# dotnet/winforms

Windows Forms is a .NET UI framework for building Windows desktop applications.

Repository: https://github.com/dotnet/winforms
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/winforms
Language: C#
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: winforms, windows-forms, desktop, hacktoberfest, help-wanted
Last push: 2026-08-26T22:41:30+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 94/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 83, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2876, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 113, "gap_med": 0.0, "n_releases_24m": 25}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4849, forks 1117 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:01.403220+00:00)

## What it is
Windows Forms is the official .NET UI framework for building Windows desktop applications, wrapping native Windows libraries like User32 and GDI+. It supports rapid application development with a drag-and-drop visual designer in Visual Studio and is actively maintained as part of modern .NET.

## Use cases
- build windows desktop applications in c#
- create line of business apps with complex workflows
- drag and drop ui designer for .net desktop apps
- migrate .net framework winforms app to .net 8
- rapid application development for windows
- build desktop gui with controls and forms

## When to choose
- building Windows-only desktop or line-of-business applications in C#
- you want the Visual Studio visual designer and rapid UI development
- maintaining or modernizing an existing .NET Framework WinForms app

## When to avoid
- you need cross-platform desktop apps (consider Avalonia, MAUI, or Electron)
- you need modern data-binding, styling, or XAML-based UI (consider WPF or WinUI 3)
- you are building web or mobile applications

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: active
- function: ui-components, desktop-framework, gui
- domain: desktop-applications, web-development, cross-platform
- platform: windows, dotnet, cpp
- tags: winforms, windows-desktop, visual-designer, line-of-business-apps, gdi-plus, user32

## Member repositories
- dotnet/winforms (main) score 94

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:01.403220+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:18:25.330538+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/dotnet/winforms (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:01.403220+00:00, sha 08c42b115ce8)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.