function properly. To address that problem, the Uno Platform tooling modifies the csproj file to reorder the TargetFrameworks property so that the list is accepted by Visual Studio.

As a result, the csproj file is on disk and will show the file as modified in your source control, yet the automatic change can be reverted safely. If the behavior is impacting your IDE negatively, you can disable it by adding the following in your .csproj file:

<PropertyGroup>
  <UnoDisableVSTargetFrameworksRewrite>true</UnoDisableVSTargetFrameworksRewrite>
</PropertyGroup>

Note that we are currently tracking these Visual Studio issues, make sure to upvote them:

net8.0-browserwasm must be first for WebAssembly debugging to work (Link)
WinAppSDK Unpackaged profile cannot be selected properly when a net8.0 mobile target is active

Disabling Default Items

The Uno.Sdk will automatically includes files that you previously needed to manage within your projects. These default items include definitions for including files within the Content, Page, and PRIResource item groups. Additionally, if you have referenced the Uno.Resizetizer it will add default items for the UnoImage allowing you to more easily manage your image assets.

You may disable this behavior in one of two ways:

<PropertyGroup>
  <!-- Globally disable all default includes from the `Uno.Sdk`, `Microsoft.NET.Sdk`, and if building on WASM `Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web` -->
  <EnableDefaultItems>false</EnableDefaultItems>

  <!-- Disable only default items provided by the `Uno.Sdk` -->
  <EnableDefaultUnoItems>false</EnableDefaultUnoItems>
</PropertyGroup>

WinAppSdk PRIResource Workaround

Many Uno projects and libraries make use of a winappsdk-workaround.targets file that corrects a bug found in WinUI. When using the Uno.Sdk these targets now are provided for you out of the box. This extra set of workaround targets can be disabled by setting the following property:

<PropertyGroup>
  <DisableWinUI8857_Workaround>true</DisableWinUI8857_Workaround>
</PropertyGroup>

Cross Targeting Support

By Default when using the Uno.Sdk you get the added benefit of default includes for an easier time building Cross Targeted Applications. The supported file extensions are as shown below:

*.wasm.cs (WebAssembly)
*.desktop.cs (Desktop)
*.iOS.cs (iOS)
*.tvOS.cs(tvOS)
*.UIKit.cs, *.Apple.cs (iOS & tvOS)
*.Android.cs (Android)
*.WinAppSDK.cs (Windows App SDK)

For class libraries we also provide:

*.reference.cs (Reference only)
*.crossruntime.cs (WebAssembly, Desktop, or Reference)

Note

For backwards compatibility, using .skia.cs is currently equivalent to .desktop.cs. This might change in the future, so we recommend using the suffixes above instead.

As discussed above setting EnableDefaultUnoItems to false will disable these includes.

Tip

When you need to exclude specific files from a particular target framework (such as WebAssembly), you can use a custom MSBuild target:

<Target Name="AdjustAppItemGroups" BeforeTargets="ResolveAssemblyReferences">
    <ItemGroup Condition="'$(TargetFramework)' == 'net10.0-browserwasm'">
        <None Remove="Page.xaml"/>
        <Page Remove="Page.xaml"/>
    </ItemGroup>
</Target>

This approach allows you to selectively remove pages from specific target frameworks while maintaining them in others.

Platform-Specific Folders

In addition to the per-file suffixes described above, the Uno.Sdk recognizes a set of well-known sub-folders under Platforms/ that scope their contents to a single target. Files in these folders are automatically included only when the matching TFM is being built and excluded from every other TFM (the SDK removes them from Compile, Page, Content, EmbeddedResource, and Manifest for inactive platforms).

Folder	TFM it applies to	Typical contents
`Platforms/Android/`	`*-android`	`Main.Android.cs`, `AndroidManifest.xml`, Android resources
`Platforms/iOS/`	`*-ios`	`Main.iOS.cs`, `Info.plist`, `Entitlements.plist`, `PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy`
`Platforms/tvOS/`	`*-tvos`	tvOS-specific entry point and resources
`Platforms/MacCatalyst/`	`*-maccatalyst`	Mac Catalyst entry point, `Info.plist`, `Entitlements.plist`
`Platforms/MacOS/`	`*-macos`	macOS entry point, `Info.plist`, `Entitlements.plist`
`Platforms/Desktop/`	`*-desktop`	`Program.cs` with the `UnoPlatformHostBuilder` configuration
`Platforms/Wasm/` (or `Platforms/WebAssembly/`)	`*-browserwasm`	`Program.cs`, `wwwroot/`, `manifest.webmanifest`
`Platforms/Windows/`	`-windows10.`	`Package.appxmanifest`, `app.manifest`, splash screens, tile/app-icon PNGs referenced by the manifest

The location of each folder can be overridden via the matching MSBuild property if your project uses a different layout: PlatformsProjectFolder, AndroidProjectFolder, iOSProjectFolder, tvOSProjectFolder, MacCatalystProjectFolder, MacOSProjectFolder, DesktopProjectFolder, WasmProjectFolder, WindowsProjectFolder.

Apple Privacy Manifest Support

Starting May 1st, 2024, Apple requires the inclusion of a new file, the Privacy Manifest file (named PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy), in app bundles. This file is crucial for complying with updated privacy regulations.

For projects using the Uno.Sdk (version 5.2 or later), the Platforms/iOS/PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy file is automatically integrated within the app bundle. An example of this manifest file can be found in the Uno.Templates repository.

For more information on how to include privacy entries in this file, see the Microsoft .NET documentation on the subject, as well as Apple's documentation.

Note

If your application is using the Uno Platform 5.1 or earlier, or is not using the Uno.Sdk, you can include the file using the following:

 <ItemGroup Condition="$([MSBuild]::GetTargetPlatformIdentifier('$(TargetFramework)')) == 'ios'">
   <BundleResource Include="iOS\PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy" LogicalName="PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy" />
 </ItemGroup>

Using the Uno.Sdk

Tip

Managing the Uno.Sdk version

Uno Platform Features

Important

Implicit Packages

Note

Disabling Implicit Uno Packages

Note

WinAppSDK-only libraries

Note

Running packaged WinUI apps with dotnet run

Note

Supported OS Platform versions

Visual Studio First-TargetFramework Workarounds

Disabling Default Items

WinAppSdk PRIResource Workaround

Cross Targeting Support

Note

Tip

Platform-Specific Folders

Apple Privacy Manifest Support

Note

Running packaged WinUI apps with `dotnet run`