#Getting started

NetForms is Windows Forms for .NET 10 on Windows and Linux. If you have written a WinForms application, you already know how to write a NetForms one: the code is the same. This page covers what is different — getting the tools and creating the project.

#1. Install

• .NET 10 SDK — https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download. On Ubuntu 24.04+: sudo apt install dotnet-sdk-10.0.
• Linux only: a few system libraries (a desktop distribution already has them).
• Optional, for the visual designer: VS Code with the NetForms Designer extension (Marketplace / Open VSX: netforms.netforms-designer) and the C# extension.

Step by step for Windows and each Linux family: Install and set up.

#2. Create a project

From the command line:

dotnet new install NetForms.Templates::0.1.0-preview.3
dotnet new netforms -n HelloForms
cd HelloForms
dotnet run

Or in VS Code: NetForms: Create New Project….

You get the three files Visual Studio creates for a WinForms app, and a project file that differs from Visual Studio's in one place — the reference:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>WinExe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>net10.0</TargetFramework>
    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
    <RootNamespace>HelloForms</RootNamespace>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="NetForms" Version="0.1.0-preview.3" />
  </ItemGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <!-- What <UseWindowsForms>true</UseWindowsForms> adds: the WinForms namespaces as implicit usings. -->
    <Using Include="System.Drawing" />
    <Using Include="System.Windows.Forms" />
  </ItemGroup>

</Project>

Program.cs:

namespace HelloForms
{
    internal static class Program
    {
        [STAThread]
        static void Main()
        {
            ApplicationConfiguration.Initialize();
            Application.Run(new MainForm());
        }
    }
}

Add forms and user controls with dotnet new netforms-form -n SettingsForm and dotnet new netforms-usercontrol -n ColorPicker (inside the project folder, after the first dotnet build or dotnet restore; in a subfolder pass the namespace: --Namespace HelloForms.Views), or NetForms: New Form… in VS Code. VS Code installs the same template package from NuGet itself.

#3. Write code as in WinForms

Everything in the Microsoft WinForms documentation applies: controls, events, layout with Anchor/Dock, TableLayoutPanel, custom controls with OnPaint, data binding to DataGridView, dialogs. For example, a custom control:

public class Gauge : Control
{
    private int _value;

    public int Value
    {
        get => _value;
        set { _value = value; Invalidate(); }
    }

    protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)
    {
        base.OnPaint(e);
        e.Graphics.FillRectangle(Brushes.SteelBlue, 0, 0, Width * Value / 100, Height);
        TextRenderer.DrawText(e.Graphics, $"{Value}%", Font, ClientRectangle, ForeColor);
    }
}

Before relying on something rare, check the compatibility guide and API coverage.

#4. Design forms

Open MainForm.Designer.cs in VS Code with the extension installed — it opens as a canvas. See the designer. The file it writes is what Visual Studio writes, so the same project can be edited in Visual Studio on Windows.

#5. Ship it

# framework-dependent: needs the .NET 10 runtime on the target machine
dotnet publish -c Release -r linux-x64 --self-contained false

# self-contained: everything in one folder, no .NET needed
dotnet publish -c Release -r linux-x64 --self-contained true
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true

A build made on Windows runs on Linux and the other way round (framework-dependent, -r omitted): SkiaSharp's native libraries for both are in the package.

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