XAML Behaviors

August 20, 2026 · View on GitHub

Xaml Behaviors is a port of Windows UWP version of XAML Behaviors for Avalonia XAML.

XAML Behaviors for Avalonia is an easy-to-use means of adding common and reusable interactivity to your Avalonia applications with minimal code. Avalonia port is available only for managed applications. Use of XAML Behaviors is governed by the MIT License.

In addition to the classic reflection-based behaviors from WPF/UWP, this port adds source generators that create strongly typed actions and triggers. They remove runtime reflection, improve AOT/linker friendliness, and surface diagnostics at compile time.

See the AOT-friendly behaviors docs for examples and guidance.

Animation definitions and composition helpers are also available independently through Xaml.Behaviors.Animations. This package depends on Avalonia only; behavior, action, and trigger adapters in Xaml.Behaviors.Interactions.Custom reuse the same implementation. See the standalone animations guide.

The standalone animations sample demonstrates every feature family in a dedicated tab without referencing the behaviors framework.

Building XAML Behaviors Avalonia

First, clone the repository or download the latest zip.

git clone https://github.com/wieslawsoltes/Xaml.Behaviors.git

Build on Windows using script

.NET Core.

Open up a command-prompt and execute the commands:

.\build.ps1

Build on Linux using script

.NET Core.

Open up a terminal prompt and execute the commands:

./build.sh

Build on OSX using script

.NET Core.

Open up a terminal prompt and execute the commands:

./build.sh

NuGet

Avalonia XamlBehaviors is delivered as a NuGet package.

You can find the packages here NuGet and install the package like this:

Install-Package Xaml.Behaviors

or by using nightly build feed:

Add https://www.myget.org/F/xamlbehaviors-nightly/api/v2 to your package sources
Alternative nightly build feed https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/wieslawsoltes/GitHub/_packaging/Nightly/nuget/v3/index.json
Update your package using XamlBehaviors feed

and install the package like this:

Install-Package Xaml.Behaviors -Pre

Package Sources

https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

Available Packages

Package	NuGet	Description
Xaml.Behaviors		Complete library of behaviors, actions and triggers for Avalonia applications.
Xaml.Behaviors.Animations		Reusable Avalonia animations, composition effects, and transition helpers with no behaviors dependency.
Xaml.Behaviors.Avalonia		Meta package that bundles all Avalonia XAML Behaviors for easy installation.
Xaml.Behaviors.Interactivity		Foundation library providing base classes for actions, triggers and behaviors.
Xaml.Behaviors.Interactions		Core collection of common triggers and actions for Avalonia.
Xaml.Behaviors.Interactions.Custom		Custom behaviors and actions for common Avalonia controls.
Xaml.Behaviors.Interactions.DragAndDrop		Behaviors that enable drag-and-drop support in Avalonia.
Xaml.Behaviors.Interactions.DragAndDrop.DataGrid		DataGrid-specific drag-and-drop helpers built on top of the drag-and-drop framework.
Xaml.Behaviors.Interactions.Draggable		Draggable element behaviors for moving controls around.
Xaml.Behaviors.Interactions.Events		Behaviors responding to Avalonia input and focus events.
Xaml.Behaviors.Interactions.ReactiveUI		Behaviors integrating ReactiveUI navigation patterns.
Xaml.Behaviors.Interactions.Responsive		Behaviors to assist with responsive and adaptive UI layouts.
Xaml.Behaviors.Interactions.Scripting		Execute C# scripts at runtime to add dynamic behavior.