.NET MAUI › Fundamentals & Architecture

What is the 'single project' concept in MAUI?

Beginner

Answer

MAUI uses one .csproj that multi-targets several platforms. Platform-specific code, resources, and entry points live under a Platforms/ folder, while shared code, images, fonts, and app icons are declared once and processed per platform at build time. This replaces the multiple head projects Xamarin required.

<TargetFrameworks>net8.0-android;net8.0-ios;net8.0-maccatalyst</TargetFrameworks>
<TargetFrameworks Condition="$([MSBuild]::IsOSPlatform('windows'))">
    $(TargetFrameworks);net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0
</TargetFrameworks>

Real-world example One project outputs an .apk, an .ipa, and an .msix from the same source tree during CI.

Common follow-ups: Where does platform-specific code go? | How does multi-targeting work?

Multi-targeting Platforms folder Project Structure