avalonia-docs

name	avalonia-docs
description	Load this skill whenever you need information about Avalonia UI components, controls, layouts, styles, animations, bindings, or any other Avalonia API. Use the GitHub MCP tools to read docs from the AvaloniaUI/avalonia-docs repository. Fall back to WebFetch only if the topic is not covered there.

Skill: Avalonia Docs

Overview

When you need information about Avalonia -- controls, layouts, data binding, styles, animations, gestures, or any other framework concept -- read the official documentation from the AvaloniaUI/avalonia-docs GitHub repository using the GitHub MCP tools. Do not decompile NuGet packages to infer API contracts; the docs are the authoritative reference.

The GitHub MCP server provides the get_file_contents tool (from the repos toolset) for reading files and search_issues / list_issues tools (from the issues toolset) for searching issues and pull requests.

Repository Layout

AvaloniaUI/avalonia-docs  (branch: main)
└── docs/
    ├── basics/          # Core concepts: controls, data binding, styles, assets
    ├── concepts/        # Architecture, compiled bindings, custom controls, MVVM
    ├── get-started/     # Quickstarts and project setup
    ├── guides/          # How-to guides by topic
    ├── reference/
    │   ├── controls/    # Per-control reference pages (DataGrid, TextBox, ComboBox, etc.)
    │   ├── properties/  # Attached properties, resource system
    │   ├── styles/      # Styling and theming reference
    │   └── gestures/    # Pointer and touch gesture reference
    └── tutorials/       # Step-by-step tutorials

Key entry points for common topics:

Topic	Path in repo
Control reference index	docs/reference/controls/index.md
DataGrid	docs/reference/controls/datagrid/
Data binding basics	docs/basics/
Compiled bindings	docs/concepts/
Custom controls	docs/concepts/
Styles and themes	docs/reference/styles/
Animations	docs/reference/animation-settings.md
Gestures	docs/reference/gestures/
Built-in converters	docs/reference/built-in-data-binding-converters.md

Lookup Process

Follow these steps in order. Stop as soon as you find sufficient information.

Step 1: Read the Relevant File via GitHub MCP

Use the get_file_contents tool to read files directly from the repository:

• Owner: AvaloniaUI
• Repo: avalonia-docs
• Branch: main
• Path: the path within the repo (e.g., docs/reference/controls/datagrid/datagrid-columns.md)

Start from the key entry points table above. If you need to discover the exact file name, read the index file for that section first (e.g., docs/reference/controls/index.md), then navigate to the specific file.

Step 2: Search Issues and PRs (If Docs Are Incomplete)

If the documentation file does not fully cover the topic -- for example, a known limitation, a bug workaround, or a feature added in a recent release -- use the search_issues tool to search the AvaloniaUI/avalonia-docs repository (or AvaloniaUI/Avalonia for the main framework repo) for relevant issues or merged PRs:

• Search AvaloniaUI/avalonia-docs for documentation gaps or recent additions.
• Search AvaloniaUI/Avalonia for known bugs, workarounds, or implementation details.

Step 3: Fall Back to WebFetch

Only if neither the docs file nor issues/PRs provide sufficient information, fetch the online Avalonia documentation:

• Primary: https://docs.avaloniaui.net/
• API reference: https://api.avaloniaui.net/

State clearly in your response that you fell back to online docs and why the GitHub MCP sources did not cover the topic.

Key Principles

• GitHub MCP first, always. Do not skip to WebFetch because it feels faster.
• No NuGet decompilation. Do not use decompiler tools or inspect .nupkg contents to infer API contracts. Use the docs.
• Cite the file path. When answering based on the docs, include the path within the repo (e.g., docs/reference/controls/datagrid/datagrid-columns.md) so the user can verify.
• Be specific about gaps. If the docs cover the topic partially, say what they cover and what they do not, then supplement with issues or WebFetch for the missing part only.