Microsoft has plenty of open-source projects, and these days, the company is much more open to community contributions. Still, plenty of code remains closed-source, and the company constantly receives more requests to open it. One of them is WinUI, Windows 11’s user interface framework. While Microsoft is not opening it fully yet, the company shared details about plans for the next six months, which include “product work and foundational changes to support a more open and collaborative future.”
Microsoft says that open-sourcing WinUI cannot be done with a switch flip due to its complexity and connections. Windows 11’s user interface taps into many proprietary layers of the operating system that cannot be published as is. As such, Microsoft needs to separate what could be shared with the community and what cannot.
Many of you have asked about truly open sourcing the repo. While we’re not ready to commit to a specific end date for completing all milestones, we are actively working toward it. This isn’t a flip-the-switch moment, it’s a deliberate process.
Additionally, the team needs to prioritize other things, which include security, stability, and support for existing products.
Microsoft plans to open WinUI’s GitHub repository in phases:
- Phase 1: Increased Mirror Frequency. After the WASDK 1.8 release (end of August), we’ll begin more frequent mirroring of internal commits to GitHub to increase transparency and show progress.
- Phase 2: 3rd Party Devs Build Locally. External developers will be able to clone and build the repo locally, with documentation to guide setup and dependencies.
- Phase 3: 3rd Party Devs Contribute & Run Tests. Contributors will be able to submit PRs and run tests locally. We’re working to untangle private dependencies and make test infrastructure publicly accessible.
- Phase 4: GitHub as Center of Gravity. GitHub becomes the primary place for development, issue tracking, and community engagement. Internal mirrors will be phased out.
Making WinUI more open will be an incremental process, and you can track it on this board on GitHub. Meanwhile, developers can contribute by sharing their feedback, filing clear and well-written issues, and upvoting existing feedback.
