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Get started with Avalonia UI by installing the necessary tools and packages for your development environment.

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Prerequisites

Before installing Avalonia, ensure you have:
  • .NET SDK 6.0 or later - Download from Microsoft
  • An IDE - Visual Studio 2022, JetBrains Rider, or Visual Studio Code
  • Optional: Platform-specific SDKs for mobile development (Xcode for iOS, Android SDK)
Avalonia UI requires .NET 6.0 or later for the latest features and best performance.

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IDE Setup

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Visual Studio 2022

The official Avalonia Visual Studio Extension provides templates and designer support.
1

Install the Extension

Download and install the Avalonia for Visual Studio extension from the Visual Studio Marketplace.Alternatively, install from within Visual Studio:
  1. Go to Extensions > Manage Extensions
  2. Search for “Avalonia”
  3. Click Download and restart Visual Studio
2

Verify Installation

After restarting Visual Studio, verify the extension is installed:
  1. Go to File > New > Project
  2. Search for “Avalonia”
  3. You should see Avalonia project templates

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JetBrains Rider

Rider has built-in support for Avalonia with excellent XAML tooling.
1

Enable Avalonia Support

Avalonia support is included in Rider 2020.3 and later. Simply open or create an Avalonia project and Rider will provide IntelliSense, code completion, and refactoring support.
2

Install XAML Previewer (Optional)

For XAML preview support, install the AvaloniaRider plugin:
  1. Go to File > Settings > Plugins
  2. Click Manage Plugin Repositories
  3. Add: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugins/dev/14839
  4. Search for and install AvaloniaRider

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Visual Studio Code

VS Code works with Avalonia through the .NET CLI and extensions.
1

Install C# Extension

Install the C# Dev Kit extension for .NET support.
2

Install Avalonia Extension

Install the Avalonia for VSCode extension for XAML support and templates.

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Installing Avalonia Packages

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Using .NET CLI Templates

The fastest way to start is with the official Avalonia templates. 
dotnet new install Avalonia.Templates
Available templates:
TemplateShort NameDescription
Avalonia Appavalonia.appFull desktop application
Avalonia MVVM Appavalonia.mvvmApp with MVVM architecture
Avalonia Cross-Platform Appavalonia.xplatMulti-platform app (Desktop, Mobile, Browser)
Avalonia Windowavalonia.windowWindow component
Avalonia UserControlavalonia.usercontrolReusable user control
Avalonia Resource Dictionaryavalonia.resourceResource dictionary

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Creating a New Project

dotnet new avalonia.mvvm -o MyAvaloniaApp
cd MyAvaloniaApp
dotnet run

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Adding to Existing Projects

Add Avalonia to an existing .NET project via NuGet. 
# Core Avalonia package
dotnet add package Avalonia

# Desktop support
dotnet add package Avalonia.Desktop

# Diagnostics and dev tools
dotnet add package Avalonia.Diagnostics

# Themes
dotnet add package Avalonia.Themes.Fluent
Make sure to use consistent versions across all Avalonia packages to avoid compatibility issues.

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Platform-Specific Setup

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Linux

On Linux, you may need additional dependencies: 
sudo apt-get install libx11-dev libice-dev libsm-dev libfontconfig1-dev

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iOS Development

For iOS development, you’ll need:
  • macOS with Xcode 13 or later
  • .NET for iOS workload
dotnet workload install ios

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Android Development

For Android development: 
dotnet workload install android

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WebAssembly

For browser-based applications: 
dotnet workload install wasm-tools

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Verifying Installation

Create and run a test project to verify everything is working:
1

Create Test Project

dotnet new avalonia.mvvm -o AvaloniaTest
cd AvaloniaTest
2

Build the Project

dotnet build
You should see a successful build with no errors.
3

Run the Application

dotnet run
A window should appear with the default Avalonia application.

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Development Tools

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Avalonia DevTools

Enable developer tools in your application for runtime debugging:
Program.cs
public static AppBuilder BuildAvaloniaApp()
    => AppBuilder.Configure<App>()
        .UsePlatformDetect()
        .UseSkia()
        .WithInterFont()
        .LogToTrace()
        .WithDeveloperTools();  // Add this line
Press F12 while running to open DevTools.

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Hot Reload

Avalonia supports .NET Hot Reload for rapid development: 
dotnet watch run
Changes to your code will be applied without restarting the app.

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Nightly Builds

To use the latest features, you can configure the nightly build feed:
NuGet.config
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
  <packageSources>
    <add key="AvaloniaUI Nightly" value="https://nuget-feed-all.avaloniaui.net/v3/index.json" />
  </packageSources>
</configuration>
Nightly builds may contain unstable features. Use them for testing new features, not for production applications.

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Next Steps

Now that you have Avalonia installed, continue to the Quick Start guide to build your first application.

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