First Steps with Server-Side UI for Blazor

This article explains how to get the Telerik UI for Blazor components in your Server-side Blazor project and start using them quickly. The process consists of the following steps:

1. Set Up a Blazor Project
   • Create a Project with the Telerik VS Extensions
   • Create a Project with the CLI
   • Create a Project with Visual Studio
2. Add the Telerik Blazor Components to an Existing Project
   1. Add the Telerik NuGet Feed to Visual Studio
   2. Enable the Components in the Project
3. Add a Telerik Component to a View

If you are familiar with the Telerik NuGet Feed and Blazor in general, you may want to follow the shorter, more technical getting started article: What You Need. The current article is designed as a step-by-step tutorial for new users and starts from the basics.

Step 0 - Download the Components

To follow the steps in this tutorial, you need access to the Telerik UI for Blazor components. The recommended download methods differ depending on your Telerik UI for Blazor license - trial or commercial.

Download the Free Trial Version

If you want to try Telerik UI for Blazor, you can download a free, fully functional trial. The trial offers the same functionality as the commercially licensed version.

Download the Commercial Version

The easiest way to get the commercially licensed Telerik UI for Blazor components to your development machine is to use the Progress Control Panel or to download the automated installer from your telerik.com account.

Alternatively, you can also access the .nupkg files from our private NuGet feed or by creating a local feed from your installation.

Step 1 - Set Up a Blazor Project

Make sure that you have .NET Core 3.1.x or .NET 5, and Visual Studio 2019 installed.

The latest version of Telerik UI for Blazor is 2.25.0, and it supports .NET Core 3.1.11 and .NET 5.

To create a server-side Blazor app, use a Blazor Server App project:

• If you already have one, go to the Add the Telerik Blazor Components to an Existing Project section below.

• To create a new project, choose one of the following methods:

  • Create a Project with the Telerik VS Extensions.
  • Create a Project with Visual Studio.
  • Create a Project with the CLI.

Create a Project with the Telerik VS Extensions

You can use the Telerik Visual Studio Extensions that will create and automatically configure the project so that you can start using the components immediately.

If you prefer VS Code, you can use the VS Code Extension to create a Telerik-enabled project.

If you choose to create a project with the Telerik VS Extensions, you can jump directly to Step 3 - Add a Telerik Component to a View. The following sections in this article explain the manual steps to configure the project so that you can better understand the underlying process.

Create a Project with Visual Studio

To create a project manually, without using the Telerik VS Extensions, follow these steps:

1. Open Visual Studio 2019.

2. Create a New Project.

3. Choose Blazor App and click Next. Then, choose a name and location for the project and click Create.

   

4. Choose the Blazor Server App project type and click Create.

   

Create a Project with the CLI

If you are not running Visual Studio, you can create the Blazor project from the command prompt. See the dotnet new command and the arguments for Blazor apps.

Step 2 - Add the Telerik Blazor Components to an Existing Project

Add the Telerik NuGet Feed to Visual Studio

The recommended distribution method for the Telerik UI for Blazor packages is the private Telerik NuGet feed.

If you don't have an active license, start a free trial - this will let you download the installation file, install the components, and use the Telerik NuGet feed. During the installation, select the Set up Telerik NuGet package source checkbox and the installer will configure the Telerik online NuGet feed automatically:

If you prefer to configure the NuGet package source manually, follow the steps in the Setup the Telerik Private NuGet Feed article.

Once you have added the Telerik NuGet feed, continue by enabling the components in the project.

Enable the Components in the Project

To prepare the project for the Telerik UI for Blazor components, install the Telerik.UI.for.Blazor NuGet package, and then configure the project. For detailed instructions, see the video tutorial below or follow the instructions after the video.

1. Right-click the project in the solution and select Manage NuGet Packages:

   

2. Choose the telerik.com feed, find the Telerik.UI.for.Blazor package and click Install (make sure to use the latest version). If you don't have a commercial license, you will only see Telerik.UI.for.Blazor.Trial. Use that instead.

   

3. Add the telerik-blazor.js file to your main index file - ~/Pages/_Host.cshtml:

   HTML

   <head>
     . . .
     <script src="_content/Telerik.UI.for.Blazor/js/telerik-blazor.js" defer></script>
   
     <!-- For Trial licenses use
       <script src="_content/Telerik.UI.for.Blazor.Trial/js/telerik-blazor.js" defer></script>
     -->
   </head>
   

   To enable the use of static assets in your project, add the following line to the Startup.cs file in the Server project:

   C#

   // Startup.cs
   namespace MyBlazorAppName
   {
       public class Startup
       {
           public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env)
           {
               //more code may be present here
   
               //make sure this is present to enable static files from a package
               app.UseStaticFiles();
   
               //more code may be present here
           }
       }
   }
   

4. Open the ~/Pages/_Host.cshtml file and register the Theme stylesheet:

   <head>
     . . .
       <link rel="stylesheet" href="_content/Telerik.UI.for.Blazor/css/kendo-theme-default/all.css" />
   
       <!-- For Trial licenses use
           <link rel="stylesheet" href="_content/Telerik.UI.for.Blazor.Trial/css/kendo-theme-default/all.css" />
         -->
   </head>
   

5. Open the ~/Startup.cs file and register the Telerik Blazor service:

   C#

   namespace MyBlazorAppName
   {
       public class Startup
       {
           public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
           {
               //more code may be present here
               services.AddTelerikBlazor();
           }
   
           //more code may be present here
       }
   }
   

6. Add the following to your ~/_Imports.razor file so the project recognizes our components in all files:

   _Imports.razor

   @using Telerik.Blazor
   @using Telerik.Blazor.Components
   

7. Next to your main layout file (by default, the ~/Shared/MainLayout.razor file in the Blazor project), add a razor component called TelerikLayout.razor with the following content:

   @inherits LayoutComponentBase
   
   <TelerikRootComponent>
       @Body
   </TelerikRootComponent>
   

8. Open the main layout file (by default, the ~/Shared/MainLayout.razor file in the Blazor project), and add @layout TelerikLayout as the first line in the file:

   @layout TelerikLayout
   @inherits LayoutComponentBase
   
   @* @Body and other code will be present here depending on your project *@
   

Now your project can use the Telerik UI for Blazor components.

Step 3 - Add a Telerik Component to a View

The final step is to use a component in a view and run it in the browser. For example:

1. Add a Button component to the ~/Components/Pages/Index.razor view:

   RAZOR

   <TelerikButton>Say Hello</TelerikButton>
   

2. Optionally, hook up a click handler that will show a message. The resulting view should look like this:

   RAZOR

   @page "/"
   
   <TelerikButton OnClick="@SayHelloHandler" Primary="true">Say Hello</TelerikButton>
   
   <br />
   
   @helloString
   
   @code {
      MarkupString helloString;
   
      void SayHelloHandler()
      {
          string msg = string.Format("Hello from <strong>Telerik Blazor</strong> at {0}.<br /> Now you can use C# to write front-end!", DateTime.Now);
          helloString = new MarkupString(msg);
      }
   }
   

3. Run the app in the browser by pressing F5. You should see something like this:

   

Now you have the Telerik components running in your Blazor app.

Next Steps

Next, you can explore the live demos and the rest of the documentation. You can also find the entire demos project in the demos folder of your local installation. The project is runnable and you can inspect, modify, and copy its code. The project targets the latest official .NET version, and its readme file provides more details on running the project and using older versions of the framework.

Many applications have a data grid component, and you can get started with the full-featured Telerik Grid by visiting the Grid Overview article.

You can also explore the List of Components and pick the ones you are interested in.

See Also

• Get Started with Client-side Blazor
• Telerik Private NuGet Feed
• Getting Started Videos for Blazor