.NET MAUI › Project Structure & App Startup

How does multi-targeting work in the MAUI .csproj?

Intermediate

Answer

The <TargetFrameworks> property lists monikers like net8.0-android and net8.0-ios. MSBuild builds the project once per moniker. You can use MSBuild conditions and the Platforms folder filename convention (e.g., MyService.Android.cs) so files compile only for matching targets, avoiding scattered preprocessor directives.

<TargetFrameworks>net8.0-android;net8.0-ios</TargetFrameworks>
<PropertyGroup Condition="'$(TargetFramework)'=='net8.0-android'">
    <DefineConstants>$(DefineConstants);MY_ANDROID</DefineConstants>
</PropertyGroup>

Real-world example A CI pipeline builds only the Android target on a Linux agent and the iOS target on a Mac agent from the same csproj.

Common follow-ups: What are partial classes used for here? | How do filename conventions target platforms?

Multi-targeting Conditional Compilation Platform Integration