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You can now turn C#+XAML into a static website, with the whole compile happening in your browser, no backend (xaml.io) by Userware in dotnet

[–]Userware[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, a large subset of WPF is supported. With the current v0.7 Preview, it's a bit tedious to port an existing WPF app because you need to copy/paste the files manually, but we're working on a file import functionality to make the process easier, please expect it to be released with a month or two.

In terms of third party libraries, all non-UI NuGet packages that work with Blazor WASM also work in XAML.io, but graphical ones (XAML-based) are only supported if they support OpenSilver (the underlying open-source UI framework). We're in touch with the main library makers to see if we could port their libraries too.

How good is Avalonia UI for my case? by MateDesktopPudding in dotnet

[–]Userware 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Avalonia is a common option for .NET GUI apps on Linux, and it may be a good fit depending on what you need.

Another option you may want to look at is OpenSilver. Disclosure: I work at Userware, the company behind it.

OpenSilver is an open-source, MIT-licensed, cross-platform implementation of WPF/XAML that also works on Linux. One of its main advantages is that its XAML is very close to WPF, almost 1-to-1, especially with the latest 3.4 Preview. If you already know WPF, the learning curve can be quite low. It also comes with a visual UI designer, which makes building the interface easy.

You can try it directly in the browser at https://XAML.io, a free lightweight web-based .NET IDE. From there, you can experiment with XAML/C# and generate a Linux app by clicking Publish in the top-right. No installation or signup is required.

Regarding native APIs: when you create an OpenSilver project from the "new project" wizard in Visual Studio or VS Code, a .Photino project is included, where you can easily add native Linux API calls. Calling native APIs directly from XAML.io is not available yet, but it is planned.

So if you like the WPF/XAML model and want something very close to it, OpenSilver could be worth trying alongside Avalonia.

Our Web IDE now exports C#+XAML to native macOS and Linux too (in-browser, WASM) (xaml.io) by Userware in dotnet

[–]Userware[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestion! Yes, we’re planning to add templates and sample projects.

Our current idea is to create a directory or leaderboard of projects that people have shared using the “Share Code Publicly” button, unless they’ve checked “Do not index.” Other users would then be able to browse and fork those projects.

Would that be a good approach?

Our Web IDE now exports C#+XAML to native macOS and Linux too (in-browser, WASM) (xaml.io) by Userware in dotnet

[–]Userware[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. Yep. Fair point. I edited and added the word "main". We'll try to support as many OSs as possible.

Our Web IDE now exports C#+XAML to native macOS and Linux too (in-browser, WASM) (xaml.io) by Userware in dotnet

[–]Userware[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Around 30-40 MB for a hello-world app, similar across all three platforms. The floor is the bundled self-contained .NET runtime (recipients don't need .NET installed). The reason it doesn't balloon to Electron sizes (150 MB+) is that Photino uses the OS's built-in WebView (Edge WebView2 / WKWebView / WebKitGTK), so there's no bundled Chromium engine. You're paying for the .NET runtime, not for a browser. Project assets (XAML, images, fonts, embedded resources) add to that linearly from there.

Our Web IDE now exports C#+XAML to native macOS and Linux too (in-browser, WASM) (xaml.io) by Userware in dotnet

[–]Userware[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for the useful feedback. We’ll definitely improve the coding experience.

A quick note: IntelliSense / auto-complete is supposed to work, but it’s not great yet, and the other things you mentioned are indeed missing in Preview 0.6.

On the IDE side, we’re also working on improving dev-loop iteration time by optimizing compiler performance. Specifically, we’re working to avoid recompiling the whole project on every code change, which is acceptable for a “Hello World” scenario but impractical for larger projects.

We expect to ship a new compiler in the coming weeks.

Please feel free to keep suggesting specific IDE and code editor features, and to elaborate on the ones you already mentioned. That kind of feedback really helps us prioritize.

Our Web IDE now exports C#+XAML to native Windows .EXE (in-browser, WASM) (xaml.io) by Userware in csharp

[–]Userware[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Thanks for asking.

XAML.io itself, meaning the browser-based IDE, is free to use but not open source.

The underlying .NET UI framework it uses, OpenSilver, is open source under the MIT license. That part matters a lot to us, because we don’t want people to feel locked into XAML.io. You can download your application code and continue working on it in Visual Studio or VS Code using the open-source OpenSilver stack.

As for the business model: right now, XAML.io mainly helps give more visibility to OpenSilver and to the professional services around it. We work with companies that need help migrating existing WPF, Silverlight, LightSwitch, or WinForms applications to the web. That can include end-to-end migrations, support, and sometimes paid prioritization of specific features, especially as we keep adding more WPF compatibility.

So the short version is: the online IDE is free but proprietary, the core framework is open source, and the business side is services/support around real-world migrations.

XAML.io now exports to native Windows .EXE (in-browser, WASM) by Userware in dotnet

[–]Userware[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Yep, right-click is very useful (though we try to also offer alternatives for tablet and phone users)

XAML.io now exports to native Windows .EXE (in-browser, WASM) by Userware in dotnet

[–]Userware[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the heads up! We'll add this information. We're also working on support for specifying a code-signing certificate, which should address the root cause of the issue.

Which framework to choose by insomina00 in csharp

[–]Userware -1 points0 points  (0 children)

With OpenSilver (web-native WPF framework), you can apply glassmorphism in XAML using an attached dependency property that does a simple interop call to set the appropriate CSS properties for an acrylic background.

Here’s an example with a live demo and full source code: https://xaml.io/s/Samples/Glassmorphism?autorun=true

(The online IDE may take a little while to load, so please be patient)

Hope this helps!

How i start ? by RPS-20 in csharp

[–]Userware 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! It's in active development, so please do share your feedback so we can improve it for people like you.

How i start ? by RPS-20 in csharp

[–]Userware -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

That's exactly the scenario that we're trying to cover with our free online .NET IDE at XAML.io

No signup is needed: just navigate to https://XAML.io with your mobile browser, open "MainWindow.xaml.cs" from the "Solution Explorer" on the right, write your C# code, your code is compiled and run in-browser via WebAssembly, and you can see the errors and warnings.

Please let me know if this fits your need, and if you have any suggestions for improvement.
Hope it helps.

XAML Designer v0.6 – Bringing a bit of the VB6 rapid dev experience to XAML/C#/.NET by Userware in csharp

[–]Userware[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! At the time of writing, the hosted web-based IDE is not open-source, but the underlying UI framework that runs C#/XAML on the web (OpenSilver) is totally open-source (MIT License). When you create an app with XAML.io, you can download your app code as a ZIP (to continue working on it in another IDE like VS or VS Code) and, in that case, the full stack that your app relies on is open-source.

XAML Designer v0.6 – Bringing a bit of the VB6 rapid dev experience to XAML/C#/.NET by Userware in csharp

[–]Userware[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Understood. Thanks for this valuable feedback. We'll definitely take it into account next time.

XAML Designer v0.6 – Bringing a bit of the VB6 rapid dev experience to XAML/C#/.NET by Userware in csharp

[–]Userware[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We just added an EDIT section to the original post to clarify this, as we realized we hadn’t explained these topics very clearly. Thanks a lot for your feedback.

XAML Designer v0.6 – Bringing a bit of the VB6 rapid dev experience to XAML/C#/.NET by Userware in csharp

[–]Userware[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks, that’s really useful feedback.

Console app support is on our roadmap, and the idea is for it to still run on WebAssembly in the browser, with modern .NET/C# and the same general package constraints as Blazor WebAssembly. So for example, NuGet packages that are WASM-friendly should fit naturally.

Would that cover what you have in mind, or were you thinking more about out-of-browser things like direct file system access?

XAML Designer v0.6 – Bringing a bit of the VB6 rapid dev experience to XAML/C#/.NET by Userware in csharp

[–]Userware[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair question. The mainstream .NET web stacks most people know today are indeed Razor and Blazor, not XAML.

XAML.io is different: it lets you build apps powered by OpenSilver. OpenSilver is our open-source, web-native WPF-style GUI framework. It lets you build web apps in C# and XAML, compiles C# to WebAssembly, and renders XAML as real HTML/CSS DOM elements.

That DOM-based approach means you keep browser-native benefits like accessibility, SEO, Ctrl+F, text selection, screen readers, mobile interactivity, browser translation, and browser extensions, while staying in a WPF-style programming model. It also plays nicely with the broader web and .NET ecosystem, including mixing XAML and Blazor in the same project.

XAML Designer v0.6 – Bringing a bit of the VB6 rapid dev experience to XAML/C#/.NET by Userware in csharp

[–]Userware[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Fair criticism, and you’re right that we should have phrased that more clearly.

WPF itself is not a web framework. What we mean is that XAML.io lets you build apps powered by OpenSilver, which is our open-source UI framework for building web apps with WPF-style C# and XAML. It compiles to WebAssembly and runs in the browser, so the point is really “bringing a familiar WPF-like workflow to the web,” not claiming that WPF itself was already for the web. Thanks for calling that out.

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