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Windows notifications overview

Windows provides several notification APIs across different SDK generations. If you're searching online for how to send a notification and finding conflicting examples, this page will help you pick the right API for your app.

Which API should I use?

The answer depends on which SDK your app targets:

App type Recommended API Namespace
WinUI 3 / Windows App SDK (new apps) AppNotificationManager Microsoft.Windows.AppNotifications
WPF, WinForms, or unpackaged Win32 AppNotificationManager via NuGet Microsoft.Windows.AppNotifications
UWP (existing apps, no migration planned) ToastNotificationManager Windows.UI.Notifications

Important

Most Stack Overflow answers and older tutorials use ToastNotificationManager from the Windows.UI.Notifications namespace. This is the UWP WinRT API. It works in UWP apps and may work in some desktop scenarios, but it is not the recommended path for new Windows App SDK apps. Use AppNotificationManager for new development.

Notifications API comparison

Feature AppNotificationManager (Windows App SDK) ToastNotificationManager (WinRT)
Recommended for WinUI 3, WPF, WinForms, unpackaged Win32 UWP
NuGet package Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK None (inbox)
Package identity required No (works packaged and unpackaged) Required for some features
Push integration PushNotificationManager (Windows App SDK) WNS channel APIs (Windows.Networking.PushNotifications)
Active development Yes Maintenance only

Types of notifications

Once you've chosen the right API, decide how your notification will be delivered:

Type Description Use when
Local app notification Triggered directly by your app code while running You want to alert the user of an in-app event
Scheduled Set a future time for the notification to appear Calendar reminders, alarms
Push (WNS) Sent from your cloud service via Windows Push Notification Services Chat messages, breaking news, real-time updates
Badge Small overlay on the app's taskbar icon Unread count, status indicator

For a full breakdown of delivery methods, see Choose a notification delivery method.

Next steps

Building a WinUI 3 or Windows App SDK app?

Building or maintaining a UWP app?

Migrating a UWP app to Windows App SDK?