Edit your app while it runs
Hot Reload applies XAML and C# changes to your running Avalonia app the moment you save. No rebuild, no restart, and your app keeps its state.
Trusted by .NET teams around the world
Features
Powerful features, yet simple to use.
XAML and C# together
Change markup, view models, and code-behind in the same session. Both apply to the running app without a rebuild.
Your app keeps running
Edited controls are rebuilt in place while everything else stays where it is. No restart, no losing your navigation or the screen you were styling.
Desktop and mobile
Reload apps on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with on-device support for iOS and Android.
Built on .NET Hot Reload
Driven by the official C# Hot Reload pipeline, the same mechanism dotnet watch uses. No IL rewriting, no custom debugger.
Works with your tools
Use dotnet watch from any terminal, or C# Hot Reload in Visual Studio and VS Code. A file-watcher mode covers XAML editing in Rider.
Ready for AI agents
Coding agents can restyle and rework a running app and see the result immediately. Pair it with dotnet watch and the DevTools MCP server.
What reloads, exactly
When you save, matching parts of your running app are rebuilt in place. No hand-waving: this is what the engine updates live.
Controls
Views with x:Class are rebuilt in place, keeping their position where possible. Adjust layout, add or remove elements, or edit text.
Styles
Application-level and control-level styles are re-applied, so selector and setter changes take effect at once.
Resource dictionaries
Merged dictionaries are reloaded and everything that depends on them refreshes. Change a brush or font size and every control using it updates.
Data templates
Templates are regenerated and the controls bound to them, list items included, are refreshed.
StaticResource references
Rewritten to DynamicResource during hot reload, so even static resource references pick up your edits without a restart.
Code-behind
Event handlers and method bodies in your .cs files apply live, under the standard .NET Hot Reload rules.
Run it from your tools
| Driver | XAML | C# | |
|---|---|---|---|
| dotnet watch | The most reliable driver. It works the same in every editor and on every platform. | ||
| Visual Studio | Apply Code Changes, or turn on Hot Reload on File Save. | ||
| VS Code | Via the C# Dev Kit extension, or dotnet watch in the integrated terminal. | ||
| JetBrains Rider | via dotnet watch | Rider doesn't yet drive .NET metadata updates. Use dotnet watch from its terminal, or the built-in file watcher for XAML. |
The same loop, on a real device
Edit the view and the view model, save, and watch an Android build update without a redeploy. Hot reload through dotnet watch on iOS and Android needs .NET 11 or later.
Setup
Simple installation and implementation.
Add the package, drop the control into your view, and bind it. There is no renderer to configure and no per-platform code to write.
Add the Hot Reload package to your app project (Avalonia 12 or newer). It registers itself, so no startup code is needed.
dotnet add package AvaloniaUI.DiagnosticsSupport.HotReloadInclude your Avalonia UI license key in the executable project file .csproj
<ItemGroup>
<AvaloniaUILicenseKey Include="YOUR_LICENSE_KEY" />
</ItemGroup>What to expect
Hot reload tools earn trust by being clear about their limits. Here's where the edges are today, and we'd like to hear how it behaves in your app.
- C# Hot Reload rules apply
- Hot Reload is driven by .NET's C# Hot Reload. If .NET can't apply a change (a rude edit, like adding a field or changing a method signature), that change needs a restart.
- Rider support is partial for now
- JetBrains Rider's own hot reload doesn't drive the .NET metadata updates that XAML reloading depends on. Run your app under dotnet watch from Rider's terminal, or enable the built-in file-system watcher for XAML edits.
- Mobile works best on .NET 11
- On iOS and Android, hot reload through dotnet watch requires .NET 11 or later.
- Reloaded controls are rebuilt, not mutated
- An edited control is rebuilt in place, so state that lives outside its XAML (like a scroll position held in the control itself) is reset. The rest of your app is untouched.
- WebAssembly is not supported yet
- Hot reload works on the desktop and mobile platforms. Browser (WebAssembly) targets are not currently supported.
Included with Plus and Pro
Hot Reload is part of Avalonia's paid tooling. Every Plus and above subscription includes it alongside DevTools, Parcel, and the IDE extensions. One subscription unlocks them all.
Included with your subscription
One subscription, the whole toolchain.
Hot Reload is one part of Avalonia's paid tooling. The same Plus, Pro or Enterprise subscription also includes the IDE extensions, DevTools and Parcel, so your editor, your debugging, your edit loop and your releases all upgrade together.
The best Avalonia developer experience available today. Live XAML previewer, IntelliSense, project templates, and much more.
The same XAML tooling everywhere VS Code runs: live previewer, IntelliSense, deep analysis, and refactorings on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
See inside your running app: live property editing, visual and logical tree navigation, and real-time diagnostics for any Avalonia application.
Ship what you build: native installers for Windows, macOS and Linux, with code signing and notarization handled in one toolset.
Customer stories
"Avalonia has a very strong community, and frankly is a joy to work with."
Bill Henning
CEO & Founder, Actipro Software
FAQ
Your questions,
answered.
Can't find what you need? We're here to help.
No. Unlike DevTools, Parcel and the IDE extensions, Hot Reload has no free Community edition. It is included with every Avalonia Plus, Pro and Enterprise subscription, and a trial lets you evaluate it before you buy.
The app keeps running and the rest of it is untouched, so you stay on the screen you were working on. An edited control is rebuilt rather than mutated, so state held inside that control outside its XAML, such as a scroll position, is reset when it reloads.
Yes. Hot Reload is driven by .NET's C# Hot Reload and inherits its rules. A rude edit, such as adding a field or changing a method signature, cannot be applied to a running process and needs a restart. XAML edits are not subject to those rules.
Not yet. Hot Reload supports the desktop and mobile platforms; WebAssembly targets are not currently supported.
Stop waiting on rebuilds
Hot Reload is included with every Avalonia Plus and Pro subscription, alongside DevTools, Parcel and the IDE extensions.