How to initialize NuGet package from MauiProgram.cs instead of platform-specific code in .NET MAUI?

Question

I have a .NET MAUI nuget project where I need to initialize a NuGet package for Android. Currently, the package requires initialization inside MainActivity like this:

// MainActivity.cs (Android)
protected override void OnCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
    base.OnCreate(savedInstanceState);

    MyPackage.Init(this); // Passes Android context to package
}

This is mainly to set the application context for the package. However, I’d like to move this initialization to MauiProgram.cs so that it is not platform-specific, something like:

public static class MauiProgram
{
    public static MauiApp CreateMauiApp()
    {
        var builder = MauiApp.CreateBuilder();

        builder
            .UseMauiApp<App>()
            .UseMyPlugin(); // hypothetical method

        return builder.Build();
    }
}

Questions:

Is there a way to pass the Android Context from MauiProgram.cs without touching MainActivity?
Can I write a .UseMyPlugin() extension method that works cross-platform, but still sets the context correctly for Android?
Is there a recommended approach in MAUI to centralize such platform-specific initialization?

Additional Info:

Target frameworks: .NET 8
Package requires Android Context during initialization.
I want to avoid having multiple platform-specific Init() calls if possible.

Julian · Accepted Answer · 2025-08-15 07:35:04Z

1

You can just add a static registration class with an extension method somewhere in your shared code, e.g. like this:

public static class Registration
{
    public static MauiAppBuilder UseMyPlugin(this MauiAppBuilder builder)
    {
#if ANDROID
        // add Android-specific registration code, e.g.
        MyPackage.Init(Microsoft.Maui.ApplicationModel.Platform.CurrentActivity);
        
#elif IOS
        // add iOS-specific registration code...
#endif

        return builder;
    }
}

This can then be called as you described:

public static class MauiProgram
{
    public static MauiApp CreateMauiApp()
    {
        var builder = MauiApp.CreateBuilder();

        builder
            .UseMauiApp<App>()
            .UseMyPlugin();

        return builder.Build();
    }
}

However, note that this strictly isn't necessary when you're not actually adding anything to the builder.

You could also just create a simple static Initialize() method which doesn't hook into the builder:

public class MyPackage
{
    public static Initialize()
    {
#if ANDROID
        // add Android-specific initialization code, e.g.
        MyPackage.Init(Microsoft.Maui.ApplicationModel.Platform.CurrentActivity);
        
#elif IOS
        // add iOS-specific registration code...
#endif
    }
}

and then call it from anywhere at the app start:

MyPackage.Initialize();

In both cases, you'll need some platform-specific methods to handle the initialization, e.g. in the Platforms folder or by using filename-based multi-targeting.

edited Aug 15 at 7:35

answered Aug 15 at 7:28

Julian

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2 Comments

Santos Aug 16 at 3:33

Thanks for the help — this approach worked perfectly! The only adjustment I needed was to hook into the OnCreate event on Android:

public static MauiAppBuilder UseMyPlugin(this MauiAppBuilder builder) { #if ANDROID     builder.ConfigureLifecycleEvents(events =>     {         events.AddAndroid(android => android.OnCreate((activity, bundle) =>         {             MyPackage.Init(Microsoft.Maui.ApplicationModel.Platform.CurrentActivity);         }));     }); #endif     return builder; }

Julian Aug 18 at 9:37

Yes, it can be that the activity isn't set in Microsoft.Maui.ApplicationModel.Platform.CurrentActivity yet at that point. In that case, setting it by using the OnCreate() lifecycle event is appropriate, indeed.

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