[spec] Add maui device list command spec to CLI design doc#34277
Open
[spec] Add maui device list command spec to CLI design doc#34277
maui device list command spec to CLI design doc#34277Conversation
Contributor
|
🚀 Dogfood this PR with:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dotnet/maui/main/eng/scripts/get-maui-pr.sh | bash -s -- 34277Or
iex "& { $(irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dotnet/maui/main/eng/scripts/get-maui-pr.ps1) } 34277" |
rmarinho
changed the title
maui device list command spec to CLI design docmaui device list command spec to CLI design doc
rmarinho
force-pushed
the
docs/maui-device-list
branch
from
94cab3a to
805c3bc
Compare
Add 'maui device list' command specification to the CLI design doc, including: - Command syntax with --platform and --json options - Human-readable and JSON output schemas - Analysis of two discovery approaches (MSBuild vs native CLI) - Comparison table of pros/cons - Six real-world scenarios requiring project-free device enumeration - Recommended approach (direct native tool invocation) - Relationship to dotnet run --list-devices (complementary) - References to ComputeAvailableDevices targets in dotnet/android and dotnet/macios Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
rmarinho
force-pushed
the
docs/maui-device-list
branch
from
805c3bc to
5c20b77
Compare
rolfbjarne
approved these changes
Feb 27, 2026
| - [simctl command-line tool](https://nshipster.com/simctl/) | ||
|
|
||
| [vibe-wpf]: https://github.com/jonathanpeppers/vibe-wpf | ||
| [appledev-tools]: https://github.com/Redth/AppleDev.Tools |
| | | Approach A (MSBuild) | Approach B (Native CLI) | | ||
| |---|---|---| | ||
| | **Project required** | Yes — needs `.csproj` | No | | ||
| | **Cross-platform** | One platform per call (per TFM) | All platforms in one call | |
Member
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Why would you need to list all the platforms in one call? This will be really slow.
Comment on lines
+306
to
+309
| 1. **AI agent bootstrapping** — An agent starting a "vibe coding" | ||
| session needs to discover available targets before scaffolding a | ||
| project. It cannot call `dotnet run --list-devices` because there | ||
| is no `.csproj` yet. |
Member
There was a problem hiding this comment.
I don't understand, why does it need to know the devices before a project exists?
What is it going to do with the list of devices?
Member
Author
There was a problem hiding this comment.
- you can see this AI usage, AI wants to see if device exists before creating it for example, or know figure what it can launch.
- You can see this on CI, check if the device exists before creating one
Member
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Can you share a screenshot/example?
| | **Project required** | Yes — needs `.csproj` | No | | ||
| | **Cross-platform** | One platform per call (per TFM) | All platforms in one call | | ||
| | **Metadata** | Rich (RuntimeIdentifier, workload-specific fields) | Standard (id, description, type, status) | | ||
| | **Speed** | Slower (MSBuild evaluation + restore) | Fast (<2s, direct process calls) | |
Member
There was a problem hiding this comment.
I doubt listing devices for all platforms will beat 2 seconds, do we have a measurement?
Member
Author
There was a problem hiding this comment.
I have a working version now on vscode it s what it looks like :) I can try give you a exact number
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
Note
Are you waiting for the changes in this PR to be merged?
It would be very helpful if you could test the resulting artifacts from this PR and let us know in a comment if this change resolves your issue. Thank you!
Summary
Adds the
maui device listcommand specification to the existing CLI design document (docs/design/cli.md). This command provides unified, cross-platform device enumeration without requiring a project context.See PR #33865 for the full DevTools spec.
What is added
Command:
maui device list [--platform <p>] [--json]Lists connected devices, running emulators, and available simulators across all platforms in a single call.
Two approaches analysis
The spec analyzes two discovery approaches and recommends the project-free one:
dotnet run --list-devices)maui device list)Scenarios requiring project-free discovery
.csprojyet)Recommended approach
maui device listuses direct native tool invocation (adb devices,simctl list,devicectl list). Device IDs are compatible withdotnet run --device, making them complementary:Other changes
ComputeAvailableDevicesMSBuild targets in dotnet/android and dotnet/macios