AvaloniaUI Native AOT Deployment on Windows

Introduction Deploying an AvaloniaUI application with Native AOT (Ahead-Of-Time compilation) on Windows can significantly improve startup performance and reduce the size of your application. However, due to Avalonia's reliance on reflection-based bindings, Native AOT can cause runtime errors if not properly configured. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to resolving trimming issues and ensuring a successful Native AOT deployment for AvaloniaUI applications. Common Issues and Fixes 1. XAML Views Not Reachable via Runtime Loader If you encounter the following error: Avalonia: XAML resource "avares://YourApp/Views/MainWindow.axaml" won't be reachable via runtime loader, as no public constructor was found. ✅ Fix: Ensure Your Views Have a Public Constructor Each view must have a public parameterless constructor in its .axaml.cs file. Example: public partial class MainWindow : Window { public MainWindow() { InitializeComponent(); } } 2. Ensure XAML Files Are Embedded Properly If your UI does not load or throws missing resource errors, check your XAML file properties. ✅ Fix: Set Build Action to AvaloniaResource Open Visual Studio. Right-click your .axaml file → Select Properties. Set Build Action to AvaloniaResource. 3. Fixing PublishTrimmed and Trimming Issues Since Native AOT automatically enables trimming, Avalonia's reflection-based UI bindings might get stripped out. ✅ Fix: Add TrimmerRootAssembly in .csproj To prevent Avalonia's essential assemblies from being trimmed, modify your .csproj file: 4. Project Configuration WinExe net8.0 enable true true true true partial app.manifest false true false Building and Publishing for Native AOT Run the following command to publish your Avalonia app with Native AOT: dotnet publish -r win-x64 -c Release --self-contained true -p:PublishAot=true Final Checklist for Native AOT Deployment ✅ ✔ Ensure all views have a public constructor ✔ Set XAML files to AvaloniaResource ✔ Prevent trimming of required Avalonia assemblies (TrimmerRootAssembly) ✔ Use rd.xml to preserve Avalonia reflection-based types ✔ Properly initialize Avalonia in App.axaml.cs ✔ Publish using dotnet publish -p:PublishAot=true Conclusion By following these steps, you can successfully deploy AvaloniaUI applications using Native AOT on Windows without breaking essential functionality. This ensures a smaller, faster application while avoiding common pitfalls with Avalonia’s reflection-heavy UI framework. For further details, refer to the official documentation: AvaloniaUI Native AOT Guide Microsoft .NET Native AOT Deployment

Feb 21, 2025 - 09:58

AvaloniaUI Native AOT Deployment on Windows

Introduction

Deploying an AvaloniaUI application with Native AOT (Ahead-Of-Time compilation) on Windows can significantly improve startup performance and reduce the size of your application. However, due to Avalonia's reliance on reflection-based bindings, Native AOT can cause runtime errors if not properly configured.

This guide provides a step-by-step approach to resolving trimming issues and ensuring a successful Native AOT deployment for AvaloniaUI applications.

Common Issues and Fixes

1. XAML Views Not Reachable via Runtime Loader

If you encounter the following error:

Avalonia: XAML resource "avares://YourApp/Views/MainWindow.axaml" won't be reachable via runtime loader, as no public constructor was found.

✅ Fix: Ensure Your Views Have a Public Constructor

Each view must have a public parameterless constructor in its .axaml.cs file. Example:

public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
    public MainWindow()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
    }
}

2. Ensure XAML Files Are Embedded Properly

If your UI does not load or throws missing resource errors, check your XAML file properties.

✅ Fix: Set Build Action to `AvaloniaResource`

Open Visual Studio.
Right-click your .axaml file → Select Properties.
Set Build Action to AvaloniaResource.

3. Fixing PublishTrimmed and Trimming Issues

Since Native AOT automatically enables trimming, Avalonia's reflection-based UI bindings might get stripped out.

✅ Fix: Add `TrimmerRootAssembly` in `.csproj`

To prevent Avalonia's essential assemblies from being trimmed, modify your .csproj file:


     Include="Avalonia.Controls" />
     Include="Avalonia.Base" />
     Include="Avalonia.Markup.Xaml" />

4. Project Configuration


        WinExe
        net8.0
        enable
        true
        true
        true
        true
        
        
        
        partial
        app.manifest
        false
        true
        false

Building and Publishing for Native AOT

Run the following command to publish your Avalonia app with Native AOT:

dotnet publish -r win-x64 -c Release --self-contained true -p:PublishAot=true

Final Checklist for Native AOT Deployment ✅

✔ Ensure all views have a public constructor
✔ Set XAML files to AvaloniaResource
✔ Prevent trimming of required Avalonia assemblies (TrimmerRootAssembly)
✔ Use rd.xml to preserve Avalonia reflection-based types
✔ Properly initialize Avalonia in App.axaml.cs
✔ Publish using dotnet publish -p:PublishAot=true

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can successfully deploy AvaloniaUI applications using Native AOT on Windows without breaking essential functionality. This ensures a smaller, faster application while avoiding common pitfalls with Avalonia’s reflection-heavy UI framework.

For further details, refer to the official documentation: