Deprecated in favor of https://github.com/wieslawsoltes/ProDataGrid

DiagnosticsTools

Cross-platform diagnostics, inspection, and tooling for Avalonia UI applications.

Overview

DiagnosticsTools originated from the Avalonia.Diagnostics module inside the AvaloniaUI repository.
The tooling has been extracted into a dedicated solution so that developers can compose the DevTools experience, or reuse the supporting libraries, without taking a hard dependency on the main Avalonia repo.

The solution ships a suite of NuGet packages targeting netstandard2.0, net6.0, and net8.0. Each package is self-contained and can be consumed independently.

Package Catalog

Package	Description	Latest
DiagnosticsTools	Full DevTools experience with visual tree inspection, live property editing, and layout analyzers.
DiagnosticsTools.Core	Shared converters, value helpers, and rendering extensions consumed across the stack.
DiagnosticsTools.PropertyEditing	XAML mutation dispatcher, property inspector emitters, and telemetry hooks.
DiagnosticsTools.Runtime	Runtime mutation coordinator with undo/redo and tree abstractions.
DiagnosticsTools.Input	Hot-key registration, command routing helpers, and input gesture abstractions.
DiagnosticsTools.VirtualizedTreeView	High-performance virtualized tree view control and related helpers.
DiagnosticsTools.Screenshots	Screenshot capture helpers and default file picker integrations.
DiagnosticsTools.SourceNavigation	Portable PDB + SourceLink resolution and source info APIs.
DiagnosticsTools.XamlAst	XAML workspace, diagnostics, and mutation primitives.

See the per-package documentation for details, quick-start guides, and deep dives.

Feature Highlights

• Visual tree inspection, live property editing, and layout analysis for Avalonia apps.
• Reusable runtime mutation, telemetry, and source navigation infrastructure.
• Production-ready virtualized tree view control capable of handling large hierarchies.
• Headless testing utilities for asserting diagnostics outside of a UI shell.
• Targets modern TFMs with deterministic builds, SourceLink, and symbol packages.

Quick Start

Install the primary DiagnosticsTools package and attach the DevTools window to your application:

dotnet add package DiagnosticsTools

using Avalonia;
using Avalonia.Controls.ApplicationLifetimes;
using Avalonia.Diagnostics;
using Avalonia.Input;

public partial class App : Application
{
    public override void OnFrameworkInitializationCompleted()
    {
        if (ApplicationLifetime is IClassicDesktopStyleApplicationLifetime desktop)
        {
            desktop.MainWindow = new MainWindow();
            desktop.MainWindow.AttachDevTools(new KeyGesture(Key.F12));
        }

        base.OnFrameworkInitializationCompleted();
    }
}

Need deeper customization (property editing, source navigation, runtime undo/redo)?
See the package documentation for guides covering each helper library.

For a complete end-to-end example, explore the DiagnosticsToolsSample application.

Documentation

• DiagnosticsTools
• DiagnosticsTools.Core
• DiagnosticsTools.PropertyEditing
• DiagnosticsTools.Runtime
• DiagnosticsTools.Input
• DiagnosticsTools.VirtualizedTreeView
• DiagnosticsTools.Screenshots
• DiagnosticsTools.SourceNavigation
• DiagnosticsTools.XamlAst

Feature Comparison

Feature	DiagnosticsTools	Avalonia built-in (Avalonia.Diagnostics)
Distribution model	Standalone repository with modular NuGet packages (DiagnosticsTools.*), SourceLink, and symbol publishing	Integrated into the Avalonia source tree as a single assembly
Source navigation APIs	✔ DiagnosticsTools.SourceNavigation exposes PortablePdbResolver, SourceLinkMap, and SourceNavigator	✖ No public source navigation helpers
XAML AST workspace	✔ DiagnosticsTools.XamlAst provides workspace, diffing, and folding services	✖ Visual tree parsing remains internal to the DevTools window
Property editing SDK	✔ DiagnosticsTools.PropertyEditing ships mutation dispatcher, telemetry hooks, and journal APIs	✖ Property editing infrastructure is scoped to the built-in tooling
Runtime mutation utilities	✔ DiagnosticsTools.Runtime offers undo/redo coordination and tree abstractions	✖ Runtime mutation helpers are not exposed
Virtualized tree view control	✔ DiagnosticsTools.VirtualizedTreeView publishes the DevTools tree as a reusable control	✖ Virtualized tree remains bundled within the Avalonia DevTools UI
Documentation	✔ Comprehensive guides for every package under docs/packages	◑ Primarily inline XML comments within the Avalonia repo
Release automation	✔ GitHub Actions CI and tag-triggered NuGet release pipeline	◑ Ships as part of Avalonia’s core build and release process

Building & Testing

dotnet build DiagnosticsTools.sln
dotnet test DiagnosticsTools.sln

Continuous Integration runs on every push and pull request via GitHub Actions.

Release Management

Publishing is automated from a tag-based pipeline. Create a tag such as v1.2.3 and push it to trigger packing and NuGet publication.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please discuss significant changes via an issue first and ensure that tests pass locally before submitting.

License & Attribution

DiagnosticsTools is distributed under the MIT License. Portions of the codebase originate from the Avalonia Diagnostics tooling in the AvaloniaUI/Avalonia repository.