We are bringing .NET MAUI to Linux and to the browser, powered by Avalonia.
For the past few months, we have been working on an Avalonia powered backend for .NET MAUI, with guidance and feedback from engineers in the MAUI ecosystem. What started as an experiment has grown into a project we are committing to, with apps already running on new platforms. It is time to show you what we have been building.
Try It Right Now
Before we dive into the details, you can experience it yourself:
This is a real MAUI application running on WebAssembly, rendered through Avalonia, with no plugins or hidden tricks. It is an early build with rough edges, but it proves the point: MAUI can now run on every major desktop OS and in the browser.
What is the Avalonia MAUI Backend?
At its core, the Avalonia MAUI Backend enables you to keep your MAUI codebase while replacing the rendering layer with Avalonia. The goal is straightforward: take your existing MAUI applications and extend them to additional platforms, while enhancing desktop performance along the way.
In practical terms, that means several big wins.
Desktop Linux support
.NET MAUI apps running as first class desktop apps on distributions such as Ubuntu, Debian and Fedora, sharing the same Avalonia renderer that already powers demanding desktop apps in production today.
Embedded Linux
Avalonia already runs on embedded Linux devices, from Raspberry Pi panels to industrial HMIs. Using the same backend, the Avalonia MAUI Backend brings those capabilities to MAUI as well, so the applications you build in MAUI can run on the same embedded Linux targets as Avalonia.
WebAssembly support
The demo you can open in your browser today is a real MAUI application running on WebAssembly, rendered by Avalonia, with no native dependencies on the client. It is an early build, but it demonstrates what is now possible. MAUI apps will soon be free to deploy to the browser.
Bonus: The Avalonia MAUI Backend runs on Windows and macOS too
On Windows and macOS, it plugs into the same mature desktop story Avalonia already has. On macOS, early testing indicates significantly improved performance compared to the Mac Catalyst approach. We are seeing more than 2x the performance in representative desktop scenarios, which is a very encouraging sign for the future of MAUI on desktop.
All of this is possible because we have built a version of MAUI that sits on top of Avalonia’s drawn UI model rather than native controls. Not only do you get more platforms and improved performance, your MAUI applications can look and behave consistently whether they are on Windows, macOS, Linux, mobile or running in a browser tab.
Simpler, faster development
For the Avalonia team, this architecture has a major practical benefit: we only have to target one platform: Avalonia itself. That single target means we can move faster, ship features consistently, and avoid the need to endlessly fix platform-specific edge cases.
Instead of maintaining separate implementations for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, and WebAssembly, we maintain just one. That massively reduces the chances of platform quirks, that can eat up hours of debugging time when something works on Android but not iOS, or renders differently on Mac Catalyst versus WinUI 3. When building on Avalonia, the controls render the same way everywhere because they are using the same rendering engine everywhere.
That means when we add a feature or fix a bug, it works across all platforms. No more "this works on mobile but breaks on desktop" or "this looks right on Windows but wrong on macOS." The entire development cycle becomes more predictable and significantly faster.
For us, that is a significant advantage. For MAUI developers, it means the backend evolves faster and more reliably.
Why Is Avalonia Building a Backend for MAUI?
It is a fair question. Avalonia already has its own thriving ecosystem. We see strong, sustained growth in our community, so why invest this much effort into making MAUI run on top of Avalonia?
The honest answer is that we care about .NET client developers first, and about which on ramp they use second. Many teams have already chosen MAUI, which they like and want more from. If we can provide them with Linux and browser support, along with improved desktop performance, without requiring a rewrite, that aligns with our mission to delight developers and solve complex problems.
This is not entirely selfless. Building a MAUI backend is also a way for us to learn. Running MAUI on Avalonia highlights what is missing for Avalonia to feel completely natural on mobile, which APIs are problematic, which tooling gaps matter, and where we need to raise our game to stay competitive. The work we are doing here directly contributes to strengthening Avalonia.
There is also a long term benefit in familiarity. By using Avalonia as the backend for their existing MAUI apps, developers gain insight into our renderer, capabilities and way of thinking. Some of those teams will quite reasonably stay with MAUI. Others, when they start a new project or need something lower level, may build directly on Avalonia instead. If this backend becomes a bridge that brings more people into the Avalonia ecosystem over time, that is a win.
So this project is not about “saving” MAUI from other frameworks. It is about giving existing MAUI developers more headroom and additional platforms, learning from their needs, and ensuring Avalonia is an obvious, competitive choice for whatever they build next.
Why This Matters for MAUI Developers
If you have followed MAUI since its launch, you will know the two requests that never went away.
Developers want Linux support, both for desktop and for embedded devices. They also want a drawn control model that provides consistent behaviour across platforms, rather than relying on the native toolkit available on each system.
The Avalonia backend tackles both of those head on. Avalonia is a mature drawn UI framework.
It provides:
Hardware accelerated rendering on every platform
A consistent layout and styling system
Smooth animations at high refresh rates
Custom rendering and visual effects capabilities
Broad platform coverage
A fully supported platform that is receiving significant investment
These are not theoretical promises. They are the reasons Avalonia is used in production by companies such as Unity, JetBrains and Schneider Electric.
By building MAUI on top of Avalonia, you get a predictable, drawn UI foundation and an expanded set of platforms, without having to throw away your existing codebase. You do not need to abandon MAUI to get Linux and the web. You can bring MAUI with you, while also improving the experience on Windows and macOS.
Performance and Next Generation Rendering
Performance is an important part of this story.
A drawn, GPU friendly UI stack gives you more headroom than wrapping native toolkits.
We are collaborating with the Flutter team at Google to bring Impeller, their GPU first renderer, to .NET. That work is already in progress and as it lands, the MAUI backend will inherit those gains.
The aim is simple: faster rendering, lower battery usage and smoother animations across desktop, mobile and embedded, using the same underlying technology that is pushing Flutter forward.
Read more about our Impeller collaboration with Google →
Looking Forward
We are particularly grateful to the MAUI engineers who have shared feedback and ideas as we have developed this backend. The .NET client ecosystem is at its best when different teams can cross pollinate and push each other forward.
This is just the beginning. As Linux and browser support matures, MAUI can finally live up to its promise as a truly multi platform app UI. We will keep sharing previews, benchmarks and updates as development continues, and once we are happy with the stability of the backend we will release the source code as fully open source under the MIT licence.