AetherVault

AetherVault is a .NET MAUI app for browsing, searching, and managing Magic: The Gathering cards and personal collections.

It uses a local SQLite copy of MTGJSON data, downloads card images from Scryfall, and stores user collection/deck data in a separate local database.

Decks are slowly being added.

---

What this repo is built with

• Language/Runtime: C# on .NET 10 (preview features enabled)
• UI: .NET MAUI + XAML
• Pattern: MVVM (CommunityToolkit.Mvvm) + Repository pattern + DI
• Data access: SQLite + Dapper
• Rendering: SkiaSharp (custom card grid rendering)
• Platform target: Android (net10.0-android)
  (some Windows files exist, but Android is primary)

---

Requirements

To build this project locally, you need:

1. .NET 10 SDK (preview-compatible for this project)
2. .NET MAUI workload (including Android)
3. Android SDK (API 21+ supported by project settings)
4. Java JDK required by MAUI/Android toolchain
5. Internet access on first app launch (for initial MTG database download)

---

Quick start (build + run)

From repo root:

dotnet workload install maui
dotnet workload install maui-android
dotnet restore AetherVault.sln
dotnet build AetherVault.csproj -f net10.0-android -m

To run on Android emulator/device:

dotnet build AetherVault.csproj -t:Run -f net10.0-android -m

Faster builds: Use -m for parallel MSBuild (uses all cores). Debug builds use Fast Deployment by default (only changed assemblies are redeployed), so incremental build+deploy is quicker. For a single full APK (e.g. for sharing or devices where Fast Deployment fails), set EmbedAssembliesIntoApk to True in the Debug property group in AetherVault.csproj.

---

Run tests

Use the test project directly:

dotnet test AetherVault.Tests/AetherVault.Tests.csproj

---

How the app works (high level)

• On startup, the app checks for the MTG master database (MTG_App_DB.zip) and downloads it if needed.
• Two SQLite databases are used:
  • Read-only MTG database for card/search data
  • Read-write collection database for user-owned cards and decks
• CardManager coordinates repository/services.
• Search uses MTGSearchHelper to build parameterized SQL queries safely.
• Card grid rendering is performance-focused via SkiaSharp custom controls.

---

Repo structure (short)

• Data/ – repositories, SQL query definitions, database manager
• Services/ – app services (image cache/download, card manager, deck builder, etc.)
• ViewModels/ – MVVM view models
• Pages/ – MAUI XAML pages
• Controls/ – custom UI controls and renderer code
• Core/ – shared models/enums/utility logic
• AetherVault.Tests/ – xUnit tests

---

Screenshots

Search	Collection	Card Detail
Decks	Browse Sample Decks	Stats

---

CI / database update automation

GitHub Actions workflow (.github/workflows/main.yml) runs weekly and can be triggered manually to:

1. Download MTGJSON SQLite data
2. Trim/optimize it
3. Publish MTG_App_DB.zip to GitHub Releases

The app then consumes that release artifact for local DB setup.