Hot Reload

The Uno Platform Hot Reload feature provides a way to modify the XAML and C# of your running application, in order to iterate faster on UI or code changes. This makes the inner developer loop faster.

Features

Supported in Visual Studio 2022 (Windows), VS Code (Linux, macOS, Windows, CodeSpaces, and GitPod) and Rider (Linux, macOS, Windows)
XAML and C# Markup Hot Reload for iOS, Catalyst, Android, WebAssembly, and Skia (X11, Windows, macOS and FrameBuffer)
All C# of Hot Reload in both Visual Studio and VS Code. See supported code changes.
Simulator and physical devices support
Hot Reload Indicator visuals for an enhanced development experience on Uno Platform targets
What can be Hot Reloaded:
- XAML files in the main project and referenced projects libraries
- C# Markup controls
- Bindings
- Full x:Bind expressions
- App.xaml and referenced resource dictionaries
- DataTemplates
- Styles
- Extensible State restoration
- Support for partial tree hot reload, where modifying a UserControl instantiated in multiple locations will reload it without reloading its parents

Hot Reload features vary between platforms and IDE, you can check below the list of currently supported features.

How to use Hot Reload

Setup your environment by following our getting started guides.
Start your application (with or without the debugger, depending on the supported features below)
Make changes to your XAML or C# code, save your file then press the red flame icon in the toolbar or use Alt+F10

Important

Using .NET 8 or later (net8.0 in the TargetFrameworks property) is required for Hot Reload to be available when your solution contains iOS, Android, Mac Catalyst, or WebAssembly project heads. On Windows, Visual Studio 17.8 or later is required.

Supported features per OS

	Visual Studio		VS Code		Rider
Target	C#	XAML	C#	XAML	C#	XAML
Desktop Windows	✅🐞	✅🐞	✅🐞	✅🐞	✅	✅
Desktop/WSL	⌛^[1]	⌛^[1]	✅	✅	🔳^[2]	🔳^[2]
iOS	⌛^[3]	✅^[4]	⌛^[3]🛜	✅^[4]🛜	🔳	🔳
Android	⌛^[3]	✅^[4]	⌛^[3]	✅^[4]	⌛^[3]	✅^[4]
WinAppSDK	✅🐞	✅🐞	🔳	🔳	🔳	🔳
WebAssembly	✅🐞	✅🐞	✅	✅	✅	✅
Catalyst	🔳	🔳	⌛^[3]🛜	✅^[4]🛜	🔳	🔳

	VS Code		Rider
Target	C#	XAML	C#	XAML
Desktop macOS	✅	✅	✅	✅
iOS	⌛^[3]	✅^[4]	⌛^[3]	✅^[4]
Android	⌛^[3]	✅^[4]	⌛^[3]	✅^[4]
Catalyst	⌛^[3]	✅^[4]	⌛^[3]	✅^[4]
WinAppSDK	🔳	🔳	🔳	🔳
WebAssembly	✅	✅	✅	✅

	VS Code		Rider
Target	C#	XAML	C#	XAML
Desktop Linux	✅	✅	✅	✅
Android	⌛^[3]	✅^[4]	⌛^[3]	✅^[4]
WebAssembly	✅	✅	✅	✅
iOS	⌛^[3]🛜	✅^[4]🛜	🔳	🔳
Catalyst	⌛^[3]🛜	✅^[4]🛜	🔳	🔳
WinAppSDK	🔳	🔳	🔳	🔳

Legend:

✅ Supported
🐞 Supported with the debugger
⌛ Upcoming support
🛜 Supported through SSH to a Mac
🔳 Not supported by the environment/IDE

Notes

[1]: Support is pending support in the .NET SDK.
[2]: Support is not available.
[3]: C# Hot Reload is affected by a .NET Runtime issue.
[4]: XAML Hot Reload is using the XAML Reader, pending C# Hot Reload update and a VS/VS Code update.

Supported features per Platform

Skia-based targets provide support for full XAML Hot Reload and C# Hot Reload. There are some restrictions that are listed below:

The Visual Studio 2022 for Windows support is fully available, with and without running under the debugger
As of VS 2022 17.9 XAML or C# Hot Reload under WSL is not supported
VS Code
- With the debugger: The C# Dev Kit is handling hot reload when enabled. As of December 20th, 2023, C# Dev Kit hot reload does not handle class libraries. To experience the best hot reload, do not use the debugger.
- Without the debugger: The VS Code Uno Platform extension is handling Hot Reload (C# or XAML)
- Adding new C# or XAML files to a project is not yet supported
Rider
- Hot Reload is only supported without the debugger.
- Adding new C# or XAML files to a project is not yet supported

WebAssembly is currently providing both full and partial Hot Reload support, depending on the IDE.

In Visual Studio Code:
- Both C# and XAML Hot Reload are fully supported
- Adding new C# or XAML files to the project is not yet supported
- Hot Reload is not supported when using the debugger
In Rider:
- Both C# and XAML Hot Reload are fully supported
- Adding new C# or XAML files to the project is not yet supported
- Hot Reload is not supported when using the debugger
In Visual Studio for Windows:
- MetadataUpdateHandlers are invoked without the list of changed types, which means that some hot reload features may not be available. This feature is slated to be available for .NET 9.

Mobile targets are currently using a limited version of XAML Hot Reload and do not support C# Hot Reload until this dotnet runtime issue is fixed.

In Visual Studio, the "Hot Reload on File Save" feature must be disabled to avoid crashing the app. You can find this feature by clicking on the down arrow next to the red flame in the Visual Studio toolbar.
In VS, VS Code, and Rider, C# Hot Reload is not yet fully supported
XAML x:Bind hot reload is limited to simple expressions and events

Hot Reload Indicator

Hot Reload displays a visual indicator to help you further monitor changes while developing. It displays new information every time Hot Reload is triggered. The indicator is enabled by default within the EnableHotReload() method which is located in the root App.xaml.cs file. This displays an overlay which hosts the visual indicator. If you wish to disable it, you simply have to provide the following boolean: EnableHotReload(disableIndicator: true), removing the overlay from the view.

A hot reload visual indicator

Tip

The overlay can be moved by using the anchor on the left hand side.

The indicator displays the current connection status. Clicking on it will open a flyout containing all events or changes that were applied by Hot Reload. These events display more details about Hot Reload changes, such as its status and impacted files.

A window showing events from Hot Reload

Statuses

Here's a summary of what icons and statuses you can expect:

Connection:

The icon shown on a successful connection Success

The icon shown on a failed connection Failed

The icon shown on a successful connection, with warnings Warning (Usually indicates an issue that can be solved by restarting your IDE)

Operation:

The icon shown when Hot Reload succeeded Success

The icon shown when Hot Reload failed Failed

The icon shown when Hot Reload is in progress Processing (Hot Reload is processing the changes or initializing)

Troubleshooting

Observe the application logs, you should see diagnostics messages in the app when a XAML file is reloaded.
WinAppSDK on Windows-specific issues
- Grid Succinct syntax is not supported
You can troubleshoot hot reload further from the DevServer client running in the app by:
- Setting builder.SetMinimumLevel(LogLevel.Information) to LogLevel.Debug or Trace
- Setting builder.AddFilter("Uno.UI.DataBinding.BinderReferenceHolder", LogLevel.Debug ) to LogLevel.Debug or Trace
The diagnostics messages will appear in the app's debug output.
If you're getting ENC0003: Updating 'attribute' requires restarting the application, add the following in the Directory.Build.props (or in each csproj project heads):
```
<PropertyGroup>
  
  <GenerateAssemblyInfo Condition="'$(Configuration)'=='Debug'">false</GenerateAssemblyInfo>
</PropertyGroup>
```
Also make sure that you're not referencing Microsoft.SourceLink.* packages.
If you're getting the Unable to access Dispatcher/DispatcherQueue error, you'll need to update your app startup to Uno 5 or later:
- Add the following lines to the shared library project csproj file :
```
<ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="Uno.WinUI.DevServer" Version="$UnoWinUIVersion$" Condition="'$(Configuration)'=='Debug'" />
</ItemGroup>
```
  Note
  
  If your application is using the UWP API set (Uno.UI packages) you'll need to use the Uno.UI.DevServer package instead.
- Then, in your App.cs file, add the following:
```
using Uno.UI;

//... in the OnLaunched method

#if DEBUG
        MainWindow.EnableHotReload();
#endif
```

Make sure that C# Hot Reload is not disabled in Visual Studio
- Open Tools / Options
- Search for .NET / C++ Hot Reload
- Ensure that all three checkboxes are checked (Enable hot reload when debugging, Enable Hot Reload without debugging and Apply Hot Reload on File Save) The output window in Visual Studio has an output named Uno Platform in its drop-down. Diagnostics messages from the VS integration appear there. You will need to have the MSBuild project build output verbosity above "minimal" in Tools > Options > Projects and Solutions > Build And Run to start having some logs in the Uno Platform output. These changes should take effect immediately without requiring a restart of Visual Studio. However, if you seem to not have more additional logs, try restarting Visual Studio. For more information regarding verbosity for build log, see the related VS documentation.
When a file is reloaded, XAML parsing errors will appear in the application's logs, on the device or in the browser.
If there are multiple versions of the Uno.WinUI Package present in the solution, the newest will be used, regardless of the started application
For net8.0-windows10.xx:
- Ensure that the net8.0-windows10.xxx target framework is selected in the top-left dropdown list of the XAML editor. Selecting any other platform will break hot reload.
- A VS issue for WinUI may be hit. If XAML hot reload does not work, ensure that the Uno Platform output window exists, and that it mentions that the extension has successfully loaded. To do so, try closing and reopening the solution, and make sure that the Visual Studio extension is installed.
If the indicator is red and indicates that connection failed, make sure that you have the latests versions of Uno.SDK and the VS extension, then rebuild your application.

Hot Reload is not supported for WebAssembly and Skia Desktop when using the debugger. Start your app using Ctrl+F5.
The output window in Code has an output named Uno Platform - Hot Reload in its drop-down. Diagnostics messages from the extension appear there.
Depending on your machine's performance, the hot reload engine may take a few moments to initialize and take your project modifications into account.
Make sure that the selected project in the status bar is:
- Not the solution file, but rather the project platform you are debugging.
- Aligned with the platform you chose to debug with (net8.0-desktop with Desktop debug profile, net8.0-ios/android for Mobile debug, etc...)
If Hot Reload does not function properly, you can try using the Developer: Reload Window command in the palette (using Ctrl+Shift+P)
When working on Skia Desktop apps, make sure to start the app without the debugger, and make sure that in the debugger tab, the Uno Platform Desktop (Debug) target is selected.
The TCP port number used by the app to connect back to the IDE is located in the obj/Debug/net8.0-XXX/RemoteControl.config file. If the port number does not match with the one found in the Uno Platform - Hot Reload output window, restart Code or use Developer: Reload Window in the command palette.

Hot Reload is not supported when using the debugger. Start your app without the debugger.
The output window in Rider has an output named Uno Platform in its sidebar. Diagnostics messages from the extension appear there.
Depending on your machine's performance, the hot reload engine may take a few moments to initialize and take your project modifications into account.
If Hot Reload does not function properly, you can try closing and reopening the solution.
The TCP port number used by the app to connect back to the IDE is located in the obj/Debug/net8.0-XXX/RemoteControl.config file. If the port number does not match with the one found in the Uno Platform output window, close and reopen the solution.

Next Steps

Learn more about:

Uno Platform features and architecture
Uno Platform App solution structure
Troubleshooting
List of views implemented in Uno for the set of available controls and their properties.
You can head to How-tos and tutorials on how to work on your Uno Platform app.