Plugin.Maui.TvDPad - D-Pad Navigation for .NET MAUI

⚠️ Current Focus: Android TV and Amazon Fire Stick

Plugin.Maui.TvDPad provides D-Pad navigation support for .NET MAUI applications, enabling developers to build TV-optimized interfaces with full remote control support.

Features

• Full D-Pad directional key support (Up, Down, Left, Right)
• Action buttons (Center/OK/Select, Enter)
• Navigation buttons (Back, Menu)
• Automatic focus navigation between UI elements
• Event-driven API with KeyDown, KeyUp, and FocusNavigationRequested events
• Works with Android TV remotes and common controllers
• Built for .NET 10 and .NET MAUI

Installation

Install via NuGet (recommended)

NuGet package: http://www.nuget.org/packages/Plugin.Maui.TvDPad
Current version: 1.0.0-alpha.1

In your .NET MAUI Android project (net10.0-android):

• Visual Studio: right-click your MAUI project -> Manage NuGet Packages... -> search for Plugin.Maui.TvDPad -> install.
• CLI:

dotnet add <YourMauiProject>.csproj package Plugin.Maui.TvDPad --version 1.0.0-alpha.1

After installing, build once so MAUI restores the package and generates platform resources.

Manual installation (project reference)

1. Clone or download this repository
2. Add a project reference to src/Plugin.Maui.TvDPad/Plugin.Maui.TvDPad.csproj in your MAUI project

Quick Start for Android TV

1. Register the plugin (optional DI)

In MauiProgram.cs register the feature if you want to consume it via DI (optional):

using Plugin.Maui.TvDPad;

public static class MauiProgram
{
    public static MauiApp CreateMauiApp()
    {
        var builder = MauiApp.CreateBuilder();
        builder
            .UseMauiApp<App>()
            .ConfigureFonts(fonts =>
            {
                fonts.AddFont("OpenSans-Regular.ttf", "OpenSansRegular");
            });

#if DEBUG
        builder.Logging.AddDebug();
#endif

        // Optional: register shared feature in DI
        builder.Services.AddSingleton<IFeature>(Feature.Default);

        return builder.Build();
    }
}

Note: You can also use the static Feature.Default instance directly without registering it in DI.

2. Forward key events from Android Activity

In Platforms/Android/MainActivity.cs forward key events to the plugin so it can map and raise events:

using Android.App;
using Android.Content.PM;
using Android.Views;
using Plugin.Maui.TvDPad;

[Activity(...)]
public class MainActivity : MauiAppCompatActivity
{
    readonly IFeature dpad = Feature.Default;

    public override bool DispatchKeyEvent(KeyEvent e)
    {
        if (dpad is FeatureImplementation impl)
        {
            if (e.Action == KeyEventActions.Down && impl.HandleKeyDown((Keycode)e.KeyCode, e))
                return true;
            if (e.Action == KeyEventActions.Up && impl.HandleKeyUp((Keycode)e.KeyCode, e))
                return true;
        }

        return base.DispatchKeyEvent(e);
    }
}

3. Use in a Page

Subscribe to events and update UI safely (invoke on main thread):

using Plugin.Maui.TvDPad;

public partial class MainPage : ContentPage
{
    readonly IFeature dpad = Feature.Default;

    public MainPage()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        dpad.KeyDown += OnKeyDown;
        dpad.KeyUp += OnKeyUp;
        dpad.StartListening();
        dpad.EnableFocusNavigation();
    }

    void OnKeyDown(object? s, DPadKeyEventArgs e)
    {
        MainThread.BeginInvokeOnMainThread(() => StatusLabel.Text = $"Key Down: {e.Key}");
        e.Handled = true;
    }
}

Sample App

The repository includes a .NET MAUI sample project you can run to see how to wire up key event forwarding, focus navigation, and tile selection:

• samples/Plugin.Maui.TvDPad.SampleApp (Plugin.Maui.TvDPad.SampleApp)

Testing on Android TV

• Use an Android TV emulator image or a physical Android TV device
• Emulator keyboard mappings: arrow keys → D-Pad, Enter → Center, Backspace → Back
• Ensure MainActivity forwards key events to the plugin

Troubleshooting

• If events don't fire: ensure StartListening() was called and DispatchKeyEvent forwards to Feature.Default
• If UI updates crash: ensure you update UI on the main thread (use MainThread.BeginInvokeOnMainThread)

Project layout

• src/Plugin.Maui.TvDPad — plugin library (multi-targeted)
• samples/ — sample apps (if included)

License

MIT