Use GitHub Copilot to create WinUI 3 / Windows App SDK apps in Visual Studio

In this how-to, we'll demonstrate how GitHub Copilot can be used to build WinUI / Windows App SDK desktop apps in Visual Studio. This guide builds upon GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio, offering tailored tips and best practices for Copilot-assisted WinUI app development.

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2026, with the WinUI application development workload applied (see Set up your environment and create your first WinUI project for setup details). GitHub Copilot is included in Visual Studio 2026 by default.
• A GitHub account with access to GitHub Copilot. GitHub Copilot is available for free for individual developers; paid plans are also available. Sign in to Visual Studio with the same GitHub account.
• Familiarity with C#, WinUI, and Windows App SDK.

Use GitHub Copilot

Autocomplete your code snippets

GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio provides real-time code suggestions and completions based on the code you write. The most straightforward way to use Copilot is to start typing code in the editor, and Copilot will try to autocomplete your code snippet. You can then accept or dismiss the suggestions:

Tip

If you don't see the GitHub Copilot suggestions, you can enable different aspects of the feature in Visual Studio's options under Tools -> Options -> GitHub -> Copilot.

Use Copilot Chat for WinUI questions

The Copilot Chat panel (View > GitHub Copilot Chat) is the most flexible way to get WinUI-specific help. Unlike inline completions, Chat lets you ask multi-step questions, reference specific files, and get explanations with full context.

Open the Chat panel and try prompts like:

• "Using WinUI 3 and Windows App SDK, add a NavigationView with three pages to my MainWindow"
• "Explain how XamlRoot works in WinUI 3 and show me how to set it on a ContentDialog"
• "Convert this event handler to use DispatcherQueue instead of CoreDispatcher"

To reference a specific file in Chat, type # and select the file from the picker. This is particularly useful when you want Copilot to generate C# code that matches your existing XAML:

#MainWindow.xaml Add click handlers in code-behind for all the buttons in this file

Tip

Always include WinUI 3 and Windows App SDK in your Chat prompts. Without this context, Copilot may suggest UWP patterns (such as Window.Current or CoreDispatcher) that don't work in WinUI 3. See WinUI 3 patterns to watch for below.

Ask Copilot for inline suggestions

Right-click in the code editor and select Chat to open an inline chat window at your cursor position. Type your question and press Enter:

Tip

You can promote an inline chat thread to the full Chat panel at any time by selecting Copilot Actions > Add to Chat. This preserves the conversation context so you can continue in the panel.

Prompt Copilot with plain-language comments

Although Copilot is used primarily for code completion, you can also use natural language comments to guide Copilot in generating specific code snippets. For example, you can use comments to request a specific feature or functionality:

Use Copilot Chat to add context from other files

If you're working on a code-behind file and want Copilot to incorporate context from the associated XAML file, reference it directly in the Chat panel using #:

#MainPage.xaml Generate the C# event handlers for all interactive controls in this file

Alternatively, for inline completions you can use temporary comments to paste the relevant XAML into the code-behind file. Copilot will use this as context when generating C# code, and you can delete the comments afterward:

Ask Copilot to explain how something works

The best way to ask Copilot to explain code is to select it in the editor, then right-click and choose Copilot Actions > Explain. This opens the Chat panel with your selected code already attached as context, and Copilot provides a detailed explanation.

You can also ask for explanations directly in the Chat panel using the /explain slash command:

/explain What does this DispatcherQueue.TryEnqueue call do?

Tip

Slash commands like /explain, /fix, and /doc are shortcuts in the Chat panel that tell Copilot exactly what kind of help you want. Type / in the Chat input to see all available commands.

Use Copilot to enforce code standards

The most reliable way to have Copilot follow your project's coding conventions is to add a .github/copilot-instructions.md file to your repository. Copilot reads this file automatically and applies the instructions to all suggestions in that repo. For example:

# Copilot instructions

- Use DispatcherQueue.TryEnqueue for all UI thread dispatch, never CoreDispatcher
- Always set XamlRoot when showing a ContentDialog
- Use the MVVM pattern with CommunityToolkit.Mvvm ObservableObject and RelayCommand
- Target net10.0-windows10.0.19041.0 — do not use plain net10.0

You can also ask Copilot to review a code snippet against specific standards in the Chat panel:

Does this code follow the MVVM pattern correctly for a WinUI 3 app?

Tip

For team-wide consistency, commit .github/copilot-instructions.md to source control. Every developer on the team will get the same Copilot behavior without any per-machine configuration.

WinUI 3 patterns to watch for

Copilot is trained on a large body of Windows code that includes older UWP and WinUI 2 samples. When working in a WinUI 3 project, watch for these suggestions and use the correct WinUI 3 equivalents instead:

Copilot may suggest	WinUI 3 equivalent	Notes
Window.Current	App.MainWindow or store a reference to your window	Window.Current is UWP only — it's always null in WinUI 3
CoreDispatcher / Dispatcher.RunAsync	DispatcherQueue.TryEnqueue	WinUI 3 uses DispatcherQueue for UI thread dispatch
Windows.UI.Xaml.* namespaces	Microsoft.UI.Xaml.*	All WinUI 3 types are in the Microsoft.UI.Xaml namespace
MessageDialog (Windows.UI.Popups)	ContentDialog with XamlRoot set	Set dialog.XamlRoot = this.Content.XamlRoot before calling ShowAsync
FileOpenPicker without HWND	Initialize with WinRT.Interop.InitializeWithWindow.Initialize(picker, hwnd)	WinUI 3 pickers require an HWND; use WinRT.Interop to get it
net8.0 or net10.0 TFM	net10.0-windows10.0.19041.0	The unqualified TFM excludes Windows Runtime APIs

Tip

If Copilot generates a pattern from this list, paste it into the Chat panel and ask: "Is this correct for WinUI 3 with Windows App SDK, or is this a UWP pattern?" Copilot will usually identify and correct the issue when asked directly.

Recap

In this how-to, we demonstrated how to use GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio to assist you with WinUI / Windows App SDK desktop app development. We covered how to:

• Autocomplete your code snippets.
• Use the Copilot Chat panel for multi-step WinUI questions and file references.
• Generate inline suggestions using right-click > Chat.
• Prompt Copilot with plain-language comments.
• Use #file references or temporary comments to add context from other files.
• Ask Copilot to explain code using Copilot Actions > Explain or the /explain slash command in Chat.
• Use Copilot to enforce code standards with .github/copilot-instructions.md or Chat review.
• Identify and correct UWP patterns that Copilot may suggest in WinUI 3 projects.

Related content

• Sample applications for Windows development
• Windows developer FAQ
• Windows development best practices