Use ComponentResourceKey instead of strings to identify resources

Author: MovGP0Created Sep 8, 2025Updated May 18, 2026
Labelsenhancementevaluation required

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

  • Currently resources are identified using strings. The string can only be validated at runtime and not while writing the XAML code
  • When a resource key changes in a new version, the compiler does not indicate a problem and we get an Exception at runtime

Describe the solution you'd like

  • Using ComponentResourceKey would make resources type-save
  • Optional: preserve the existing string-based resource keys for backward-compatibility, or increase the version number because of breaking changes

Describe alternatives you've considered

  • Don't know a better way

Additional context To create the resource key, you need to create a Component resource key in a static class:

csharp
public static partial class MaterialDesignColors
{
    public static ComponentResourceKey Primary50Color { get; } = new(typeof(MaterialDesignColors), nameof(Primary50Color));
    // ...
}

When declaring the resource in the ResouceDictionary, use the ComponentResourceKey as Key:

xaml
<Color Key="{x:Static md:MaterialDesignColors.Primary50Color}" ... />

When using the resource, we can now use a static reference that is checked by the compiler:

xaml
<Brush Color="{DynamicResource {x:Static md:MaterialDesignColors.Primary50Color}}" ... />

Source: MaterialDesignInXAML/MaterialDesignInXamlToolkit