Avalonia

What it does

When your agent uses it

• : Avalonia projects
• Avalonia XPF compatibility work

Example prompts

• “/avalonia”

Requirements

• Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires a .NET SDK and Avalonia packages; desktop runtime validation requires the target OS and display environment.

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

1. 1Inspect the SDK, target frameworks, Avalonia package versions, .axaml files, entrypoint, and supported OS/RIDs. Keep Avalonia packages on…
2. 2Keep Program.BuildAvaloniaApp, App.axaml, views, view models, and domain/services separate. Desktop hosts use…
3. 3Use typed compiled bindings and explicit binding modes. x:DataType describes the binding type; it does not set the runtime DataContext…
4. 4Use CommunityToolkit.Mvvm for observable state and commands when appropriate. Prefer cancellable asynchronous service operations, surface…
5. 5Choose StyledProperty for styleable/animatable values and DirectProperty for backed state without style precedence. Use DataTemplate to…
6. 6Validate native integrations, dialogs, resources, shutdown, DPI, accessibility, and packaging on each supported platform. Read…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 2a5b41a. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • dotnet

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:

  • github.com
  • schemas.microsoft.com

  Also links to:

  • docs.avaloniaui.net
  • v11.docs.avaloniaui.net

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

• Compatibility

  Requires a .NET SDK and Avalonia packages; desktop runtime validation requires the target OS and display environment.

  From compatibility in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

Context cost

Avalonia loads about 1.9k tokens when it runs, and up to ~5.5k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 104 tokens; SKILL.md has 565 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~104

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~1.9k

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~5.5k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from managedcode/dotnet-skills at commit 2a5b41a, republished under its MIT licence (© managedcode). 565 words, ~1,858 tokens.

name

avalonia

description

Build and debug Avalonia 11/12 .NET applications with XAML, compiled bindings, MVVM, custom controls, desktop lifetimes, and platform publishing. USE FOR: Avalonia projects, bindings, commands, themes, UI dispatch, trimming, or Native AOT. DO NOT USE FOR: WPF, WinUI, MAUI, Uno, or Avalonia XPF compatibility work. INVOKES: inspect installed versions, implement, and validate on the actual target platforms.

compatibility

Requires a .NET SDK and Avalonia packages; desktop runtime validation requires the target OS and display environment.

flowchart LR
  Packages[Installed Avalonia major] --> Docs[Matching 11 or 12 documentation]
  Docs --> VM[View model and service]
  VM --> Bindings[Typed bindings and commands]
  Bindings --> UI[Views, templates, property system]
  UI --> Desktop[Desktop lifetime and UI dispatcher]
  Desktop --> Verify[Headless tests + native OS checks]
  Verify --> Publish[RID-specific publish and packaging]

dotnet new install Avalonia.Templates
dotnet new avalonia.mvvm -o MyApp
dotnet add MyApp/MyApp.csproj package CommunityToolkit.Mvvm
dotnet run --project MyApp/MyApp.csproj

dotnet add MyApp.csproj package Avalonia.Desktop --version <compatible-version>
dotnet add MyApp.csproj package Avalonia.Themes.Fluent --version <compatible-version>

using CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.ComponentModel;
using CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.Input;

public partial class MainViewModel : ObservableObject
{
    [ObservableProperty]
    private string name = "Ada";

    [ObservableProperty]
    private string greeting = "Ready";

    [RelayCommand]
    private void Greet() => Greeting = $"Hello, {Name}";
}

// In App.OnFrameworkInitializationCompleted, after checking desktop lifetime:
// desktop.MainWindow = new MainWindow { DataContext = new MainViewModel() };

<Window xmlns="https://github.com/avaloniaui"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:vm="using:MyApp.ViewModels"
        x:Class="MyApp.MainWindow"
        x:DataType="vm:MainViewModel" x:CompileBindings="True">
  <StackPanel Spacing="8" Margin="16">
    <TextBox Text="{Binding Name, Mode=TwoWay}" />
    <Button Content="Greet" Command="{Binding GreetCommand}" />
    <TextBlock Text="{Binding Greeting}" />
  </StackPanel>
</Window>

using Avalonia;
using Avalonia.Controls.Primitives;

public class StatusBadge : TemplatedControl
{
    public static readonly StyledProperty<string> TextProperty =
        AvaloniaProperty.Register<StatusBadge, string>(nameof(Text), "Ready");

    public string Text
    {
        get => GetValue(TextProperty);
        set => SetValue(TextProperty, value);
    }
}

© managedcode, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 4 other files (references) in catalog/Frameworks/Avalonia/skills/avalonia of managedcode/dotnet-skills.

• SKILL.md
• manifest.json
• references/bindings-and-controls.md
• references/official-docs-index.md
• references/platforms-and-publishing.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 2a5b41a