Akbura.Templates 12.0.4-alpha.11

Akbura Templates

Project and component templates for Avalonia applications built with Akbura.

Install

dotnet new install Akbura.Templates

For a local package, install its .nupkg instead:

dotnet new install ./artifacts/Akbura.Templates.VERSION.nupkg

Choose a template

The existing akbura.app remains the local-state example. The two MVVM templates demonstrate a MainViewModel with INotifyPropertyChanged and commands. Their MainView.akbura uses ${Binding ...}; x.DataType identifies the binding type, while the application composition root supplies the actual runtime DataContext. An ordinary {expression} in a component is C#, not an MVVM binding.

Create a local-state desktop app

dotnet new akbura.app -n MyApp
dotnet new akbura.app -n MyAppWithDI --di Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection
dotnet new akbura.app -n MyAppWithSplat --di Splat.Locator

The default --di None adds no external container. This template demonstrates local state, responsive AKCSS utilities, and reusable components rather than the ViewModel/command design used by the two templates below.

Create a desktop MVVM app

dotnet new akbura.mvvm -n DemoDesktop
dotnet run --project DemoDesktop/DemoDesktop.csproj

The template restores packages automatically. Use --no-restore to defer that work:

dotnet new akbura.mvvm -n DemoReactive `
    --mvvm ReactiveUI `
    --di Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection `
    --cpm true `
    --remove-view-locator true `
    --no-restore
dotnet restore DemoReactive/DemoReactive.csproj

Create a cross-platform solution

dotnet new akbura.xplat -n DemoCross
dotnet restore DemoCross/DemoCross.Desktop/DemoCross.Desktop.csproj
dotnet run --project DemoCross/DemoCross.Desktop/DemoCross.Desktop.csproj

akbura.xplat does not automatically restore the whole solution or install platform workloads. Build only the host supported by the current machine:

dotnet build DemoCross/DemoCross.Browser/DemoCross.Browser.csproj
dotnet build DemoCross/DemoCross.Android/DemoCross.Android.csproj
dotnet build DemoCross/DemoCross.iOS/DemoCross.iOS.csproj

Browser requires the .NET WebAssembly workload; Android requires the Android SDK and .NET Android workload; iOS requires a compatible macOS/Xcode and .NET iOS workload. Do not build the complete solution on a machine lacking mobile workloads. Browser/mobile debugging does not offer the desktop-only keyboard inspector UI.

To choose a page shell and another toolkit:

dotnet new akbura.xplat -n DemoMobile `
    --mvvm ReactiveUI `
    --di Splat.Locator `
    --cpm false `
    --main-view-page-type NavigationPage `
    --remove-view-locator true

Application options

At the recorded source baseline, the defaults were Avalonia 12.0.4 and Akbura 12.0.4-alpha.10. Release automation stamps all application templates with the versions actually packed. Inspect dotnet new akbura.mvvm --help or dotnet new akbura.xplat --help for defaults of the installed package.

--mvvm selects the ViewModel implementation; --di independently selects how the application constructs and owns its services. --di None needs no container. --cpm true writes a root Directory.Packages.props and versionless project references; --cpm false writes shared versions in Directory.Build.props and disables inherited central package management. --remove-view-locator true removes the optional ViewLocator but keeps MVVM and the chosen page shell. Generated projects do not change a parent directory's MSBuild configuration.

Add a component

Run these item templates from an existing Akbura project:

dotnet new akbura.component -n ProfileCard --namespace MyApp.Components -o Components
dotnet new akbura.partial-component -n ProfileCard --namespace MyApp.Components -o Components

The partial-component template creates ProfileCard.akbura and ProfileCard.akbura.cs. Debug desktop builds can use Avalonia Developer Tools on F12 and the Akbura component inspector on Ctrl+F12; diagnostic dependencies are excluded from Release builds.

Template parity and update notes: CONTRIBUTING.md.