Table of Contents

Platforms and Packages

DrawnUI is an umbrella for multiple .NET targets.

Use this page first when you need to decide which package to install and which runtime model fits your use case.

Choose by host

Target Main package Use it when Best fit
MAUI (Android/iOS/MacCatalyst/Windows) DrawnUi.Maui You are building a native cross-platform app App UI, gestures, animation-heavy native experiences
Blazor WebAssembly DrawnUi.Blazor.Wasm DrawnUI should render locally in the browser Canvas-like browser UI, high-fps, local responsiveness, animation-heavy, web surfaces
Blazor Server DrawnUi.Blazor.Server DrawnUI should be hosted in a Blazor Server or InteractiveServer app Event-driven widgets, low-fps, dashboards, mixed Razor + DrawnUI pages
OpenTK (Windows/Linux) DrawnUi.OpenTk.Game You need fast and small-sized desktop app/game create from scratch or overlay drawn layouts on top of your OpenGL window
Platform-agnostic .NET DrawnUi.Net You need DrawnUI without a framework-specific UI host Headless rendering, console app, server-side, image/PDF generation, harnesses, shared-logic debugging

.NET MAUI

Install:

dotnet add package DrawnUi.Maui

Use DrawnUi.Maui when you want a native application host with DrawnUI owning part or all of the visible UI.

Choose it for:

  • mobile and desktop native apps
  • rich gesture-driven UI
  • animation-heavy app surfaces
  • pixel-perfect custom app UI on top of MAUI app structure

Start here:

Blazor

Install the runtime package that matches where rendering should happen:

dotnet add package DrawnUi.Blazor.Wasm
dotnet add package DrawnUi.Blazor.Server

Choose DrawnUi.Blazor.Wasm when DrawnUI should stay local in the browser.

Choose DrawnUi.Blazor.Server when DrawnUI should live inside a Blazor Server app and server-rendered frames are acceptable.

Start here:

OpenTK (Windows / Linux)

Install the nuget package:

dotnet add package DrawnUi.OpenTk

Choose OpenTK when you need a native OpenGL window on Windows or Linux without overheads.

Use it for:

  • embedding rich DrawnUI UIs into existing OpenTK engine scenes
  • standalone desktop app with rich UI which will would also run in browser and other platforms DrawnUI supports
  • 2D/2.5D games which will run with hardware acceleration and same codebase in browser and other platforms DrawnUI supports

Two integration paths:

  • DrawnUiWindow — subclass this when the entire window is DrawnUI content
  • CanvasHost — use this when your own GameWindow subclass owns rendering and you want DrawnUI as an overlay

Start here:

Pure .NET

Install:

dotnet add package DrawnUi.Net

Choose DrawnUi.Net when you need the DrawnUI rendering and layout model without a framework-specific app host.

Use it for:

  • headless rendering
  • server-side image or PDF generation
  • offscreen validation of shared layout and drawing behavior
  • control harnesses and repro tools
  • debugging shared rendering logic before checking the same scenario in platform-dependent frameworks

Start here:

More targets coming

The DrawnUI umbrella is expanding and your PRs are welcome. Current docs cover MAUI, Blazor, DrawnUi.Net, and OpenTK, while future platform targets can slot into the same package-and-host model.

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