Setting Up Your Development Environment for .NET MAUI on Windows

This guide will walk you through the necessary steps to set up your Windows machine for .NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI) development. .NET MAUI allows you to build native cross-platform applications for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows from a single shared codebase.

Prerequisites

Windows 10 version 1903 or higher (OS Build 18362 or higher).
Visual Studio 2022 version 17.1 or higher.

Step 1: Install Visual Studio 2022

If you don't already have Visual Studio 2022 installed, download and run the Visual Studio Installer from the official Visual Studio website.

During the installation process, ensure that you select the following workloads:

.NET desktop development
ASP.NET and web development (optional, but recommended for web-related .NET development)

In the "Individual components" tab, make sure the following components are checked:

.NET MAUI (this will be installed automatically with the correct workload, but it's good to verify)
Mobile development with .NET
Windows 11 SDK (or the latest available)

If you are upgrading an existing Visual Studio installation, you can modify your installation to add these workloads and components.

Step 2: Install the .NET MAUI Workload

In most cases, installing the ".NET desktop development" workload in Visual Studio 2022 will automatically include the .NET MAUI workload. However, if you encounter issues or want to ensure it's installed, you can use the Visual Studio Installer to add it. You can launch the Visual Studio Installer from the Windows Start Menu or by running vs_installer.exe.

Alternatively, you can install .NET MAUI via the command line using the .NET CLI:

dotnet workload install maui

This command will install the necessary SDK components for .NET MAUI development.

Step 3: Verify Your Installation

Once Visual Studio and the .NET MAUI workload are installed, it's a good practice to verify the installation by creating a new .NET MAUI project.

Open Visual Studio 2022.
Click on "Create a new project".
In the search bar, type ".NET MAUI" and select the ".NET MAUI App" template.
Click "Next".
Configure your project name, location, and solution name.
Click "Create".

Visual Studio will create a new .NET MAUI project. If the project builds successfully and you can run it on a simulator or device, your setup is complete.

Important Notes:

Android Emulators: For Android development, you'll need to set up an Android emulator. Visual Studio 2022 provides tools to create and manage Android Virtual Devices (AVDs). Ensure you have the necessary Android SDK components installed via the Visual Studio Installer.

Windows App SDK: .NET MAUI on Windows relies on the Windows App SDK. Ensure that the latest Windows App SDK runtime is installed on your system.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues during setup:

Restart Visual Studio: Sometimes a simple restart can resolve installation glitches.
Run Visual Studio Installer as Administrator: This can help with permissions-related issues.
Check for Updates: Ensure both Visual Studio and your Windows operating system are up to date.
Consult Official Documentation: The official .NET MAUI installation guide provides detailed troubleshooting steps and known issues.

Congratulations! You have now successfully set up your Windows development environment for .NET MAUI.