Wi-Fi | Getting Started

Scan for the access points in range, join and leave networks, manage the ones the device has saved, watch the network it is actually on — SSID, signal, IP, DNS, gateway — and raise a hotspot. Built on Shiny.Core, so it runs in any Shiny host: MAUI, console, service, or daemon.

GitHub
Downloads

Frameworks

.NET MAUI

.NET

Operating Systems

Android

iOS

Windows

Linux

macOS

Read this first

Wi-Fi is the most unevenly exposed capability across these platforms, and a lot of what people reasonably expect is simply not available to a sandboxed app. iOS has no scanning API. Neither phone OS will show an app the networks the user saved. Only Android, Windows and Linux can raise a hotspot.

Rather than pretend otherwise, every manager here publishes a WifiCapabilities flags property, and anything unavailable throws WifiNotSupportedException with a message naming the specific limit — an Apple entitlement, an Android API level that revoked the call, a platform with no such concept. Check the flag to branch; catch the exception as a backstop.

if (wifi.Capabilities.HasFlag(WifiCapabilities.Scan))
    networks = await wifi.Scan(ct);
else
    ShowJoinByNameField();   // iOS

What each platform can do

Operation	Android	iOS / Catalyst	macOS	Windows	Linux
Scan	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅
Connect / disconnect	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Current network (SSID, signal)	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Current network (IP, DNS, gateway)	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Radio on/off	⚠️ API ≤ 28	❌	✅	✅	✅
Hotspot	⚠️ local-only	❌	❌	✅	✅
Hotspot client list	❌	❌	❌	✅	✅
Known networks — list	⚠️ own app	⚠️ own app	✅	✅	✅
Known networks — forget	⚠️ own app	⚠️ own app	⚠️ admin auth	✅	✅
Known networks — rejoin by id	⚠️ API ≤ 28	❌	✅	✅	✅

See Platform Setup for what each of those costs in manifest entries and entitlements, and why the gaps exist.

Features

• Scan — one WifiNetwork per BSSID with SSID, security scheme, dBm and 0-100 signal, frequency, band, and channel.
• Connect — join by name and passphrase; returns once an address has been assigned, not merely on association.
• Current network — SSID, BSSID, security, signal, every IP, DNS resolver, gateway and mask, with a de-duplicated Changed event.
• Known networks — list what the device has saved, forget one, or rejoin one without handing the passphrase over again.
• Hotspot — raise an access point, read back the SSID and passphrase actually in use, and list connected clients on Windows and Linux.
• Honest capabilities — no silent empty results standing in for “this platform cannot do that”.
• AOT & trimmer compatible.

Claude CodeGitHub Copilot

Step 1 — Add the marketplace:

claude plugin marketplace add shinyorg/skills

Step 2 — Install the plugin:

claude plugin install shiny@shiny

One plugin installs all 35 Shiny skills. Your agent loads only the skill relevant to what you're building, so there's no cost to having them all available.

Step 1 — Add the marketplace:

copilot plugin marketplace add https://github.com/shinyorg/skills

Step 2 — Install the plugin:

copilot plugin install shiny@shiny

One plugin installs all 35 Shiny skills. Your agent loads only the skill relevant to what you're building, so there's no cost to having them all available.

View Skills Repository

Setup

MAUILinux (GTK)

• NuGet Packages
• Project File
• MauiProgram.cs
• AndroidManifest.xml
• Info.plist
• PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy
• Package.appxmanifest

Shiny.Net.Wifi

Install the package:

dotnet add package Shiny.Net.Wifi

On Linux, install the NetworkManager-backed package instead — it registers the same interfaces:

dotnet add package Shiny.Net.Wifi.Linux

Register what you need:

using Shiny;

builder.Services.AddWifi();           // IWifiManager
builder.Services.AddWifiHotspot();    // IWifiHotspot

Ask for access before scanning

Android returns an empty list rather than an error when location has not been granted, and iOS returns a placeholder SSID. Call RequestAccess() before Scan() or before reading CurrentNetwork.Ssid. See Platform Setup.

Scan for networks

public class NetworkPicker(IWifiManager wifi)
{
    public async Task<IReadOnlyList<WifiNetwork>> Load(CancellationToken ct)
    {
        var access = await wifi.RequestAccess(ct);
        if (access != AccessState.Available)
            return [];

        var found = await wifi.Scan(ct);

        // one network shows up once per radio on a multi-band or mesh setup, so results are
        // unique on BSSID - group and take the strongest for a picker
        return found
            .GroupBy(x => x.Ssid)
            .Select(g => g.MaxBy(x => x.SignalStrengthPercent)!)
            .ToList();
    }
}

Join a network

var joined = await wifi.Connect(
    new WifiConnectionRequest("Kitchen") { Passphrase = "hunter2hunter2" },
    ct
);

Console.WriteLine($"{joined.Ssid} at {joined.IPv4Address}");

Rejoin a saved network

var saved = await wifi.GetKnownNetworks(ct);

// on Windows, macOS and Linux this rejoins without needing the passphrase again
if (wifi.Capabilities.HasFlag(WifiCapabilities.ConnectKnownNetwork))
    await wifi.Connect(saved[0].Id, ct);

On iOS and Android the list holds only what your own app saved — see Known Networks.

Watch the current network

wifi.Changed += (_, network) =>
{
    if (network == null)
        return;   // dropped off Wi-Fi

    Console.WriteLine($"{network.Ssid} — {network.SignalStrengthPercent}%");
    Console.WriteLine($"IP  {network.IPv4Address}");
    Console.WriteLine($"DNS {String.Join(", ", network.DnsAddresses)}");
};

Read on: Networks · Known Networks · Hotspot · Platform Setup