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# .NET project templates for WebSharper

You can install the latest WebSharper project templates via the dotnet CLI - this will also make them available in Visual Studio 2022 and above. As of WebSharper 6, no separate VSIX installer is available, so use the following command to install:

> dotnet new -i WebSharper.Templates

Different WebSharper project templates are available for F# and C#. You can set the language of your preference in your shell with:

> set DOTNET_NEW_PREFERRED_LANG=F#

To see what project templates are installed on your system and what's the default language for each, you can use:

> dotnet new --list
...
WebSharper 6 Minimal Application                  websharper-min           [F#], C#          WebSharper/Web
WebSharper 6 Single-Page Application              websharper-spa           [F#], C#          WebSharper/Web
WebSharper 6 Client-Server Application            websharper-web           [F#], C#          WebSharper/Web
WebSharper 6 HTML Application                     websharper-html          [F#], C#          WebSharper/Web
WebSharper 6 JavaScript Bindings                  websharper-ext           [F#]              WebSharper
WebSharper 6 .NET Proxy                           websharper-prx           [F#], C#          WebSharper
WebSharper 6 Library                              websharper-lib           [F#], C#          WebSharper
...

# How to decide what template to use?

Here are some guidelines on choosing the right project for your app:

# Does your application have a server-side?

  1. Yes -> use the client-server application template (websharper-web) for microservices or full-stack apps. If you have a single page with possibly multiple sub-pages, use the single-page application template (websharper-spa).

  2. No, I need to build a static web app and host it with my own web host (GitHub Pages, etc.) -> use the HTML application (websharper-html), or the single-page application template (websharper-spa) without a server-side.

# What's the difference between an HTML application and an SPA?

An HTML application can contain multiple pages and has no server-side (RPCs or websockets, but it can still make requests to external services). An SPA has a single containing page with possibly multiple sub-pages inside it, and it may have an optional server-side.

# Can I have multiple containing pages in an SPA?

Yes, but each page needs to be a separate SPA project and you need to manually assemble them into a single app by copying all master pages and their generated JavaScript code and other artifacts.

# I want to use our legacy JavaScript codebase and other, third-party JavaScript libraries in my application.

Create a bindings for them using the JavaScript binding template (websharper-ext). You may also want to look around on NuGet or GitHub to see if a binding already exists.

# I have .NET code that fails to compile with WebSharper.

Create a .NET proxy project (websharper-prx) to describe how to map your .NET code to JavaScript.

# I want to package up some of my UI and/or client-side logic to be shared with other WebSharper applications.

Create a WebSharper library (websharper-lib).

# Quick overview of the available templates

# Minimal Application

websharper-min creates a minimal server-side application that you can expand into a full-stack web application. It contains the boilerplate to create a sitelet that responds with a simple text response. Check the Hello world! example for more information.

# Single-Page Application

websharper-spa creates a single-page application (SPA) with a master index.html file, into which dynamic client-side functionality is injected. You can expand this template with an optional server-side by adding RPCs to it.

# Client-Server Application

websharper-web creates a full-stack client-server application. Use this as a base for your full-stack applications.