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    Agent Skills for DevExpress WinForms Controls

    • 4 minutes to read

    DevExpress AI Agent Skills equip AI coding assistants with built-in knowledge of DevExpress WinForms controls, including correct APIs, designer and code patterns, namespaces, and ready-to-use code examples. These skills help AI coding assistants use current DevExpress patterns and avoid outdated APIs. The skills follow the Agent Skills standard and work with Claude Code, GitHub Copilot (Visual Studio, VS Code, JetBrains Rider), and Cursor.

    Tip

    Agent Skills and the DevExpress MCP Server complement each other: skills address frequently used patterns, while the MCP Server delivers live documentation lookup for other usage scenarios.

    Available Skills

    The DevExpress WinForms plugin (dx-winforms) includes skills that target DevExpress v26.1.

    Data-aware Controls

    Skill Description
    devexpress-winforms-data-grid GridControl — GridView, BandedGridView, AdvBandedGridView, CardView, LayoutView, TileView, and WinExplorerView, plus the TreeList — data binding (regular, server mode, instant feedback, virtual), columns, in-place editing, conditional formatting, validation, filtering and search, sorting and grouping, master-detail, focus and selection, drag-and-drop, printing, and export.
    devexpress-winforms-tree-list TreeList — self-referential (bound) mode, unbound and virtual on-demand loading, columns and in-place editors, sorting, filtering, summaries, conditional formatting, node operations, drag-and-drop, printing, and export.
    devexpress-winforms-pivot-grid PivotGridControl — Row/Column/Data/Filter areas, in-memory/DataTable/EF Core/server-mode binding, interval grouping, summaries, sorting, filtering, and conditional formatting.
    devexpress-winforms-property-grid PropertyGridControl — SelectedObject(s), auto- and manually-defined rows (EditorRow, CategoryRow), Classic vs Office view, expandable nested objects, the built-in collection editor, and the search panel.

    Editors and Input

    Skill Description
    devexpress-winforms-editors The BaseEdit hierarchy — TextEdit , ButtonEdit , ComboBoxEdit , LookUpEdit , DateEdit , SpinEdit , MemoEdit , CheckEdit , and 20+ more — plus EditValue binding, the RepositoryItem in-place editing pattern, input masks (numeric, datetime, regex, simple), editor buttons (EditorButton / ButtonPredefines), and non-BaseEdit controls ( LabelControl , SimpleButton , ListBoxControl ).

    Layout and Navigation

    Skill Description
    devexpress-winforms-layout LayoutControl and DataLayoutControl (aligned, self-arranging layouts; auto-generated editors via RetrieveFields), DockManager (dockable, floating, and auto-hide panels), and StackPanel/TablePanel — plus layout persistence.
    devexpress-winforms-ribbon-and-bars RibbonControl and classic BarManager bars — RibbonForm host, the items/links architecture ( BarButtonItem , BarCheckItem, BarSubItem, BarEditItem, galleries), ribbon structure (page categories, pages, groups, Quick Access Toolbar, Application/Backstage menu), MDI ribbon and bars merging, and bar layout (main menu, toolbars, status bar).
    devexpress-winforms-accordion AccordionControl — side navigation and Hamburger Menu layouts, AccordionControlElement groups and items, view modes, data-driven population, built-in and AI Smart Search, and FluentDesignForm/NavigationFrame integration.
    devexpress-winforms-tab-control XtraTabControl — XtraTabPage pages, header location and orientation, multi-line and scrolling headers, header and per-page close buttons, page images, wizard-style navigation, and custom drawing.

    Data Visualization and Specialized Controls

    Skill Description
    devexpress-winforms-charts ChartControl (2D and 3D) — the ChartControl/Diagram/Series/SeriesView hierarchy, 30+ series and diagram types (XY, Pie/Doughnut, Radar, Polar, Gantt, financial), data binding, primary and secondary axes, legends, tooltips and crosshair, selection, and aggregation.
    devexpress-winforms-scheduler SchedulerControl with SchedulerDataStorage — Day/Work Week/Full Week/Month/Year/Timeline/Agenda/Gantt views, bound and unbound modes, appointments, resources, recurrence, reminders, labels, statuses, and appearance customization.
    devexpress-winforms-loading-indicators SplashScreenManager — a decision guide for the four indicator types: startup Splash Screen (Fluent/Skin/Default/Image), modal Wait Form, semi-transparent Overlay Form, and the inline ProgressPanel, with correct async patterns.
    devexpress-winforms-ai-chat AIChatControl (DevExpress.AIIntegration.WinForms.Chat) — Copilot-style chat UI; OpenAI/Azure OpenAI/Ollama via IChatClient; Markdown rendering, message interception, prompt suggestions, and Razor message/content templates. Requires .NET 8+ and DevExpress v26.1+.

    Cross-cutting

    Skill Description
    devexpress-winforms-mvvm MVVMContext — ViewModel strategies ([GenerateViewModel] source generator and runtime POCO/ViewModelBase); DelegateCommand/AsyncCommand; the Fluent API (SetBinding, BindCommand, BindCancelCommand); predefined services (IMessageBoxService, IDialogService, IDocumentManagerService, and more); behaviors; and Messenger.

    Installation

    Install these skills from the DevExpress AI Agent Skills repository as a plugin for GitHub Copilot CLI v2.90.0+ or Claude Code:

    /plugin marketplace add DevExpress/agent-skills
/plugin install dx-winforms@DevExpress-agent-skills

    Restart your IDE after installation. Run /skills to list active entries.

    Alternatively, copy the skill folders into your project (.github/skills/ for GitHub Copilot, .claude/skills/ for Claude Code) or a global skills directory. Copied skills activate automatically based on your question.

    For additional information on skill setup, refer to the repository’s readme: DevExpress AI Agent Skills.

    Prerequisites

    • .NET 8+ (net8.0-windows) or .NET Framework 4.6.2+.
    • DevExpress WinForms NuGet packages v26.1+ (feature-specific packages such as DevExpress.Win.PivotGrid, DevExpress.Win.Navigation, DevExpress.Win.Charts, and DevExpress.Win.Scheduler).
    • A valid DevExpress license (WinForms Subscription, DXperience, or Universal Subscription).
    • A DevExpress form host (XtraForm, RibbonForm, or FluentDesignForm) is recommended for consistent skinning. The Ribbon requires a RibbonForm host.
    • The AI Chat Control skill additionally requires .NET 8+ and the DevExpress.AIIntegration.WinForms.Chat package.

    See Also