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Troubleshooting

This page focuses on the packaged VS Code extension workflow.

The AXSG Inspector views still appear under Explorer

Usually this means VS Code persisted the old view location from a previous build.

Try:

  1. reload the VS Code window
  2. run View: Reset View Locations
  3. reopen AXSG Inspector: Show Inspector Panel

The intended layout is:

  • preview in the editor area
  • inspector views in a dedicated left activity-bar container

The AXSG Inspector rail button is missing

Check:

  • the updated extension build is actually installed
  • VS Code was reloaded after installation
  • the workspace contains .xaml or .axaml so AXSG activates

If you just rebuilt the VSIX locally, reinstall that exact package and reload the window.

Preview startup fails immediately

Start with the AXSG Language Server output channel.

Common causes:

  • the host project does not build
  • the active XAML file is in a library and axsg.preview.hostProject is not set
  • the chosen target framework is not the desktop TFM you intended
  • the installed extension bundle is stale

Recommended settings while diagnosing:

{
  "axsg.preview.compilerMode": "auto",
  "axsg.preview.buildBeforeLaunch": true
}

Source-generated preview is unavailable

In auto mode this should fall back cleanly to Avalonia/XamlX.

If you forced:

{
  "axsg.preview.compilerMode": "sourceGenerated"
}

then the preview will fail until the AXSG runtime output is present in the build output.

Preview works for executables but not for library XAML

Set:

{
  "axsg.preview.hostProject": "/path/to/your/app.csproj"
}

Optionally also set:

{
  "axsg.preview.targetFramework": "net10.0"
}

if the project multi-targets and the chosen desktop TFM is not the one you want.

Preview is visible but interaction is wrong

Check the workspace mode in the preview toolbar:

  • use Interactive for normal app input
  • use Design for hit testing and overlay selection

If clicks are selecting elements instead of pressing buttons, you are in Design.

If keyboard input is not reaching the previewed app, confirm you are not in Design.

Selection sync looks stale

Try:

  1. AXSG Inspector: Refresh
  2. reopening the preview tab
  3. reselecting the document from Documents

Also verify that the active editor is the same XAML document that belongs to the active preview session.

Property edits or toolbox insertions do not land where expected

The runtime mutation pipeline operates against the current active design document and selected element.

Before editing:

  • confirm the right document is active in Documents
  • confirm the right element is selected in preview or tree
  • use the Logical Tree or Visual Tree to verify the current selection

Native preview dependencies

The packaged extension bundles designer-host native assets for:

  • macOS
  • Windows
  • Linux

If preview startup still reports missing native rendering libraries, the installed VSIX is usually stale or incomplete. Reinstall the freshly packaged extension and reload VS Code.