name: avalonia-viewmodels-zafiro

description: "Optimal ViewModel and Wizard creation patterns for Avalonia using Zafiro and ReactiveUI."

risk: none

source: community

date_added: "2026-02-27"

Avalonia ViewModels with Zafiro

This skill provides a set of best practices and patterns for creating ViewModels, Wizards, and managing navigation in Avalonia applications, leveraging the power of ReactiveUI and the Zafiro toolkit.

Core Principles

1. Functional-Reactive Approach: Use ReactiveUI (ReactiveObject, WhenAnyValue, etc.) to handle state and logic.
2. Enhanced Commands: Utilize IEnhancedCommand for better command management, including progress reporting and name/text attributes.
3. Wizard Pattern: Implement complex flows using SlimWizard and WizardBuilder for a declarative and maintainable approach.
4. Automatic Section Discovery: Use the [Section] attribute to register and discover UI sections automatically.
5. Clean Composition: map ViewModels to Views using DataTypeViewLocator and manage dependencies in the CompositionRoot.

Guides

• ViewModels & Commands: Creating robust ViewModels and handling commands.
• [Wizards & Flows](wizards.md): Building multi-step wizards with SlimWizard.
• Navigation & Sections: Managing navigation and section-based UIs.
• Composition & Mapping: Best practices for View-ViewModel wiring and DI.

Example Reference

For real-world implementations, refer to the Angor project:

• CreateProjectFlowV2.cs: Excellent example of complex Wizard building.
• HomeViewModel.cs: Simple section ViewModel using functional-reactive commands.

When to Use

This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
• Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
• Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.