Skills maui-safe-area

Name: maui-safe-area
Author: dotnet

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/dotnet/skills

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/dotnet/skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/plugins/dotnet-maui/skills/maui-safe-area" ~/.claude/skills/dotnet-skills-maui-safe-area && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: plugins/dotnet-maui/skills/maui-safe-area/SKILL.md

source content

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 removed

If you used

WindowSoftInputModeAdjust.Resize

in .NET 9, replace it with

SafeAreaEdges="All"

on the ContentPage for equivalent keyboard avoidance.

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.

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>

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" />

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 properties still compile but are marked obsolete.

IgnoreSafeArea="True"

maps internally to

SafeAreaRegions.None

<!-- .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

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.
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.
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."
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.
Missing
```
viewport-fit=cover
```
in Blazor. Without this meta tag, CSS
```
env(safe-area-inset-*)
```
values are always zero on iOS.
Assuming .NET 9 behavior on Android. After upgrading to .NET 10, Android
```
ContentPage
```
defaults to
```
None
```
(was effectively
```
Container
```
). Add
```
SafeAreaEdges="Container"
```
to restore the previous behavior.
Using legacy
```
ios:Page.UseSafeArea
```
in new code. The old API is iOS-only and obsolete. Always use
```
SafeAreaEdges
```
for cross-platform safe area management.

Checklist

Android upgrade:
```
SafeAreaEdges="Container"
```
added if content goes under status bar
Edge-to-edge:
```
None
```
set on both page and layout
ScrollView keyboard avoidance uses wrapper Grid, not ScrollView's own
```
SafeAreaEdges
```
Blazor Hybrid: using either XAML or CSS safe areas, not both

viewport-fit=cover

in Blazor's

index.html

<meta viewport>

tag

Legacy
```
UseSafeArea
```
/
```
IgnoreSafeArea
```
migrated to
```
SafeAreaEdges
```