# Maui App Lifecycle

.NET MAUI app lifecycle guidance, the four app states, cross-platform Window lifecycle...

- Repository: https://github.com/dotnet/skills (5787 stars)
- Category: Engineering
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill maui-app-lifecycle -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill maui-app-lifecycle -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill maui-app-lifecycle -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill maui-app-lifecycle -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add dotnet/skills`

## Description

.NET MAUI app lifecycle guidance, the four app states, cross-platform Window lifecycle events (Created, Activated, Deactivated, Stopped, Resumed, Destroying), platform-specific lifecycle mapping, backgrounding and resume behavior, and state-preservation patterns. USE FOR: "app lifecycle", "window lifecycle events", "save state on background", "resume app", "OnStopped", "OnResumed", "backgrounding", "deactivated event", "ConfigureLifecycleEvents", "platform lifecycle hooks". DO NOT USE FOR: navigation events (use maui-shell-navigation), dependency injection setup (use maui-dependency-injection), platform API invocation (use conditional compilation and partial classes).

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# .NET MAUI App Lifecycle

Handle application state transitions correctly in .NET MAUI. This skill covers the cross-platform Window lifecycle events, their platform-native mappings, and patterns for preserving state across backgrounding and resume cycles.

## When to Use

- Saving or restoring state when the app backgrounds or resumes
- Subscribing to Window lifecycle events (Created, Activated, Deactivated, Stopped, Resumed, Destroying)
- Hooking into platform-native lifecycle callbacks via `ConfigureLifecycleEvents`
- Deciding where to place initialization, teardown, or refresh logic
- Understanding the difference between Deactivated and Stopped

## When Not to Use

- Page-level navigation events, use Shell navigation guidance instead
- Registering services at startup, use dependency injection guidance instead
- Calling platform-specific APIs outside lifecycle context, use platform invoke guidance instead

## Inputs

- The target lifecycle transition (e.g., "save draft when backgrounded", "refresh data on resume")
- Which platforms the developer targets (Android, iOS, Mac Catalyst, Windows)
- Whether the app uses multiple windows (iPad, Mac Catalyst, desktop Windows)

## App States

A .NET MAUI app moves through four states:

| State | Description |
|---|---|
| **Not Running** | Process does not exist |
| **Running** | Foreground, receiving input |
| **Deactivated** | Visible but lost focus (dialog, split-screen, notification shade) |
| **Stopped** | Fully backgrounded, UI not visible |

Typical flow: Not Running → Running → Deactivated → Stopped → Running (resumed) or Not Running (terminated).

## Window Lifecycle Events

`Microsoft.Maui.Controls.Window` exposes six cross-platform events:

The rest: https://github.com/dotnet/skills/blob/HEAD/plugins/dotnet-maui/skills/maui-app-lifecycle/SKILL.md