Creating Your First .NET MAUI Project

Welcome to the exciting world of .NET MAUI! In this tutorial, we'll guide you through the steps to create your very first .NET MAUI project. This project will serve as the foundation for your cross-platform application development journey.

Using Visual Studio

Visual Studio provides a streamlined experience for creating .NET MAUI applications. Follow these steps to get started:

1. Open Visual Studio: Launch Visual Studio on your machine.
2. Create a new project:
   • Click on "Create a new project".
   • In the search bar, type ".NET MAUI".
   • Select the ".NET MAUI App" template and click "Next".
3. Configure your project:
   
   • Project name: Enter a descriptive name for your project, for example, MyFirstMauiApp.
   • Location: Choose a directory where you want to save your project.
   • Solution name: This will typically default to your project name.
   • Click "Next".
4. Additional information:
   • Select the .NET version you want to use (e.g., .NET 6.0 or later).
   • Click "Create".

Visual Studio will now create your new .NET MAUI project, setting up all the necessary files and configurations.

Using the .NET CLI

For developers who prefer the command line, the .NET CLI offers a powerful way to create .NET MAUI projects.

1. Open a terminal or command prompt.
2. Navigate to your desired directory.
3. Run the following command:

   dotnet new maui -n MyFirstMauiAppCLI

   This command creates a new .NET MAUI project named MyFirstMauiAppCLI in your current directory.

4. Navigate into your project directory:

   cd MyFirstMauiAppCLI

Project Structure

Once your project is created, you'll see a familiar project structure. Here are some key folders and files:

• Platforms: Contains platform-specific code and resources. You'll find subfolders for Android, iOS, MacCatalyst, and Windows.
• Resources: Holds application resources such as images, fonts, and styles.