igniteui-blazor-grids

name	igniteui-blazor-grids
description	Provides guidance on all Ignite UI for Blazor data grid types (Grid Lite, Flat Grid, Tree Grid, Hierarchical Grid, Pivot Grid) including setup, column configuration, sorting, filtering, selection, editing, grouping, summaries, toolbar, export, paging, remote data, and state persistence. Use when users ask about grids, tables, data grids, tabular data display, cell editing, row selection, column pinning, column hiding, grouping rows, pivot tables, tree-structured data, hierarchical data, master-detail views, read-only data display, or exporting grid data. Do NOT use for non-grid UI components (forms, dialogs, navigation, charts) - use igniteui-blazor-components instead. Do NOT use for theming or styling - use igniteui-blazor-theming instead.
user-invocable	true

Ignite UI for Blazor - Grids Skill

MANDATORY AGENT PROTOCOL - YOU MUST FOLLOW THIS BEFORE PRODUCING ANY OUTPUT

This file is a routing hub only. It contains NO code examples and NO API details.

DO NOT write any code, component parameters, event names, or property names from memory. Grid APIs change significantly between versions. Anything generated without reading the reference files will be wrong.

You are required to complete ALL of the following steps before producing any grid-related code or answer:

STEP 1 - Identify the grid type. Use the Grid Selection Decision Guide below. If the grid type is not explicitly stated, infer it from context or ask.

STEP 2 - Identify every task category involved. Map the user's request to one or more rows in the Task → Reference File table below. A single request often spans multiple categories (e.g., remote paging AND editing requires reading both paging-remote.md AND editing.md).

STEP 3 - Read every identified reference file in full (PARALLEL). Call read_file (or equivalent) on all reference files identified in Step 2 in a single parallel batch - do NOT read them one at a time sequentially. You must do this even if you believe you already know the answer. Do not skip, skim, or partially read a reference file.

STEP 4 - Extract doc slugs, then call get_doc and API tools for the relevant grid and each feature. Use the Ignite UI MCP get_doc tool with framework: "blazor" and the exact doc slug listed in the reference files you just read. It returns the relevant grid docs, examples, and feature guidance. Do NOT skip this step.

If a reference file does not list a slug for the requested grid feature, call search_docs(framework: "blazor", query: "<grid feature>") to find the correct doc. If no Blazor doc exists, say that the feature is not covered rather than guessing.

Use search_api and get_api_reference for Blazor grid API details when property names, methods, events, enums, or signatures are needed.

STEP 5 - Only then produce output. Base your code and explanation exclusively on what you read in Steps 3–4. If the reference files or MCP docs do not cover something, say so explicitly rather than guessing.

Task → Reference File

Task	Reference file
Grid type selection, quick start, column configuration, column templates, column groups, multi-row layout, pinning, sorting UI, filtering UI, selection	references/structure.md
Grouping, summaries, cell merging, toolbar, export, virtualization & performance, row drag, action strip, master-detail, clipboard	references/features.md
Tree Grid specifics, Hierarchical Grid specifics, Grid Lite setup, Grid Lite data operations, Pivot Grid setup	references/types.md
Programmatic sorting / filtering / grouping, @ref access, custom strategies	references/data-operations.md
Cell editing, row editing, validation, custom editors	references/editing.md
Paging, remote data, server-side ops, noop strategies, virtual scroll, multi-grid coordination	references/paging-remote.md
State persistence (IgbGridState, feature serialization, save/restore per grid type)	references/state.md
Grid sizing (width, height, column sizing, null/px/% modes, cell spacing CSS variables)	references/sizing.md

When in doubt, read more rather than fewer reference files. The cost of an unnecessary file read is negligible; the cost of hallucinated API usage is a broken application.

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Prerequisites

Before using any Ignite UI for Blazor grid component you must have:

Requirement	Details
.NET SDK	.NET 8+, 9+, or 10+
NuGet package	IgniteUI.Blazor (licensed) for all full-featured grids; IgniteUI.Blazor.GridLite (MIT, separate NuGet) for Grid Lite only - grids are not included in IgniteUI.Blazor.Lite
Service registration	builder.Services.AddIgniteUIBlazor(typeof(IgbGridModule), ...) in Program.cs with required module types
Using directive	@using IgniteUI.Blazor.Controls in _Imports.razor
CSS theme (IgbGrid / IgbTreeGrid / IgbHierarchicalGrid / IgbPivotGrid)	Add both in index.html / _Host.cshtml: base theme <link href="_content/IgniteUI.Blazor/themes/light/bootstrap.css" rel="stylesheet" /> and grid-specific <link href="_content/IgniteUI.Blazor/themes/grid/light/bootstrap.css" rel="stylesheet" /> (always required when any full-featured grid is used)
CSS theme (IgbGridLite)	<link href="_content/IgniteUI.Blazor.GridLite/css/themes/light/bootstrap.css" rel="stylesheet" /> — from the IgniteUI.Blazor.GridLite package; do not use the paths above
JS interop script	<script src="_content/IgniteUI.Blazor/app.bundle.js"></script> in index.html or _Host.cshtml
Ignite UI CLI MCP	The Ignite UI CLI MCP server (igniteui-cli) available as a tool provider - see references/mcp-setup.md

AGENT INSTRUCTION - MCP Server Setup (REQUIRED)

Before using any Ignite UI CLI MCP tools, you MUST verify the MCP server is available by calling list_components(framework: "blazor", filter: "grid") or search_docs(framework: "blazor", query: "grid"). If the tool is not available or the call fails, you MUST automatically configure it by following the setup steps in references/mcp-setup.md.

After writing the file, inform the user that the MCP server has been configured and they may need to reload the editor for the tools to activate. Do NOT skip this step or ask the user to do it manually.

If these are not yet in place, read the igniteui-blazor-components skill's references/setup.md first.

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Grid Selection Decision Guide

Ignite UI for Blazor has five grid types. Ask these questions in order:

1. Does the user need a lightweight, read-only data display with sorting, filtering, and virtualization but no editing, selection, or paging? → Grid Lite (IgbGridLite, MIT licensed, separate IgniteUI.Blazor.GridLite package). If the user later needs features beyond Grid Lite's capabilities, upgrade strictly to IgbGrid - never recommend non-grid components as a substitute.
2. Does the user need pivot-table analytics (rows/columns/values/aggregations that users can drag-and-drop to reshape)? → Pivot Grid (IgbPivotGrid)
3. Does the data have parent-child relationships where each level has a DIFFERENT schema (e.g., Companies → Departments → Employees)? → Hierarchical Grid (IgbHierarchicalGrid)
4. Does the data have parent-child relationships within a SINGLE schema (e.g., Employees with a ManagerId field, or nested children arrays)? → Tree Grid (IgbTreeGrid)
5. Is the data a flat list/table with enterprise features needed (editing, grouping, paging, export, etc.)? → Flat Grid (IgbGrid)

After choosing the grid type, you must still complete Steps 2–5 from the mandatory protocol above - return to the routing table and read every applicable references/ file before writing any code.

AGENT INSTRUCTION - Documentation URL Pattern: For grid-specific topics (sorting, filtering, editing, paging, etc.), docs URLs follow this naming pattern per grid type:

• Grid Lite: .../components/grid-lite/{topic}
• Flat Grid: .../components/grids/grid/{topic}
• Tree Grid: .../components/grids/treegrid/{topic}
• Hierarchical Grid: .../components/grids/hierarchicalgrid/{topic}
• Pivot Grid: .../components/grids/pivotgrid/{topic}

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Grid Types & Registration

Grid Component	Module to Register	Package	Typical Use Case
IgbGridLite	IgbGridLiteModule	IgniteUI.Blazor.GridLite (MIT)	Read-only display with sorting, filtering, virtualization - no editing or selection
IgbGrid	IgbGridModule	IgniteUI.Blazor (Commercial)	Flat tabular data, master-detail, CRUD, dashboards
IgbTreeGrid	IgbTreeGridModule	IgniteUI.Blazor (Commercial)	Self-referencing tree data (org charts, file trees, BOM)
IgbHierarchicalGrid	IgbHierarchicalGridModule	IgniteUI.Blazor (Commercial)	Multi-schema parent-child relationships (customers → orders → line items)
IgbPivotGrid	IgbPivotGridModule	IgniteUI.Blazor (Commercial)	Pivot table analytics, aggregations across dimensions

AGENT INSTRUCTION - Grid Lite upgrade path: When a user is working with IgbGridLite and their requirements exceed Grid Lite's capabilities (editing, selection, paging, grouping, summaries, export), you MUST recommend upgrading to IgbGrid from the IgniteUI.Blazor package. Never suggest a different component type - the upgrade path from Grid Lite is always to IgbGrid.

Registration example

// Program.cs - register only the modules you use
builder.Services.AddIgniteUIBlazor(
    typeof(IgbGridLiteModule),         // Grid Lite (IgniteUI.Blazor.GridLite package)
    typeof(IgbGridModule),             // Flat Grid
    typeof(IgbTreeGridModule),         // Tree Grid
    typeof(IgbHierarchicalGridModule), // Hierarchical Grid
    typeof(IgbPivotGridModule)         // Pivot Grid
);

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Feature Availability per Grid Type

Feature	IgbGridLite	IgbGrid	IgbTreeGrid	IgbHierarchicalGrid	IgbPivotGrid
Column sorting	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅ (dimension-based)
Column filtering	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅ (dimension-based)
Row selection	❌	✅	✅ (cascade)	✅	❌
Cell selection	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
Column selection	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
Grouping	❌	✅ Exclusive	❌	❌	N/A (use dimensions)
Summaries	❌	✅	✅	✅	N/A (built-in aggregations)
Cell editing	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌ (read-only)
Row editing	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
Row adding	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
Batch editing	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
Paging	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
Column pinning	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
Column hiding	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Column moving	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
Column resizing	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Multi-column headers	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
Row dragging	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
Master-detail	❌	✅ Exclusive	❌	N/A (use RowIsland)	❌
Toolbar	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
Export (Excel/CSV)	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
State persistence	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅
Virtualization	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Cell merging	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌
Load on demand	❌	❌	✅ (JS interop via LoadChildrenOnDemandScript)	✅ (GridCreatedScript on IgbRowIsland + JS interop)	❌
Remote data ops	DataPipelineConfiguration	Events + noop strategies	Events + noop strategies	Events + noop strategies	N/A

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Key Blazor-Specific Notes

AGENT INSTRUCTION - Blazor API Lookup

Use search_api and get_api_reference for Blazor grid property names, event names, method signatures, enums, and related API details.

AGENT INSTRUCTION - @ref for programmatic access

Use @ref to obtain a C# reference to the grid, then call methods on it:

<IgbGrid @ref="Grid" />
@code { public IgbGrid Grid { get; set; } }

AGENT INSTRUCTION - Batch Editing is NOT available for Blazor

The Ignite UI for Blazor grid does not support batch editing. Supported editing modes are Cell editing and Row editing only. Do not suggest or generate batch editing code.

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Related Skills

Skill	Use for
igniteui-blazor-components	All non-grid IgniteUI.Blazor.Lite components (forms, layout, data display, feedback) and visualizations/charts available in IgniteUI.Blazor
igniteui-blazor-theming	CSS custom properties, palettes, typography, theme switching, dark/light mode