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maui-safe-area

.NET MAUI safe area and edge-to-edge layout guidance for .NET 10+. Covers the new SafeAreaEdges property, SafeAreaRegions enum, per-edge control, keyboard avoidance, Blazor Hybrid CSS safe areas, migration from legacy iOS-only APIs, and platform-specific behavior for Android, iOS, and Mac Catalyst.

Install / Use

npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill maui-safe-area

Installs into whichever agent you are using.

About this skill
📄

SKILL.md

Installable skill definition

Quality Score

87/100

Supported Platforms

Universal

Our assessment of maui-safe-area

maui-safe-area scores 87/100 on our quality scale, 855th of 2,398 Development & Engineering skills we index (top 36%).

Its SKILL.md is 13 KB long, well organised into 25 sections with 14 code examples: a thorough specification that gives an agent plenty to work with.

With 5,471 GitHub stars, it is one of the more widely adopted skills in the catalogue.

Substance
30/30
Structure
20/20
Description
15/15
Adoption
16/20
Freshness
15/15

Maintenance, license and trust

  • The repository was last updated 2 days ago, so maui-safe-area is actively maintained.
  • It is released under the MIT license, a permissive license that allows use, modification and commercial use with attribution.
  • Its trust signals score 100/100, with no cautions. These come from repository metadata, not a code audit — read the skill file before letting an agent act on it.

maui-safe-area compared with similar skills

All 4 of these similar skills score higher than maui-safe-area; compare them before choosing.

SkillScoreStarsUpdatedFormat
maui-safe-area (this skill)by dotnet875.5k2d agoSKILL.md
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headroomby headroomlabs-ai10073.9ktodayCLAUDE.md
ai-job-searchby MadsLorentzen10044.0k5d agoCLAUDE.md
claude-howtoby luongnv8910041.7ktodayCLAUDE.md

Frequently asked questions

How do I install maui-safe-area?
Run npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill maui-safe-area. The install tabs above show the steps for each supported agent.
Which AI agents does maui-safe-area work with?
It is written for Universal, as a SKILL.md file. Other agents that read the same format can often use it too.
Is maui-safe-area safe to use?
It is MIT-licensed and scores 100/100 on trust signals. Skills are instructions an agent will follow, so read the file before installing it and do not approve commands you do not understand.
Is maui-safe-area still maintained?
The repository was last updated 2 days ago, so maui-safe-area is actively maintained.

name: maui-safe-area description: >- .NET MAUI safe area and edge-to-edge layout guidance for .NET 10+. Covers the new SafeAreaEdges property, SafeAreaRegions enum, per-edge control, keyboard avoidance, Blazor Hybrid CSS safe areas, migration from legacy iOS-only APIs, and platform-specific behavior for Android, iOS, and Mac Catalyst. USE FOR: "safe area", "edge-to-edge", "SafeAreaEdges", "SafeAreaRegions", "keyboard avoidance", "notch insets", "status bar overlap", "iOS safe area", "Android edge-to-edge", "content behind status bar", "UseSafeArea migration", "soft input keyboard", "IgnoreSafeArea replacement". DO NOT USE FOR: general layout or grid design (use Grid and StackLayout), app lifecycle handling (use maui-app-lifecycle), theming or styling (use maui-theming), or Shell navigation structure. license: MIT

Safe Area & Edge-to-Edge Layout (.NET 10+)

.NET 10 introduces a brand-new, cross-platform safe area API that replaces the legacy iOS-only UseSafeArea and the layout-level IgnoreSafeArea properties. The new SafeAreaEdges property and SafeAreaRegions flags enum give you per-edge, per-control safe area management on Android, iOS, and Mac Catalyst from a single API surface.

This is new API surface in .NET 10. If the project targets .NET 9 or earlier, these APIs do not exist. Guide the developer to the legacy ios:Page.UseSafeArea and Layout.IgnoreSafeArea properties instead.

When to Use

  • Content overlaps status bar, notch, Dynamic Island, or home indicator after upgrading to .NET 10
  • Implementing edge-to-edge / immersive layouts (photo viewers, video players, maps)
  • Keyboard avoidance for chat or form UIs
  • Migrating from ios:Page.UseSafeArea, Layout.IgnoreSafeArea, or WindowSoftInputModeAdjust.Resize
  • Blazor Hybrid apps that need CSS env(safe-area-inset-*) coordination
  • Mixed layouts with an edge-to-edge header but a safe-area-respecting body

When Not to Use

  • Projects targeting .NET 9 or earlier — use the legacy iOS-specific APIs
  • General page layout questions unrelated to system bars or keyboard — use standard layout guidance
  • App lifecycle or navigation structure — use maui-app-lifecycle or Shell guidance
  • Theming or visual styling — use the maui-theming skill

Inputs

  • Target framework: must be net10.0-* or later for the new APIs
  • Target platforms: Android, iOS, Mac Catalyst (Windows does not have system bar insets)
  • UI approach: XAML/C#, Blazor Hybrid, or MauiReactor

SafeAreaRegions Enum

[Flags]
public enum SafeAreaRegions
{
    None      = 0,       // Edge-to-edge — no safe area padding
    SoftInput = 1 << 0,  // Pad to avoid the on-screen keyboard
    Container = 1 << 1,  // Stay inside status bar, notch, home indicator
    Default   = -1,      // Use the platform default for the control type
    All       = 1 << 15  // Respect all safe area insets (most restrictive)
}

SoftInput and Container are combinable flags: SafeAreaRegions.Container | SafeAreaRegions.SoftInput = respect system bars and keyboard.

SafeAreaEdges Struct

public readonly struct SafeAreaEdges
{
    public SafeAreaRegions Left { get; }
    public SafeAreaRegions Top { get; }
    public SafeAreaRegions Right { get; }
    public SafeAreaRegions Bottom { get; }

    // Uniform — same value for all four edges
    public SafeAreaEdges(SafeAreaRegions uniformValue)

    // Horizontal / Vertical
    public SafeAreaEdges(SafeAreaRegions horizontal, SafeAreaRegions vertical)

    // Per-edge
    public SafeAreaEdges(SafeAreaRegions left, SafeAreaRegions top,
                         SafeAreaRegions right, SafeAreaRegions bottom)
}

Static presets: SafeAreaEdges.None, SafeAreaEdges.All, SafeAreaEdges.Default.

XAML Type Converter

Follows Thickness-like comma-separated syntax:

<!-- Uniform -->
SafeAreaEdges="Container"

<!-- Horizontal, Vertical -->
SafeAreaEdges="Container, SoftInput"

<!-- Left, Top, Right, Bottom -->
SafeAreaEdges="Container, Container, Container, SoftInput"

Control Defaults

| Control | Default | Notes | |---------|---------|-------| | ContentPage | None | Edge-to-edge. Breaking change from .NET 9 on Android. | | Layout (Grid, StackLayout, etc.) | Container | Respects bars/notch, flows under keyboard | | ScrollView | Default | iOS maps to automatic content insets. Only Container and None take effect. | | ContentView | None | Inherits parent behavior | | Border | None | Inherits parent behavior |

Breaking Changes from .NET 9

ContentPage default changed to None

In .NET 9, Android ContentPage behaved like Container. In .NET 10, the default is None on all platforms. If your Android content goes behind the status bar after upgrading:

<!-- .NET 10 default — content extends under status bar -->
<ContentPage>

<!-- Restore .NET 9 Android behavior -->
<ContentPage SafeAreaEdges="Container">

WindowSoftInputModeAdjust.Resize superseded

WindowSoftInputModeAdjust.Resize still exists and still compiles (it is not removed and not obsolete), but it is Android-only. For cross-platform keyboard avoidance prefer SafeAreaEdges="All" (or the SoftInput region) on the ContentPage.

Usage Patterns

Edge-to-edge immersive content

Set None on both page and layout — layouts default to Container:

<ContentPage SafeAreaEdges="None">
    <Grid SafeAreaEdges="None">
        <Image Source="background.jpg" Aspect="AspectFill" />
        <VerticalStackLayout Padding="20" VerticalOptions="End">
            <Label Text="Overlay text" TextColor="White" FontSize="24" />
        </VerticalStackLayout>
    </Grid>
</ContentPage>

Forms and critical content

<ContentPage SafeAreaEdges="All">
    <VerticalStackLayout Padding="20">
        <Label Text="Safe content" FontSize="18" />
        <Entry Placeholder="Enter text" />
        <Button Text="Submit" />
    </VerticalStackLayout>
</ContentPage>

Keyboard-aware chat layout

<ContentPage>
    <Grid RowDefinitions="*,Auto"
          SafeAreaEdges="Container, Container, Container, SoftInput">
        <ScrollView Grid.Row="0">
            <VerticalStackLayout Padding="20" Spacing="10">
                <Label Text="Messages" FontSize="24" />
            </VerticalStackLayout>
        </ScrollView>
        <Border Grid.Row="1" BackgroundColor="LightGray" Padding="20">
            <Grid ColumnDefinitions="*,Auto" Spacing="10">
                <Entry Placeholder="Type a message..." />
                <Button Grid.Column="1" Text="Send" />
            </Grid>
        </Border>
    </Grid>
</ContentPage>

Mixed: edge-to-edge header + safe body + keyboard footer

<ContentPage SafeAreaEdges="None">
    <Grid RowDefinitions="Auto,*,Auto">
        <Grid BackgroundColor="{StaticResource Primary}">
            <Label Text="App Header" TextColor="White" Margin="20,40,20,20" />
        </Grid>
        <ScrollView Grid.Row="1" SafeAreaEdges="Container">
            <!-- Use Container, not All — ScrollView only honors Container and None -->
            <VerticalStackLayout Padding="20">
                <Label Text="Main content" />
            </VerticalStackLayout>
        </ScrollView>
        <Grid Grid.Row="2" SafeAreaEdges="SoftInput"
              BackgroundColor="LightGray" Padding="20">
            <Entry Placeholder="Type a message..." />
        </Grid>
    </Grid>
</ContentPage>

Programmatic (C#)

var page = new ContentPage
{
    SafeAreaEdges = SafeAreaEdges.All
};

var grid = new Grid
{
    SafeAreaEdges = new SafeAreaEdges(
        left: SafeAreaRegions.Container,
        top: SafeAreaRegions.Container,
        right: SafeAreaRegions.Container,
        bottom: SafeAreaRegions.SoftInput)
};

Decision Framework

| Scenario | SafeAreaEdges value | |----------|---------------------| | Forms, critical inputs | All | | Photo viewer, video player, game | None (on page and layout) | | Scrollable content with fixed header/footer | Container | | Chat/messaging with bottom input bar | Per-edge: Container, Container, Container, SoftInput | | Blazor Hybrid app | None on page; CSS env() for insets |

Blazor Hybrid Integration

For Blazor Hybrid apps, let CSS handle safe areas to avoid double-padding.

  1. Page stays edge-to-edge (default in .NET 10):
<ContentPage SafeAreaEdges="None">
    <BlazorWebView HostPage="wwwroot/index.html">
        <BlazorWebView.RootComponents>
            <RootComponent Selector="#app" ComponentType="{x:Type local:Routes}" />
        </BlazorWebView.RootComponents>
    </BlazorWebView>
</ContentPage>
  1. Add viewport-fit=cover in index.html:
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0,
      maximum-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no, viewport-fit=cover" />
  1. Use CSS env() functions:
body {
    padding-top: env(safe-area-inset-top);
    padding-bottom: env(safe-area-inset-bottom);
    padding-left: env(safe-area-inset-left);
    padding-right: env(safe-area-inset-right);
}

Available CSS environment variables: env(safe-area-inset-top), env(safe-area-inset-bottom), env(safe-area-inset-left), env(safe-area-inset-right).

Migration from Legacy APIs

| Legacy (.NET 9 and earlier) | New (.NET 10+) | |-----------------------------|----------------| | ios:Page.UseSafeArea="True" | SafeAreaEdges="Container" | | Layout.IgnoreSafeArea="True" | SafeAreaEdges="None" | | WindowSoftInputModeAdjust.Resize | SafeAreaEdges="All" on ContentPage |

The legacy ios:Page.UseSafeArea and Layout.IgnoreSafeArea properties still compile but are marked obsolete. IgnoreSafeArea="True" maps internally to SafeAreaRegions.None. WindowSoftInputModeAdjust.Resize is not obsolete — it remains supported, but is Android-only.

<!-- .NET 9 (legacy, iOS-only) -->
<ContentPage xmlns:ios="clr-namespace:Microsoft.Maui.Controls.PlatformConfiguration.iOSSpecific;assembly=Microsoft.Maui.Controls"
             ios:Page.UseSafeArea="True">

<!-- .NET 10+ (cross-platform) -->
<ContentPage SafeAreaEdges="Container">

Platform-Specific Behavior

iOS & Mac Catalyst

  • Safe area insets cover: status bar, navigation bar, tab bar, notch/Dynamic Island, home indicator
  • SoftInput includes the keyboard when visible
  • Insets update automatically on rotation and UI visibility changes
  • ScrollView with Default maps to UIScrollViewContentInsetAdjustmentBehavior.Automatic

Transparent navigation bar for content behind the nav bar:

<Shell Shell.BackgroundColor="#80000000" Shell.NavBarHasShadow="False" />

Android

  • Safe area insets cover: system bars (status/navigation) and display cutouts
  • SoftInput includes the soft keyboard
  • MAUI uses WindowInsetsCompat and WindowInsetsAnimationCompat internally
  • Behavior varies by Android version and OEM edge-to-edge settings

Common Pitfalls

  1. Forgetting to set None on the layout too. ContentPage SafeAreaEdges="None" makes the page edge-to-edge, but child layouts default to Container and still pad inward. Set None on both page and layout for truly immersive content.

  2. Using SoftInput directly on ScrollView. ScrollView manages its own content insets and ignores SoftInput. Wrap the ScrollView in a Grid or StackLayout and apply SoftInput there.

  3. Confusing Default with None. Default means "platform default for this control type" — on ScrollView (iOS) this enables automatic content insets. None means "no safe area padding at all."

  4. Double-padding in Blazor Hybrid. Setting SafeAreaEdges="Container" on the page and using CSS env(safe-area-inset-*) results in doubled insets. Pick one approach — CSS is recommended for Blazor.

  5. Missing viewport-fit=cover in Blazor. Without this meta tag, CSS `env(safe-area-i

Truncated for display — read the full file on GitHub.

Related Skills

View on GitHub
GitHub Stars5.5k
CategoryDevelopment
Updated2d ago
Forks418

Languages

C#

Trust signals

100/100

From repository metadata: license, adoption, age and documentation. Not a code audit — see the Safety scan above for what the skill file itself contains.

No cautions