https://thedotnetblog.com/tags/visual-studio-code/Articles, tutorials and insights from the .NET community.Hugoen@thedotnetblog (The .NET Blog)@thedotnetblogWed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://thedotnetblog.com/news/emiliano-montesdeoca/dotnet-new-winui-templates-cli-vscode/Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000Emiliano Montesdeocahttps://thedotnetblog.com/news/emiliano-montesdeoca/dotnet-new-winui-templates-cli-vscode/WinUI project templates now work from dotnet new — blank apps, NavigationView patterns, and more. VS Code support, no Visual Studio required, with Fluent Design defaults baked in.<p>WinUI development used to require Visual Studio. That&rsquo;s changing: Microsoft has published open-source project and item templates for WinUI that work with <code>dotnet new</code>, bringing Windows app development into the standard CLI workflow.</p> <h2 id="getting-started-in-three-commands">Getting Started in Three Commands</h2> <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-shell" data-lang="shell"><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="c1"># Install the templates</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl">dotnet new install Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK.WinUI.CSharp.Templates </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="c1"># Create a NavigationView app</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl">dotnet new winui-navview -n MyApp </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="c1"># Run it</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="nb">cd</span> MyApp </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl">dotnet run </span></span></code></pre></div><p>No Visual Studio, no manual project setup. The app runs from <code>dotnet run</code>.</p> <h2 id="whats-included">What&rsquo;s Included</h2> <p><strong>Blank template</strong> (<code>dotnet new winui</code>) — a modern starting point with a Fluent title bar already wired up, updated default app icon with <code>.ico</code> asset, proper light/dark mode defaults. Better than the old blank template that left you configuring the basics yourself.</p> <p><strong>NavigationView template</strong> (<code>dotnet new winui-navview</code>) — the master-detail navigation pattern, fully wired up with a NavigationView, modern title bar, and multi-page navigation structure. Follows the standard Windows app silhouette for navigation-based apps. If you&rsquo;re building anything with side navigation, start here.</p> <p>Both templates follow the <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/apps/design/basics/app-silhouette">Windows app silhouettes</a> — modern Fluent Design patterns for layout, navigation, and visual structure — out of the box.</p> <h2 id="why-this-matters-for-non-visual-studio-developers">Why This Matters for Non-Visual-Studio Developers</h2> <p>WinUI developers using VS Code, Rider, or command-line tooling have been underserved. The existing Visual Studio templates weren&rsquo;t usable outside of VS — you had to manually recreate project structure and wire up the basics.</p> <p>These templates are open source (see <a href="https://github.com/microsoft/WindowsAppSDK/pull/6407">WindowsAppSDK PR #6407</a>), developed from <a href="https://github.com/microsoft/microsoft-ui-xaml/issues/10388">community feedback</a>, and available now. Visual Studio support is in progress — these same templates will eventually work there too.</p> <p>For teams that want to script their WinUI project setup, integrate it into CI, or just use an editor other than Visual Studio, this is a meaningful improvement.</p> <p>Original post: <a href="https://devblogs.microsoft.com/ifdef-windows/introducing-dotnet-new-templates-for-winui/">Introducing dotnet new WinUI templates</a></p>