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Windows UI Library (WinUI) 2

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Note

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

WinUI controls

Windows UI Library (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).

WinUI 2 platform support

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

For details on the work planned for the next release and to provide feedback, see the WinUI 2.8 milestone.

  • New controls: The Windows UI Library 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: Windows UI Library 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, gives you access to a lower-level Xaml features which provide better CPU and working set performance. XamlDirect enables you to 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 and code 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 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 Windows UI Library controls are included with the Universal Windows Platform controls documentation.

API reference docs are located at Windows UI Library APIs.

Install and use the Windows UI Library

For instructions on installing and using the WinUI 2 library, see Getting started with the Windows UI Library.

Developer engagement

We welcome bug reports, feature requests and community code contributions in the microsoft-ui-xaml repo on GitHub.

NuGet package list

For details on the Windows UI Library NuGet packages, see Windows UI Library NuGet package list.

See also