Using AI to Work on .NET MAUI

This guide helps you use GitHub Copilot effectively when working on the .NET MAUI repository.

Table of Contents

• Custom Agents - Specialized agents for specific MAUI tasks
• Using Copilot with Git - Let Copilot handle your git operations

---

Export Your Chat Sessions

If you use any of our agents or just Copilot in general to work on an issue:

1. End with a message summarizing your experience
2. Export the chat session (how-to)
3. Attach the JSON to your PR

---

Custom Agents

The .NET MAUI repository includes specialized AI agents designed to help with specific development tasks. These agents are available through GitHub Copilot and provide expert assistance for common workflows.

How to Use Custom Agents

In VS Code: Custom Agents in VS Code

In GitHub Copilot CLI: GitHub Copilot CLI

Available Agents

PR Agent

Purpose: End-to-end workflow for investigating issues and reviewing/working on PRs.

When to use: When you need to fix an issue (with or without an existing PR), review a PR with independent analysis, or continue work on an in-progress fix.

The PR Agent uses a 5-phase workflow:

1. Pre-Flight - Context gathering from issues/PRs
2. Tests - Create or verify reproduction tests exist
3. Gate - Verify tests catch the issue (mandatory checkpoint)
4. Fix - Explore fix alternatives using try-fix skill
5. Report - Create PR or write review report

Example prompts:

• fix issue #12345
• review PR #12345
• work on issue #12345
• continue working on #12345

---

UI Test Coding Agent

Purpose: Write new UI tests for .NET MAUI with proper syntax, style, and conventions.

When to use: When creating new UI tests or updating existing ones for the TestCases.HostApp and TestCases.Shared.Tests projects.

Example prompts:

• write UI test for issue #12345
• create UI test that verifies Button click updates a Label
• write UI test for CollectionView item selection

---

Sandbox Agent

Purpose: Test and validate PR functionality using the Sandbox app with automated deployment and testing.

When to use: When you want to manually verify a fix works on device/simulator, reproduce an issue, or validate PR functionality.

Example prompts:

• test PR #12345 on Android
• reproduce issue #12345 in Sandbox
• test this PR on iOS

---

Using Copilot with Git

GitHub Copilot can handle git operations for you - committing changes, squashing commits, rebasing branches, resolving conflicts, and creating PR descriptions.

See the Using Copilot with Git Guide for detailed examples and prompts.