Rider Previewer for macOS Project

[Irasil]

Hi everyone,

I'm working on an Avalonia project using Rider on macOS, and I'm running into an issue with the XAML Previewer.

My project targets net8.0-macos because I need access to Apple-specific APIs via AppleKit. However, when using this target framework, I can't set the OutputType to WinExe I have to use Exe instead. This seems to cause a problem: the project doesn't show up in the AXAML Previewer, and I can't select it as a preview context.

Here's a quick summary:

TargetFramework: net8.0-macos (required for AppleKit access)

OutputType: must be Exe (because WinExe is not valid for TargetFramework: net8.0-macos)

Problem: Project does not appear in the Avalonia Previewer in Rider

I'm wondering if I'm missing something or doing something wrong.
Is there a way to make the Previewer work with a macOS-targeted Avalonia project that uses Exe as the OutputType?

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

[maxkatz6]

"Exe" is allowed output type: https://github.com/AvaloniaUI/AvaloniaVS/blob/17c10dc2ee8606c0e438a8e349fceda63ad8841b/AvaloniaVS.Shared/Services/SolutionService.cs#L112-L114

The problem might be with executable locator though, since macos projects have slightly different strucute

[maxkatz6]

You should be able to multitarget or create a second project for non-macOS.

[Irasil]

I already have a separate project for Windows where the OutputType is set to WinExe, and it does appear in the Previewer as expected.

As an experiment, I tried changing my macOS project to use net8.0 with Exe, and in that case, it does show up in the Previewer.

However, I need to use net8.0-macos in order to access Apple-specific APIs.

So it seems that net8.0-macos prevents the Previewer from recognizing the project.
Is there any known workaround for this? Or is there something else I can do to make the Previewer work with a macOS-targeted Avalonia project?

[maxkatz6]

I didn't notice your comment refers to Rider, but that makes sense. Things might work differently, please check with AvaloniaRider repository maintainers. I will take a look too later