WPF to Avalonia cheat sheet

A quick reference for WPF developers transitioning to Avalonia. Each entry shows the WPF concept and its Avalonia equivalent.

XAML namespace

WPF	Avalonia
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"	xmlns="https://github.com/avaloniaui"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"	Same
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:MyApp"	xmlns:local="using:MyApp" (preferred) or clr-namespace:

Property system

WPF	Avalonia	Notes
DependencyProperty	StyledProperty	Supports styling, animation, inheritance
DependencyProperty (perf-critical)	DirectProperty	Faster but no styling/animation
DependencyProperty.Register()	AvaloniaProperty.Register<TOwner, TValue>()	Generic registration
DependencyProperty.RegisterAttached()	AvaloniaProperty.RegisterAttached<TValue>()	Attached properties
PropertyMetadata	StyledPropertyMetadata<T>	Type-safe metadata
CoerceValueCallback	CoerceValueCallback via metadata	Same concept
PropertyChanged callback in metadata	propertyChanged callback in Register	Passed directly

Styling

WPF	Avalonia	Notes
<Style TargetType="Button">	<Style Selector="Button">	CSS-like selectors
Style.Triggers	Pseudo-classes (:pointerover, :pressed)	No triggers in Avalonia
DataTrigger	Bindings + pseudo-classes or converters	See below
EventTrigger	Animations on pseudo-classes
VisualStateManager	Pseudo-classes	:pointerover, :pressed, :disabled, :checked
BasedOn="{StaticResource ...}"	Not needed; selectors compose
Style x:Key="..."	Style classes: <Style Selector="Button.primary">
Style="{StaticResource ButtonStyle}"	Classes="primary"
ControlTemplate.Triggers	Pseudo-class selectors
TemplateBinding	TemplateBinding	Same concept (OneWay only)
{RelativeSource TemplatedParent}	{TemplateBinding} or $parent[ControlType]

DataTrigger equivalent

WPF:

<DataTrigger Binding="{Binding IsActive}" Value="True">
    <Setter Property="Background" Value="Green" />
</DataTrigger>

Avalonia (use a converter or custom pseudo-class):

<Style Selector="Border.status">
    <Setter Property="Background" Value="Red" />
</Style>
<Style Selector="Border.status[(vm:MyViewModel.IsActive)]">
    <Setter Property="Background" Value="Green" />
</Style>

Or with a binding converter:

<Border Background="{Binding IsActive, Converter={StaticResource BoolToColorConverter}}" />

Data binding

WPF	Avalonia	Notes
{Binding Path}	{Binding Path}	Same syntax
{Binding Path, Mode=TwoWay}	{Binding Path, Mode=TwoWay}	Same
{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Self}}	{Binding $self.Property}	Shorthand syntax
{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType=Grid}}	{Binding $parent[Grid].Property}
{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource TemplatedParent}}	{TemplateBinding Property}
{Binding ElementName=myControl, Path=Text}	{Binding #myControl.Text}	#name syntax
CompiledBinding	{CompiledBinding} or x:CompileBindings="True"	Compile-time validation
MultiBinding	MultiBinding	Same concept
IValueConverter	IValueConverter	Same interface
IMultiValueConverter	IMultiValueConverter	Same interface
FallbackValue	FallbackValue	Same
TargetNullValue	TargetNullValue	Same
StringFormat	StringFormat	Same
UpdateSourceTrigger	Not needed; defaults are sensible	TextBox updates on text change

Controls

WPF	Avalonia	Notes
Window	Window	Same
UserControl	UserControl	Same
Button	Button	Same
TextBlock	TextBlock	Same
TextBox	TextBox	Same
CheckBox	CheckBox	Same
RadioButton	RadioButton	Same
ComboBox	ComboBox	Same
ListBox	ListBox	Same
ListView	ListBox	Use ListBox with ItemTemplate
TreeView	TreeView	Same
DataGrid	DataGrid (NuGet package)	Separate package
TabControl	TabControl	Same
Expander	Expander	Same
Slider	Slider	Same
ProgressBar	ProgressBar	Same
ToolTip	ToolTip	Attached property: ToolTip.Tip
StatusBar	No direct equivalent	Use a styled panel
Menu	Menu	Same
ContextMenu	ContextMenu	Same
Popup	Popup	Same
ScrollViewer	ScrollViewer	Same
Image	Image	Same
Border	Border	Same; supports BoxShadow
Viewbox	Viewbox	Same
ContentControl	ContentControl	Same
ItemsControl	ItemsControl	Same
StackPanel	StackPanel	Same
Grid	Grid	Same; shorthand ColumnDefinitions="Auto,*"
DockPanel	DockPanel	Same
WrapPanel	WrapPanel	Same
Canvas	Canvas	Same
UniformGrid	UniformGrid	Same
GroupBox	GroupBox	Same
RichTextBox	No built-in equivalent	Use a third-party editor

Layout

WPF	Avalonia	Notes
Grid.RowDefinitions="Auto,*"	Same shorthand	Both support inline syntax
DockPanel.LastChildFill	DockPanel.LastChildFill	Same
HorizontalAlignment	HorizontalAlignment	Same
VerticalAlignment	VerticalAlignment	Same
Margin="10,5"	Margin="10,5"	Same
SharedSizeGroup	SharedSizeGroup	Same
Visibility (Visible/Collapsed/Hidden)	IsVisible (bool)	IsVisible="False" equals WPF Collapsed (removed from layout). For WPF Hidden (invisible but still occupies space), use Opacity="0" instead.

Resources

WPF	Avalonia	Notes
StaticResource	StaticResource	Same (resolved once)
DynamicResource	DynamicResource	Same (tracks changes)
MergedDictionaries	MergedDictionaries	Same
ResourceDictionary	ResourceDictionary	Same
ThemeDictionaries	ResourceDictionary.ThemeDictionaries	Light/Dark variants

Events

WPF	Avalonia	Notes
RoutedEvent (Bubble)	RoutedEvent (Bubble)	Same
RoutedEvent (Tunnel)	RoutedEvent (Tunnel)	Same
Preview* events	Tunnel routing strategy	Use AddHandler with RoutingStrategies.Tunnel
EventManager.RegisterRoutedEvent	RoutedEvent.Register<T, TArgs>	Generic registration
e.Handled = true	e.Handled = true	Same
AddHandler(event, handler, handledEventsToo)	Same signature	Same
Class handlers	Event.AddClassHandler<T>()	Same concept

Commands

WPF	Avalonia	Notes
ICommand	ICommand	Same interface
RoutedCommand	No built-in equivalent	Use ICommand implementations
CommandBinding	No equivalent	Bind commands directly
InputBinding / KeyBinding	KeyBinding	Same concept
RelayCommand (MVVM toolkit)	RelayCommand (CommunityToolkit.Mvvm)	Same library works

Templates

WPF	Avalonia	Notes
DataTemplate	DataTemplate	Same
HierarchicalDataTemplate	TreeDataTemplate	Different name
ControlTemplate	ControlTemplate	Same
DataTemplateSelector	DataTemplate with DataType	Use DataType matching
ContentPresenter	ContentPresenter	Same
ItemsPresenter	ItemsPresenter	Same
PART_ naming convention	PART_ naming convention	Same

Threading

WPF	Avalonia	Notes
Dispatcher.Invoke()	Dispatcher.UIThread.InvokeAsync()	Async by default
Dispatcher.BeginInvoke()	Dispatcher.UIThread.Post()	Fire-and-forget
Dispatcher.CurrentDispatcher	Dispatcher.CurrentDispatcher	Same API
Dispatcher.FromThread()	Dispatcher.FromThread()	Same API
DependencyObject.Dispatcher	AvaloniaObject.Dispatcher	Per-object dispatcher
Dispatcher.CheckAccess()	Dispatcher.UIThread.CheckAccess()	Same
Dispatcher.Yield()	Dispatcher.Yield()	Same API
DispatcherPriority	DispatcherPriority	Same enum

Animations

WPF	Avalonia	Notes
Storyboard	Animation	Different API
DoubleAnimation	Keyframe animations	Use KeyFrame with Cue
BeginStoryboard	Animations declared in Style.Animations	Triggered by pseudo-classes
EasingFunction	Easing property	Same easing types available
Transitions (UWP)	Transitions	Property change animations
CompositionTarget.Rendering	TopLevel.RequestAnimationFrame()	Per-frame callback on UI thread; see also CompositionCustomVisualHandler for render-thread callbacks

Graphics

WPF	Avalonia	Notes
SolidColorBrush	SolidColorBrush	Same
LinearGradientBrush	LinearGradientBrush	Same
RadialGradientBrush	RadialGradientBrush	Same
ImageBrush	ImageBrush	Same
VisualBrush	VisualBrush	Same
DrawingBrush	Not available	Use VisualBrush
BitmapEffect	Effect property	BlurEffect, DropShadowEffect
DropShadowEffect	BoxShadow on Border	Different API, CSS-like
RenderTransform	RenderTransform	Same; also supports CSS shorthand
LayoutTransform	LayoutTransformControl	Wrap in a control
Clip	Clip	Same
OpacityMask	OpacityMask	Same
Path	Path	Same; same mini-language

Platform services

WPF	Avalonia	Notes
SystemParameters.PrimaryScreenWidth	TopLevel.GetTopLevel(this).Screens.Primary.Bounds.Width	Access via Screens on any TopLevel
System.Windows.Forms.Screen.AllScreens	TopLevel.GetTopLevel(this).Screens.All	Returns all connected monitors
System.Windows.Forms.Screen.PrimaryScreen.WorkingArea	TopLevel.GetTopLevel(this).Screens.Primary.WorkingArea	Excludes taskbar/dock
PresentationSource.FromVisual().CompositionTarget.TransformToDevice	TopLevel.GetTopLevel(this).Screens.Primary.Scaling	DPI scaling factor

See Working with screens for full usage details.

File structure

WPF	Avalonia
.xaml extension	.axaml extension
App.xaml	App.axaml
MainWindow.xaml	MainWindow.axaml
.xaml.cs code-behind	.axaml.cs code-behind
.csproj WPF SDK	.csproj Avalonia SDK

Common gotchas

1. No triggers: Avalonia uses pseudo-classes and CSS-like selectors instead of WPF triggers. See Pseudo-Classes.

2. Style selectors not TargetType: Styles use CSS-like selectors (Button.primary:pointerover) instead of TargetType + Triggers.

3. x:Name not Name: Use x:Name in Avalonia XAML. The Name property exists but x:Name is standard.

4. Binding path syntax: Use #elementName.Property instead of ElementName=elementName, Path=Property. Use $parent[Type] instead of RelativeSource AncestorType.

5. No RoutedCommand: Avalonia does not have WPF's RoutedCommand infrastructure. Use ICommand implementations (CommunityToolkit.Mvvm recommended).

6. DataGrid is a separate package: Install Avalonia.Controls.DataGrid from NuGet.

7. TreeDataTemplate not HierarchicalDataTemplate: The name is different but the concept is identical.

8. Layout transforms: Use LayoutTransformControl wrapper instead of the LayoutTransform property.

9. Assets use avares://: Resource URIs use avares://AssemblyName/path instead of pack://application:,,,/.

10. Default binding modes: Some controls have different default binding modes than WPF. Check the control documentation if a binding does not update as expected.

See also

• Migrating from WPF: Detailed migration guides.
• Avalonia Architecture: How Avalonia works internally.
• Style Selectors: CSS-like selector syntax.
• Data Binding Syntax: Avalonia binding syntax.