.Net Maui Permissions Management Complete Guide

Step-by-Step Guide to .NET MAUI Permissions Management

Step 1: Setting Up a New .NET MAUI Application

1. Open Visual Studio 2022 or the latest version.
2. Click on "Create a new project".
3. Search for "MAUI" and select ".NET MAUI App" and click Next.
4. Provide your project name, location, and solution name, and then click on "Create".
5. Choose the .NET version (e.g., .NET 7), and then click on "Create".

Step 2: Install Required NuGet Packages

You will need the Plugin.Permissions NuGet package to manage permissions. However, note that for modern .NET MAUI applications, it's better to use the built-in Permissions API from .NET MAUI:

1. In Solution Explorer, right-click on your project and select "Manage NuGet Packages".
2. Search for Microsoft.Maui.Essentials:
   • Click on the package and then click "Install".

Note: Ensure you have the latest version of Microsoft.Maui.Essentials installed.

Step 3: Requesting Permissions

Permissions are managed using the Permissions API in .NET MAUI. Below is an example of how to request the Camera permission.

1. Open MainPage.xaml.cs in your project.

2. Add the necessary using directives at the top:

   using Microsoft.Maui.ApplicationModel.Permissions;
   

3. Modify the MainPage class to include a button that requests the Camera permission:

   public partial class MainPage : ContentPage
   {
       public MainPage()
       {
           InitializeComponent();
   
           Button requestPermissionButton = new Button
           {
               Text = "Request Camera Permission",
               VerticalOptions = LayoutOptions.CenterAndExpand,
               HorizontalOptions = LayoutOptions.CenterAndExpand
           };
   
           requestPermissionButton.Clicked += RequestPermissionButton_Clicked;
   
           Content = requestPermissionButton;
       }
   
       private async void RequestPermissionButton_Clicked(object sender, EventArgs e)
       {
           var status = await Permissions.RequestAsync<Permissions.Camera>();
   
           if (status == PermissionStatus.Granted)
           {
               // Permission granted - do action with camera
               await DisplayAlert("Permission Granted", "Camera Permission granted", "OK");
           }
           else
           {
               // Permission denied - show an explanation or error message
               await DisplayAlert("Permission Denied", "Camera Permission denied", "OK");
           }
       }
   }
   

Step 4: Platform-Specific Configuration

For Android and iOS, additional configuration is required to declare the permissions in the AndroidManifest.xml and Info.plist files, respectively.

For Android:

1. Open Platforms/Android/AndroidManifest.xml and add the following permission inside the <manifest> tag:

   <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
   

For iOS:

1. Open Platforms/iOS/Info.plist and add the following keys for the camera usage description:

   <key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
   <string>This app needs access to your camera to capture photos.</string>
   

If you request other permissions like Location, Microphone, etc., make sure to add the corresponding entries in these files.

Complete Example

Here is the complete code for MainPage.xaml.cs:

using Microsoft.Maui.Controls;
using Microsoft.Maui.ApplicationModel;
using Microsoft.Maui.ApplicationModel.Permissions;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace PermissionsExample
{
    public partial class MainPage : ContentPage
    {
        public MainPage()
        {
            InitializeComponent();

            Button requestPermissionButton = new Button
            {
                Text = "Request Camera Permission",
                VerticalOptions = LayoutOptions.CenterAndExpand,
                HorizontalOptions = LayoutOptions.CenterAndExpand
            };

            requestPermissionButton.Clicked += RequestPermissionButton_Clicked;

            Content = requestPermissionButton;
        }

        private async void RequestPermissionButton_Clicked(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            var status = await Permissions.RequestAsync<Permissions.Camera>();

            if (status == PermissionStatus.Granted)
            {
                // Permission granted - do action with camera
                await DisplayAlert("Permission Granted", "Camera Permission granted", "OK");
            }
            else
            {
                // Permission denied - show an explanation or error message
                await DisplayAlert("Permission Denied", "Camera Permission denied", "OK");
            }
        }
    }
}

Platform-Specific Configuration Files

For Android (AndroidManifest.xml):

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="com.companyname.PermissionsExample"
    android:versionCode="1"
    android:versionName="1.0"
    android:compileSdkVersion="31">

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />

    <application
        android:label="PermissionsExample"
        android:icon="@mipmap/appicon"
        android:theme="@style/MainTheme"
        android:supportsRtl="true">
        <!-- other configurations -->
    </application>
</manifest>

For iOS (Info.plist):