# Maui Preview Helper > Set up and manage .NET MAUI preview/dogfood environments across macOS, Windows, and Linux. USE FOR: installing a preview/CI .NET SDK + MAUI workloads, downloading Azure DevOps build artifacts (SDK installers, NuGet packages), building workload rollback files from a dotnet/maui branch, wiring NuGet.config to a local package source, installing prerelease VS Code VSIXes (C#, C# Dev Kit, .NET MAUI Dev Kit), setting preview project properties (SourceGen XAML Hot Reload, Mono vs CoreCLR), and looking up which preview/RC release to target. Triggers: "maui preview", "maui dogfood", "install maui workload", "rollback file", "sourcegen hot reload", "maui vsix", "preview sdk", "dogfood build". DO NOT USE FOR: general MAUI app coding/debugging, shipping-stable MAUI setup, or non-MAUI .NET workloads. INVOKES: pwsh scripts (Get-AzdoArtifact, New-WorkloadRollbackFile, Get-DotNetReleaseStatus), az, dotnet, darc, code CLIs. - Skill: `redth/maui-preview-helper` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 12 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add redth/maui-preview-helper` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/redth/maui-preview-helper/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: DevOps & Infra - Author: Redth (https://skillmd.com/u/redth) - Updated: 2026-09-09 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/redth/maui-preview-helper --- # MAUI preview helper Componentized helper for standing up and maintaining **.NET MAUI preview / dogfood** environments. Seven **optional, composable** capabilities — do only what the user asks; each maps to a reference doc with the depth. ## Operating principles - **Agent-first / CLI-first.** Reason and drive `az` / `dotnet` / `code` / `darc` / `gh` directly. The bundled pwsh scripts exist only for the fiddly deterministic bits (AzDO artifact resolution, rollback-file construction, release tracker). Don't wrap what a CLI already does. - **Pin exact versions.** A wrong SDK band cascades into wrong workloads and broken restores. When the user is vague, **look it up and offer a choice** — don't guess. - **Match versions across layers:** the staged local MAUI package version == `` in the project == the `microsoft.net.sdk.maui` entry in the rollback file. Keep them identical. - **Isolate the preview SDK** in a dedicated install dir (workloads are scoped to `DOTNET_ROOT`), so it never collides with a global install. - **Cross-platform:** detect OS/arch and pick the right installer/VSIX/paths. Confirm the target platform when it's ambiguous (e.g. building for iOS from Windows). - **Only install missing prereqs** for the capabilities in play, and ask before installing system tooling. See [references/prerequisites.md](references/prerequisites.md). - **Degrade gracefully for external users.** Several sources are Microsoft-internal (Release Tracker, darc/Maestro, `devdiv` builds). Detect that **before** routing a user toward them, take the public path when one exists, and say plainly when one doesn't — never surface a raw 401/403 or tell someone to `az login` for something they can't be granted. See [Access tiers](#access-tiers). ## Capabilities → route to the right reference | # | Capability | Use when the user wants to… | Reference | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **Release lookup** | find/choose which preview/RC/CI release, SDK version, or build to target | [release-lookup.md](references/release-lookup.md) | | 2 | **Download builds** | pull an SDK installer for their OS/arch and/or stage CI NuGet packages as a local source | [download-builds.md](references/download-builds.md) | | 3 | **Workloads** | install the MAUI workload via a workload-set version **or** a rollback file (from a maui branch + overrides) | [workloads.md](references/workloads.md) | | 4 | **NuGet.config** | wire a workspace to the local source + the feeds the release needs | [nuget-config.md](references/nuget-config.md) | | 5 | **VS Code VSIX** | install prerelease C# / C# Dev Kit / .NET MAUI Dev Kit extensions per arch | [vscode-extensions.md](references/vscode-extensions.md) | | 6 | **Project properties** | toggle preview features (SourceGen XAML HR, Mono/CoreCLR) + IDE settings | [project-properties.md](references/project-properties.md) *(living doc)* | | 7 | **Prerequisites** | detect/install pwsh, az, dotnet, code, darc; handle auth & PATH | [prerequisites.md](references/prerequisites.md) | **Load a reference before acting on its capability** — each has the exact URL patterns, script invocations, gotchas, and stop signals. Don't rely on this router alone for the details. ## Access tiers Not everything here is reachable outside Microsoft. Establish the tier **once, up front**, then route accordingly — don't discover it via a 401 halfway through a setup. | Source | Needs | If unavailable | | --- | --- | --- | | **.NET Release Tracker** | Microsoft tenant (`az login`) | **Automatic fallback** — `Get-DotNetReleaseStatus.ps1` switches to public release metadata and labels the output. Force with `-PublicOnly`. | | **`dnceng-public` builds** | nothing | already public | | **`dotnet{N}` / `dotnet-public` feeds** | nothing | already public | | **`devdiv` builds** (MAUI Dev Kit VSIX, internal drops) | Microsoft tenant + `az` token | **No public equivalent.** Use the Marketplace prerelease, or ask the user for a downloaded `.vsix`. Say so — don't loop on auth. | | **darc / Maestro (BAR)** | .NET team membership (all-FTE) | Build the rollback file from the public `dotnet/maui` branch (`Rollback.in.json` + `Versions.props`) and ask the user for `microsoft.net.sdk.maui` explicitly. | Detect before routing: ```bash az account show >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo "az: signed in" || echo "az: not signed in" pwsh scripts/Get-DotNetReleaseStatus.ps1 | head -3 # leading lines name the source actually used ``` If the release output is headed **"Public release data"**, treat the session as external: skip `devdiv` and `darc` entirely, and target only shipped/announced releases. Unshipped previews are internal-only — don't imply they're obtainable. ## Typical end-to-end flow (full dogfood setup) Most requests are a subset of this. Adapt to what the user asked for. 1. **Prereqs** — detect missing tools for the capabilities you'll use; install/authenticate. 2. **Release lookup** — resolve the exact SDK version + MAUI version + build id(s); if vague, run the tracker and let the user pick. 3. **Download** — install the preview SDK into a dedicated dir; stage the build's NuGet packages into a local source folder; note the exact MAUI package version. 4. **NuGet.config** — point the workspace at the local source + `dotnet{N}` / `dotnet-public`. 5. **Workloads** — install into the pinned SDK via workload set **or** a rollback file (`New-WorkloadRollbackFile.ps1` from the maui branch, with `-MauiVersion`/overrides). 6. **Project properties** — set `` + the feature group the user is testing (Directory.Build.props or .csproj), plus VS Code / VS settings at the correct scope. 7. **VS Code VSIX** — install C# → C# Dev Kit → .NET MAUI Dev Kit for this OS/arch. 8. **Verify** — `dotnet workload list`, `dotnet restore`/`build`, `code --list-extensions`. ## Bundled scripts (in `scripts/`) - **`Get-AzdoArtifact.ps1`** — resolve + download any AzDO artifact (whole zip / single file / list), public or devdiv-authenticated; `-Extract`, `-FlattenNupkg`. Powers capabilities 2 & 5. - **`New-WorkloadRollbackFile.ps1`** — build a rollback JSON from a dotnet/maui branch's `Rollback.in.json` + `Versions.props`, with `-Band` / `-MauiVersion` / `-Override`. Capability 3. - **`Get-DotNetReleaseStatus.ps1`** + **`ReleaseTrackerApi.ps1`** — bundled .NET Release Tracker (capability 1). Needs `az login`. If the standalone `dotnet-release-tracker` plugin is installed, you may use it instead — same API. `Get-AzdoArtifact.ps1` and `New-WorkloadRollbackFile.ps1` emit a one-line `[SKILL_SUMMARY] {json}` with structured results — **reason over that**, don't just echo it. (The bundled release-tracker script prints human-readable release blocks instead of a summary line; parse those directly.) ## Key facts (details in references) - AzDO orgs: **dnceng-public** (public — whole-artifact downloads are anonymous; file listing / single-file fetches may still mint an `az` token, done automatically when `az` is present) vs **devdiv/DevDiv** (private, always needs an `az` token; resource `499b84ac-1321-427f-aa17-267ca6975798`). - Preview package feeds are `dotnet{N}` (N = major, e.g. `dotnet11`) on dnceng/public. - Rollback file = flat JSON `{ "manifest.id": "version/sdk-band" }`; the `microsoft.net.sdk.maui` version is only knowable from the CI build (supply it explicitly). - **`` is the single source of truth** — the SDK pins all MAUI package refs to it. Any explicit MAUI `PackageReference` must use `Version="$(MauiVersion)"`, never a literal ([project-properties.md](references/project-properties.md)). - **XAML SourceGen Hot Reload** needs three props together: `MauiXamlInflator=SourceGen`, `MauiXamlHotReload=SourceGen`, `EnableMauiIncrementalHotReload=true`. Keep `UseMonoRuntime=false` everywhere — **Mono on iOS is unsupported in .NET 11** (`NETSDK1242`), superseding the old P5 "iOS HR needs Mono" guidance ([project-properties.md](references/project-properties.md)). - **Layering a branch/PR MAUI build** onto a base release: stage its nupkgs into the **same** local source and bump only `` ([download-builds.md](references/download-builds.md)). - **Authenticated feeds** (401 on restore): mint an `az` token for the feed's org (resource `499b84ac-…`) or a Packaging-read PAT; wire via `packageSourceCredentials`, never commit it ([nuget-config.md](references/nuget-config.md)). - VS Code HR settings `csharp.experimental.debug.hotReload` / `csharp.debug.hotReloadVerbosity` are **machine-scoped** → User settings.json; verbosity value is singular `"diagnostic"`. ## Stop signals - Do **only** the requested capabilities — don't run a full setup when asked for one piece. - Once the target versions are pinned, stop looking them up; once `dotnet restore`/`workload list` shows the intended versions, stop reconfiguring. - Download one installer/VSIX per OS/arch, not the whole matrix. - Ask the user (don't guess) when a version, branch, build id, target platform, or the MAUI manifest version is unknown. ## Improve This Skill **For the agent:** If this skill was used during the session and you or the user encountered friction — unexpected failures, stale guidance, repeated workarounds, or unclear routing — you may offer a brief skill-quality review at a natural stopping point (on task completion, before `/clear`, or when the user asks what to do next): > "This session used **maui-preview-helper**. Want me to capture privacy-safe feedback for the > skill author using `skill-reflect`?" If the user says **yes**, invoke the `skill-reflect` skill. Pass this skill's identity so attribution is exact — **the nudge carries context**. Include the skill name (and optionally its source repo) when invoking: Run skill-reflect. Skill used this session: maui-preview-helper (source repo: Redth/maui-skillz). Rules — never deviate: - **Consent-first.** Offer; never run automatically. `skill-reflect` runs only on the user's explicit yes. - **Only on friction.** Routine, smooth sessions need no review. - **Nothing leaves the machine** without a second consent step inside `skill-reflect`.