How to open MAUI Application from WinForms Application

Question

I am working on WinForms app which I'm trying to open MAUI application from WinForms application.

So, I am wondering, if it is possible to open MAUI Application from within WinForms app?

Answer 1

Hello,

MAUI app that targets on Windows platform uses WinUI3, and it currently only allows publishing an MSIX package. You could refer to Publish a .NET MAUI app to a folder for Windows - .NET MAUI | Microsoft Learn

The main question is how to open/launch a WinUI3 published app (MSIX) from WinForms app. You could try to launch the app with an execution alias.

Please open the source code of /Platforms/Windows/Package.appxmanifest in your MAUI app, then reference the namespace(xmlns:uap5="http://schemas.microsoft.com/appx/manifest/uap/windows10/5") in the top of Package.appxmanifest, add add the following code in the Application element.

<Extensions>
            <uap5:Extension Category="windows.appExecutionAlias">
                <uap5:AppExecutionAlias>
                    <uap5:ExecutionAlias Alias="MyApp.exe"/>
                </uap5:AppExecutionAlias>
            </uap5:Extension>
        </Extensions>

After that, you can call Process.Start("MyApp.exe") in your WinForms app.

Best Regards,

Wenyan Zhang

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