Create a starter app with the guided creator and run it:
dnx Runic.Create@<VERSION>
cd MyApp
dotnet tool restore
dotnet runic dev
dnx ships with the .NET 10 SDK and runs the creator without installing it.
The creator asks for the project name, frontend, package manager, Window host,
and ViewModel library. It installs Runic.Application.Templates, runs
dotnet new runic-app, and prints both commands so you can recreate the
project without questions:
dotnet new install Runic.Application.Templates@<VERSION>
dotnet new runic-app --name MyApp --frontend svelte --package-manager bun --host desktop --view-models reactiveui
| Option | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
--frontend |
react, vue, svelte, angular |
react |
--package-manager |
npm, pnpm, bun |
npm |
--host |
cswebui, desktop |
cswebui |
--view-models |
toolkit (CommunityToolkit.Mvvm), reactiveui |
toolkit |
Replace <VERSION> with the current release from the
package catalog. You need the .NET 10
SDK and Node.js 24 with npm or pnpm, or Bun 1.4.
dotnet runic dev restores the .NET and frontend packages, builds the app,
starts the frontend development server, and opens the app. The CS-WebUI host
uses an installed browser's app mode, falling back to the platform WebView; the
Runic Desktop host opens a native window with the embedded WebView.
dotnet runic doctor checks the prerequisites at any point. The generated
README describes the project layout, the ignored Frontend/src/generated
clients, publishing, and the project settings. The
project creator builds the command for
your choices and previews the generated files.
Publish
dotnet publish -c Release -r linux-x64
Use win-x64, osx-arm64 or another runtime identifier for other platforms.
The publish folder contains the executable and a www folder with the built
frontend; distribute the whole folder.
Next steps
The starter uses a .NET Window and View contract with a generated TypeScript client. The frontend owns its rendered components; .NET owns the typed model and operation lifetime.
- Windows and Views, step by step walks through the generated project, then nested Views and tests.
- Add Runic to an existing app when you already have a .NET project and a frontend.
- Embed and serve assets to ship a frontend inside the executable or serve it from ASP.NET Core.
- Host selection compares CS-WebUI and Runic Desktop for native windows and platform services.
- The package catalog groups the packages by goal.
- For the smallest source example, see First Window.
The code blocks in these guides are checked against a pinned copy of the SDK
template and examples by
tests/guide-snippets.test.mjs.