CLI Project and Item Templates for developing WinUI 3 based Windows Desktop Apps

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Package Status:

Channel	Version
Stable

Install Package:

To install the template NuGet package, use the below .NET CLI command:

Latest stable version:

dotnet new install VijayAnand.WinUITemplates

If you've already installed this package, then it can be updated to the latest version with the below command:

dotnet new update --check-only

dotnet new update

Templates Included

Item	Template Name	Type
WinUI 3 App	winui	Project
WinUI 3 Blazor App	winui-blazor	Project
WinUI 3 Class Library	winuilib	Project
WinUI 3 Page	winui-page	Item
WinUI 3 UserControl	winui-usercontrol	Item
WinUI 3 Window	winui-window	Item

All three project templates takes the target framework as an input parameter, can be specified with --framework / -f.

And the supported values are:

• net6.0
• net7.0
• net8.0 (the default value)
• net9.0

Note: The default value for the framework parameter remains as net8.0 (the latest stable channel), which means to create a project for .NET 9 (the preview channel), an explicit value of net9.0 is to be passed.

All three project templates take the below optional parameter to include the officially supported CommunityToolkit.Mvvm NuGet package.

• -imt | --include-mvvm-toolkit - Default value is false

Both the App project takes another optional parameter thus allowing it to be created as MVVM supported solution using the same Microsoft MVVM Toolkit.

• -mvvm | --use-mvvm - Default value is false

Starting with v3.1.0, all three project templates take the below optional parameter support NuGet's Central Package Management (CPM) feature.

• -cpm | --central-pkg-mgmt - Default value is false

Starting with v3.3.0, added the ability to use the NuGet Central Package Management (CPM) feature within Visual Studio IDE.

Starting with v3.4.0, introduced an option to support the XML-based solution file (slnx) format.

This would be an explicit option since the SLNX feature is currently in the preview stage and is only supported on VS2022.

• -slnx | --use-slnx - Default value is false

Note: These options may also be combined.

Use the below .NET CLI command to create the projects out these template:

WinUI 3 App:

dotnet new winui -n MyApp

.NET 7:

dotnet new winui -n MyApp -f net7.0

.NET 9 Preview:

dotnet new winui -n MyApp -f net9.0

MVVM based solution:

dotnet new winui -n MyApp -mvvm

Option to include only the MVVM NuGet package:

dotnet new winui -n MyApp -imt

Option to use the CPM feature:

dotnet new winui -n MyApp -cpm

Option to create the SLNX solution file:

dotnet new winui -n MyApp -slnx

Blazor Hybrid App:

dotnet new winui-blazor -n HybridApp

.NET 7:

dotnet new winui-blazor -n HybridApp -f net7.0

.NET 9 Preview:

dotnet new winui-blazor -n HybridApp -f net9.0

MVVM based solution:

dotnet new winui-blazor -n HybridApp -mvvm

Option to include only the MVVM NuGet package:

dotnet new winui-blazor -n HybridApp -imt

Option to use the CPM feature:

dotnet new winui-blazor -n HybridApp -cpm

Option to create the SLNX solution file:

dotnet new winui-blazor -n HybridApp -slnx

Library:

dotnet new winuilib -n MyLib

.NET 7:

dotnet new winuilib -n MyLib -f net7.0

.NET 9 Preview:

dotnet new winuilib -n MyLib -f net9.0

Option to include only the MVVM NuGet package:

dotnet new winuilib -n MyLib -imt

Option to use the CPM feature:

dotnet new winuilib -n MyLib -cpm

Option to create the SLNX solution file:

dotnet new winuilib -n MyLib -slnx

Item Templates:

Use the below .NET CLI command to create the items out these template:

All these item templates require one mandatory parameter:

• -n | --name - Name of the item

Auto suffixing of the Type name is supported for the files created with the Page and Window item templates.

Page:

dotnet new winui-page -n Order

UserControl:

dotnet new winui-usercontrol -n CardView

Window:

dotnet new winui-window -n Home