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WinUI for UWP (WinUI 2)

Note

For more information on building Windows desktop apps with the latest version of WinUI, see WinUI 3.

WinUI 2 is tightly integrated with Windows SDKs and provides official native Windows UI controls and other user interface elements for UWP applications (and desktop applications using XAML Islands).

Maintaining down-level compatibility with earlier versions of Windows 10 enables WinUI 2 controls to work even if users don't have the latest OS.

See the latest WinUI 2 Release Notes.

Features

  • New controls: WinUI contains new controls that aren't shipped as part of the default Windows platform.

  • Updated versions of existing controls: The library also contains updated versions of existing Windows platform controls that you can use with earlier versions of Windows 10.

  • Support for earlier versions of Windows 10: WinUI APIs work on earlier versions of Windows 10, so you don't have to include version checks or conditional XAML to support users who might not be running the very latest OS.

  • Support for XamlDirect: The Xaml Direct APIs, designed for middleware developers, give you access to lower-level XAML features that provide better CPU and working set performance. XamlDirect in WinUI 2 lets you use XamlDirect APIs on earlier versions of Windows 10 without needing to write special code to handle multiple target Windows 10 versions.

Examples

Tip

For more info, design guidance, and code examples, see Design for Windows apps.

The WinUI 2 Gallery app includes interactive examples of most WinUI 2 controls, features, and functionality.

If the gallery app is installed already, click WinUI 2 Gallery to open it.

If it's not installed, download the WinUI 2 Gallery from the Microsoft Store.

You can also get the source code from GitHub (select the winui2 branch).

Documentation

How-to articles for WinUI controls are included with the Controls for Windows apps documentation.

API reference docs are located at WinUI APIs.

Install and use WinUI for UWP

For instructions on installing and using the WinUI 2 library, see Get started with WinUI 2 for UWP.

Developer engagement

We welcome bug reports in the microsoft-ui-xaml repo on GitHub.

NuGet package list

For details on WinUI NuGet packages, see WinUI NuGet package list.

See also