MAUI Hosting

MAUI apps often end up with a massive MauiProgram.cs where every plugin, service, and lifecycle hook is crammed together. Shiny MAUI Hosting lets you break that apart into modular IMauiModule classes — each responsible for its own service registration and post-build initialization. It also provides a static Host.Services accessor and platform lifecycle dispatch so your services can respond to foreground/background events, activity results, and more.

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Features

• Modular IMauiModule interface — combines service registration and post-build initialization in one class
• Static Host.Services for accessing the service provider from anywhere
• ILifecycleExecutor for centralized platform lifecycle event dispatch
• Shared lifecycle hooks: IAppForeground, IAppBackground
• Apple lifecycle hooks: IContinueActivity, IOnFinishedLaunching
• Android lifecycle hooks: IOnApplicationCreated, IOnActivityOnCreate, IOnActivityRequestPermissionsResult, IOnActivityNewIntent, IOnActivityResult

Setup

1. Install the NuGet package:

   dotnet add package Shiny.Extensions.MauiHosting

2. Create a module for each concern:

   using Shiny;
   
   public class MyModule : IMauiModule
   {
       public void Add(MauiAppBuilder builder)
       {
           builder.Services.AddSingleton<IMyService, MyService>();
       }
   
       public void Use(IPlatformApplication app)
       {
           // Post-build initialization (do NOT block here)
       }
   }

3. Wire up modules in MauiProgram.cs:

   using Shiny;
   
   var builder = MauiApp.CreateBuilder();
   builder
       .UseMauiApp<App>()
       .AddInfrastructureModules(new MyModule());
   
   return builder.Build();

Creating Modules

Each module implements IMauiModule with two methods:

• Add(MauiAppBuilder builder) — register services, configure the builder. This runs before the app is built.
• Use(IPlatformApplication app) — post-build initialization. The service provider is available via Host.Services. Do NOT block here — this runs on the main thread during app startup.

public class AnalyticsModule : IMauiModule
{
    public void Add(MauiAppBuilder builder)
    {
        builder.Services.AddSingleton<IAnalytics, AppCenterAnalytics>();
    }

    public void Use(IPlatformApplication app)
    {
        var analytics = Host.Services.GetRequiredService<IAnalytics>();
        analytics.TrackEvent("AppStarted");
    }
}

Static Host Access

After the app is built and initialized, Host.Services provides access to the service provider from anywhere:

// Resolve a service from anywhere in your app
var service = Host.Services.GetRequiredService<IMyService>();

Caution

Host.Services throws InvalidOperationException if accessed before the app is initialized. Only use it after MauiApp.Build() completes.

Platform Lifecycle Hooks

Register services that implement lifecycle interfaces to respond to platform events. The ILifecycleExecutor dispatches events to all registered handlers automatically.

Shared (All Platforms)

[Singleton]
public class AppLifecycleHandler : IAppForeground, IAppBackground
{
    public void OnForeground()
    {
        // App came to foreground — refresh data, reconnect, etc.
    }

    public void OnBackground()
    {
        // App went to background — save state, pause work, etc.
    }
}

Apple (iOS / macOS)

[Singleton]
public class DeepLinkHandler : IContinueActivity
{
    public bool Handle(NSUserActivity activity)
    {
        // Handle universal links, handoff, etc.
        return true;
    }
}

Interface	Purpose
IContinueActivity	Universal links, handoff
IOnFinishedLaunching	App finished launching

Android

[Singleton]
public class AppStartHandler : IOnApplicationCreated
{
    public void Handle(Application application)
    {
        // App-level initialization
    }
}

[Singleton]
public class PermissionHandler : IOnActivityRequestPermissionsResult
{
    public void Handle(Activity activity, int requestCode, string[] permissions, Permission[] grantResults)
    {
        // Handle permission results
    }
}

Interface	Purpose
IOnApplicationCreated	Application creation
IOnActivityOnCreate	Activity creation
IOnActivityRequestPermissionsResult	Permission request results
IOnActivityNewIntent	New intent received
IOnActivityResult	Activity result callback

AI Coding Assistant

An AI skill is available for Shiny MAUI Hosting to help generate IMauiModule classes, configure lifecycle hooks, and follow best practices directly in your IDE.

Claude Code

claude plugin add github:shinyorg/skills

GitHub Copilot — Copy the shiny-maui-hosting skill file into your repository’s custom instructions.