MatBlazor is my open-source UI component library that brings Material Design patterns to Blazor / Razor Components—a full component toolkit meant for real apps, not just demos. GitHub

Quick snapshot (as of Jan 3, 2026):

• GitHub: ~2.9k stars, ~377 forks GitHub
• NuGet: ~2.6M total downloads nuget.org
• First public releases: Oct 25, 2018 nuget.org
• Latest package update: Apr 10, 2023 nuget.org
• GitHub “Used by”: ~2.1k repositories (dependency indicator) GitHub

Visibility, reach, and real-world usage

MatBlazor started early—when the Blazor ecosystem still lacked a “default” set of solid UI components—and it quickly became one of the most visible open-source component libraries in that space. Even I openly wrote at the time that it had grown into “one of the most popular libraries for Blazor,” while also being hard to carry alone.

That visibility had a very real impact on me personally: I was mentioned in videos, invited into community conversations and conference contexts, approached by companies interested in adopting the library, and even contacted by a major publisher (won’t name them) with a proposal to write a Blazor book—because MatBlazor positioned me as someone who deeply understood the platform.

Here are a few public examples of MatBlazor being used / referenced:

• BlazorBoilerplate — “real world starter app” built with MatBlazor (auth/authz, admin-style template). https://github.com/enkodellc/blazorboilerplate
• ABP Framework — community article showing how to integrate MatBlazor into ABP’s Blazor UI. abp.io
• MatBlazorTemplate — default Blazor template converted from Bootstrap to Material using MatBlazor. GitHub
• BlazorFiddle — shared publicly as being written with MatBlazor components. Reddit
• Awesome Blazor Browser — MatBlazor listed as a notable library in the ecosystem.

And one more angle that I actually love: the MatBlazor site publicly listed sponsors/backers at one point—including individuals and also organizations—showing that it helped real teams enough that they supported it (e.g., Apply Solutions GmbH, SmartView Systems, Gate575 Kft, Beeman and Sons, Inc.).

The story (2018 → peak years → burnout, the classic OSS curve)

I started MatBlazor in October 2018, long before Blazor felt mainstream. My goal wasn’t “a few controls”—it was coverage: a component set capable of supporting real business apps.

For roughly the next year, I worked intensely and shipped fast. The library grew quickly, the community grew around it, and MatBlazor became a recognizable name in Blazor UI. It also became a serious responsibility.

And the most important detail (that shaped everything): I was essentially the solo maintainer. The architecture, the components, the releases, the issue triage, the support, the docs—most of it ran through one person. I even wrote publicly that it was hard “to be alone” handling everything.

Donations and sponsors did exist—and I’m genuinely thankful for everyone who supported the project—but the financial side never became a sustainable foundation compared to the amount of work and responsibility. And because Blazor wasn’t part of my day job, I couldn’t “reinvest” the effort into my work life in a way that kept the motivation steady.

Eventually, I hit what many open-source maintainers hit: burnout.

Later on, as MatBlazor slowed down, MudBlazor grew into the new default choice for many Blazor teams—largely because it had a strong, active contributor base and consistent momentum. I have a lot of respect for that team and what they’ve achieved, and it’s great for the ecosystem that the “Material for Blazor” space kept moving forward. And yes—when I looked through their codebase, I recognized several ideas and patterns that felt familiar from MatBlazor, which I take as a quiet compliment rather than a point of conflict.

Where MatBlazor stands today (and my thank you)

Since early 2021, MatBlazor hasn’t been actively developed, and I’m not planning to return to active maintenance in the near future—unless the right future context appears (work needs, a new motivation, or a strong practical reason to invest again).

But I’m proud of what MatBlazor achieved: it’s a real, proven project with real adoption, and it remains one of the most important chapters in my engineering journey.

And I want to end this the right way: with gratitude.

Special thanks to the people who supported and contributed early and meaningfully, including enkodellc, CrystalAlison, Petajobby, CtrlAltD—and to every contributor, sponsor, donor, tester, and user who helped MatBlazor become what it became.