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Add llms.txt for AI-friendly documentation discovery#3202

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Add llms.txt for AI-friendly documentation discovery#3202
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@jfversluis jfversluis commented Feb 10, 2026

Introduces a /llms.txt file following the llmstxt.org specification to make .NET MAUI documentation more discoverable and effective for LLMs and AI-powered tools. The file provides a curated, structured overview of the most important documentation pages organized by topic area.

Includes critical anti-pattern guidance (obsolete controls like ListView, TableView, Frame; layout pitfalls) and control selection recommendations informed by community best practices.


Internal previews

📄 File 🔗 Preview link
docs/deployment/performance-best-practices.md docs/deployment/performance-best-practices
docs/user-interface/controls/collectionview/collectionview-guide.md docs/user-interface/controls/collectionview/collectionview-guide
docs/user-interface/handlers/handler-architecture.md docs/user-interface/handlers/handler-architecture

Introduces a /llms.txt file following the llmstxt.org specification to make
.NET MAUI documentation more discoverable and effective for LLMs and
AI-powered tools. The file provides a curated, structured overview of the
most important documentation pages organized by topic area.

Includes critical anti-pattern guidance (obsolete controls like ListView,
TableView, Frame; layout pitfalls) and control selection recommendations
informed by community best practices.
@jfversluis jfversluis requested a review from a team as a code owner February 10, 2026 13:39
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Add handler architecture, CollectionView, and performance best practices
guides as primary entries in their respective sections. Move the detailed
handler reference pages (create, customize) to the Optional section since
the guide covers those topics comprehensively.
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Address review feedback: link to raw markdown files on GitHub instead of
rendered HTML pages. Raw markdown is cleaner for LLM consumption — no
navigation chrome, JavaScript, or HTML conversion artifacts.

All URLs now follow the pattern:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dotnet/docs-maui/refs/heads/main/docs/...
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Three new standalone guides with inline code examples, no external snippet
references or moniker ranges, designed to be fully self-contained for both
human readers and LLM consumption:

- Handler architecture: what handlers are, creating custom controls,
  customizing existing controls via Mapper, lifecycle, common recipes
- CollectionView: data binding, layouts (list/grid), selection, grouping,
  empty views, scrolling, SwipeView, performance tips
- Performance best practices: compiled bindings, control selection (Grid vs
  StackLayout, CollectionView vs ListView, Border vs Frame), layout
  optimization, images, startup, async/threading, memory, trimming/AOT
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jfversluis and others added 2 commits February 25, 2026 11:19
All link entries now use plain text consistently, addressing review
feedback about bold formatting only appearing on some links.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
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jfversluis and others added 2 commits March 10, 2026 11:19
- Complete structural rewrite of llms.txt based on LLM attention research
- Add deprecation substitution table (structured format over prose)
- Add numbered architecture and layout rules with consequence framing
- Add 5 inline code patterns (MauiProgram, CollectionView, Shell nav, handlers, MVVM)
- Reduce curated links from ~116 to ~60 highest-value references
- Add recency anchor restating critical constraints at file end
- Fix accuracy issues: Effects not deprecated, BackgroundColor not obsolete,
  Shell QueryProperty behavior, image asset references
- Create llms-full.txt companion (191KB) with 8 inlined key docs
- Fix Frame to Border in collectionview-guide.md code examples

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
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PoliCheck Scan Report

The following report lists PoliCheck issues in PR files. Before you merge the PR, you must fix all severity-1 and severity-2 issues. The AI Review Details column lists suggestions for either removing or replacing the terms. If you find a false positive result, mention it in a PR comment and include this text: #policheck-false-positive. This feedback helps reduce false positives in future scans.

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Learn Build status updates of commit 4bdd611:

💡 Validation status: suggestions

File Status Preview URL Details
docs/user-interface/controls/collectionview/collectionview-guide.md 💡Suggestion View (>=net-maui-8.0) Details
docs/deployment/performance-best-practices.md ✅Succeeded View (>=net-maui-8.0)
docs/llms-full.txt ✅Succeeded
docs/llms.txt ✅Succeeded
docs/user-interface/handlers/handler-architecture.md ✅Succeeded View (>=net-maui-8.0)

docs/user-interface/controls/collectionview/collectionview-guide.md

  • Line 0, Column 0: [Suggestion: filename-incomplete - See documentation] The filename contains an incomplete word, misspelled word, acronym, or abbreviation that is disallowed.

For more details, please refer to the build report.

Note: Your PR may contain errors or warnings or suggestions unrelated to the files you changed. This happens when external dependencies like GitHub alias, Microsoft alias, cross repo links are updated. Please use these instructions to resolve them.

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PoliCheck Scan Report

The following report lists PoliCheck issues in PR files. Before you merge the PR, you must fix all severity-1 and severity-2 issues. The AI Review Details column lists suggestions for either removing or replacing the terms. If you find a false positive result, mention it in a PR comment and include this text: #policheck-false-positive. This feedback helps reduce false positives in future scans.

✅ No issues found

More information about PoliCheck

Information: PoliCheck | Severity Guidance | Term
For any questions: Try searching the learn.microsoft.com contributor guides or post your question in the Learn support channel.

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Learn Build status updates of commit 8991b38:

💡 Validation status: suggestions

File Status Preview URL Details
docs/user-interface/controls/collectionview/collectionview-guide.md 💡Suggestion View (>=net-maui-8.0) Details
docs/deployment/performance-best-practices.md ✅Succeeded View (>=net-maui-8.0)
docs/llms-full.txt ✅Succeeded
docs/llms.txt ✅Succeeded
docs/user-interface/handlers/handler-architecture.md ✅Succeeded View (>=net-maui-8.0)

docs/user-interface/controls/collectionview/collectionview-guide.md

  • Line 0, Column 0: [Suggestion: filename-incomplete - See documentation] The filename contains an incomplete word, misspelled word, acronym, or abbreviation that is disallowed.

For more details, please refer to the build report.

Note: Your PR may contain errors or warnings or suggestions unrelated to the files you changed. This happens when external dependencies like GitHub alias, Microsoft alias, cross repo links are updated. Please use these instructions to resolve them.

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