Avalonia Layout Zafiro Agent Skill

Avalonia Layout with Zafiro.Avalonia

> Master modern, clean, and maintainable Avalonia UI layouts.

> Focus on semantic containers, shared styles, and minimal XAML.

🎯 Selective Reading Rule

Read ONLY files relevant to the layout challenge!

📑 Content Map

| File | Description | When to Read |

|------|-------------|--------------|

| themes.md | Theme organization and shared styles | Setting up or refining app themes |

| containers.md | Semantic containers (HeaderedContainer, EdgePanel, Card) | Structuring views and layouts |

| icons.md | Icon usage with IconExtension and IconOptions | Adding and customizing icons |

| behaviors.md | Xaml.Interaction.Behaviors and avoiding Converters | Implementing complex interactions |

| components.md | Generic components and avoiding nesting | Creating reusable UI elements |

🔗 Related Project (Exemplary Implementation)

For a real-world example, refer to the Angor project:

/mnt/fast/Repos/angor/src/Angor/Avalonia/Angor.Avalonia.sln

✅ Checklist for Clean Layouts

• [ ] Used semantic containers? (e.g., HeaderedContainer instead of Border with manual header)
• [ ] Avoided redundant properties? Use shared styles in axaml files.
• [ ] Minimized nesting? Flatten layouts using EdgePanel or generic components.
• [ ] Icons via extension? Use {Icon fa-name} and IconOptions for styling.
• [ ] Behaviors over code-behind? Use Interaction.Behaviors for UI-logic.
• [ ] Avoided Converters? Prefer ViewModel properties or Behaviors unless necessary.

❌ Anti-Patterns

DON'T:

• Use hardcoded colors or sizes (literals) in views.
• Create deep nesting of Grid and StackPanel.
• Repeat visual properties across multiple elements (use Styles).
• Use IValueConverter for simple logic that belongs in the ViewModel.

DO:

• Use DynamicResource for colors and brushes.
• Extract repeated layouts into generic components.
• Leverage Zafiro.Avalonia specific panels like EdgePanel for common UI patterns.