This article teaches you about which versions of .NET are supported on Windows, how to install .NET, and what the difference is between the SDK and runtime.

Unlike .NET Framework, .NET isn't tied to your version of Windows. You can only have a single version of .NET Framework installed on Windows. But .NET is standalone and can be installed anywhere on your computer. Some apps might include their own copy of .NET.

By default, .NET is installed to theProgram Files\dotnet directory on your computer, unless the installation method chooses a different directory.

.NET is made up of the runtime and the SDK. The runtime runs .NET apps, and the SDK is used to create apps.

Choose the correct runtime

There are three different runtimes for Windows, which enable different types of apps to run. The SDK includes all three runtimes, and an installer for a runtime might include an additional runtime. The following table describes which runtime is included with a particular .NET installer:

To ensure that you can run all .NET apps on Windows, install both the ASP.NET Core Runtime and the .NET Desktop Runtime. The ASP.NET Core Runtime runs web-based apps, and the .NET Desktop Runtime runs desktop apps, such as a Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) or Windows Forms app.

Choose how to install .NET

There are different ways to install .NET, and some products might manage their own version of .NET. If you install .NET through software that manages its own version of .NET, it might not be enabled system-wide. Make sure you understand the implications of installing .NET through other software.

If you're unsure which method you should choose after reviewing the lists in the following sections, you probably want to use the.NET Installer.

Developers

• Visual Studio

  UseVisual Studio to install .NET when you want to develop .NET apps using Visual Studio. Visual Studio manages its own copy of .NET. This method installs the SDK, Runtime, and Visual Studio templates.

• Visual Studio Code - C# Dev Kit

  Install theC# Dev Kit extension for Visual Studio Code to develop .NET apps. The extension can use an SDK that's already installed or install one for you.

Users and developers

• .NET Installer

  Install .NET with a Windows Installer package, which is an executable that you run. This method can install the SDK and Runtime. Installs are performed system-wide.

• Windows Package Manager (WinGet)

  UseWinGet to install .NET when you want to manage .NET through the command line. This method can install the SDK and Runtime. Installs are performed system-wide.

• PowerShell

  A PowerShell script that can automate the install of the SDK or Runtime. You can choose which version of .NET to install.

Supported versions

The following table is a list of currently supported .NET releases and the versions of Windows they're supported on. These versions remain supported until either the version of.NET reaches end-of-support or the version ofWindows reaches end-of-life.

Windows 10 versions end-of-service dates are segmented by edition. OnlyHome,Pro,Pro Education, andPro for Workstations editions are considered in the following table. Check theWindows lifecycle fact sheet for specific details.

Windows 7 / 8.1 / Server 2012

There is no longer a version of .NET that's supported onWindows 7 and Windows 8.1. The last supported releases was .NET 6 and support ended on November 12, 2024.

Windows Server 2012 is still supported by any version of .NET that's still in support.

All three of these versions of Windows require further dependencies to be installed:

The previous requirements are also required if you receive an error related to either of the following dlls:

• api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll
• api-ms-win-cor-timezone-l1-1-0.dll
• hostfxr.dll

Arm-based Windows PCs

.NET is supported on Arm-based Windows PCs. The following sections describe things you should consider when installing .NET.

Path differences

On an Arm-based Windows PC, all Arm64 versions of .NET are installed to the normalC:\Program Files\dotnet\ folder. However, thex64 version of the .NET SDK is installed to theC:\Program Files\dotnet\x64\ folder.

Path variables

Environment variables that add .NET to system path, such as thePATH variable, might need to be changed if you have both the x64 and Arm64 versions of the .NET SDK installed. Additionally, some tools rely on theDOTNET_ROOT environment variable, which would also need to be updated to point to the appropriate .NET SDK installation folder.

Install with Visual Studio

Visual Studio installs its own copy of .NET separate from other copies of .NET. Different versions of Visual Studio support different versions of .NET. The latest version of Visual Studio always supports the latest version of .NET.

Visual Studio Installer installs and configures Visual Studio. Some Visual Studio workloads include .NET, such asASP.NET and web development and.NET Multi-platform App UI development. Specific versions of .NET can be installed through theIndividual Components tab.

The Visual Studio documentation provides instructions on how to:

• Install Visual Studio.
• Configure Visual Studio workloads.

.NET versions and Visual Studio

If you're using Visual Studio to develop .NET apps, the following table describes the minimum required version of Visual Studio based on the target .NET SDK version.

If you already have Visual Studio installed, you can check your version with the following steps.

1. Open Visual Studio.
2. SelectHelp >About Microsoft Visual Studio.
3. Read the version number from theAbout dialog.

For more information about, see.NET SDK, MSBuild, and Visual Studio versioning.

Install with Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is a powerful and lightweight source code editor that runs on your desktop. Visual Studio Code can use the SDK already installed on your system.

ThisWinGet configuration file installs the latest .NET SDK, Visual Studio Code and the C# DevKit. If you already have any of them installed, WinGet will skip that step.

1. Download the file and double-click to run it.
2. Read the license agreement, typey, and selectEnter when prompted to accept.
3. If you get a flashing User Account Control (UAC) prompt in your Taskbar, allow the installation to continue.

Additionally, theC# Dev Kit extension will install .NET for you if it's not already installed.

For instructions on installing .NET through Visual Studio Code, seeGetting Started with C# in VS Code.

.NET installer

Thedownload page for .NET provides Windows Installer executables.

1. Open a web browser and navigate tohttps://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet.

2. Select the version of .NET you want to download, such as 10.0.

3. Find the SDK or Runtime box that contains the links for downloading .NET.

4. Under theInstallers column, find theWindows row and select the link for your CPU architecture. If you're unsure, selectx64 as it's the most common.

   The browser should automatically download the installer.

   Tip

   The following image shows the SDK, but you can also download the Runtime.

   

5. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to where the file was downloaded, most likely yourDownloads folder.

6. Double-click on the file to install .NET.

   The Windows Installer dialog is opened.

   

7. SelectInstall and follow the instructions to install .NET.

To learn how to use the .NET CLI, see.NET CLI overview.

Command-line options

Use the/? parameter to display a list of options.

If you want to install .NET silently, such as in a production environment or to support continuous integration, use the following options:

• /install
  Installs .NET.

• /quiet
  Prevents any UI and prompts from displaying.

• /norestart
  Suppresses any attempts to restart.

dotnet-sdk-9.0.100-win-x64.exe /install /quiet /norestart

If you've already installed .NET, use the .NET Installer to manage the installation. Instead of/install, use one of the following options:

• /uninstall
  Remove this version of .NET.

• /repair
  Check if the installations key files or components are damaged and restore them.

Microsoft Update

The .NET installer executables are independent products that can be serviced using Microsoft Update (MU) on Windows. MU is different to Windows Update (WU), which is used to service operating system components like .NET Framework.

Both security and non-security fixes for supported versions of .NET are provided through MU using multiple distribution channels. Automatic Updates (AU) is relevant to end users and consumers, while Window Server Update Services (WSUS) and Windows Update Catalog are relevant to IT administrators.

The .NET installer executables support side-by-side (SxS) installations across major and minor releases for different architectures and components, such as the runtime and SDK. For example, you can install both the 6.0.15 (x64) and 6.0.17 (x86) runtime. When MU triggers, it will offer the latest installer for both installations.

Block updates

While most users prefer to be kept up to date, it is possible to block .NET updates using the registry keys in the following table.

Automatic updates for Server OS

Updates for server operating systems are supported by WSUS and Microsoft Update Catalog, but not AU. Server operating systems can opt in to receive updates through AU using the following registry keys.

WSUS and update classifications

WSUS can be configured to provide specific updates based on theirclassification. Updates for .NET are classified as eithersecurity orcritical. If the latest update is classified as critical, an oldersecurity update might be offered when an older version of .NET is installed that's superseded by the latest security update. This also applies to using the offline CAB(Wsusscan2.cab) to scan a machine.

Choose when previous versions are removed

The installer executables always install new content before removing the previous installation. Applications that are running might be interrupted or crash when older runtimes are removed. To minimize the impact of updating .NET, you can specify when a previous .NET installation should be removed using a registry key.

• never retains previous installations and requires manual intervention to remove previous .NET installations.
• always removes previous installations after the new version is installed. This is the default behavior in .NET.
• nextSession defers the removal until the next logon session from members in the Administrators group.
• Values are case-insensitive and invalid values default toalways.

When the removal is deferred, the installer writes a command to theRunOnce registry key to uninstall the previous version. The command only executes if a user in the Administrators group logs on to the machine.

Install with Windows Package Manager (WinGet)

You can install and manage .NET through the Windows Package Manager service, using thewinget.exe tool. For more information about how to install and useWinGet, seeUse the winget tool to install and manage applications.

The .NET WinGet packages are:

• Microsoft.DotNet.Runtime.10—.NET Runtime 10.0
• Microsoft.DotNet.AspNetCore.10—ASP.NET Core Runtime 10.0
• Microsoft.DotNet.DesktopRuntime.10—.NET Desktop Runtime 10.0
• Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.10—.NET SDK 10.0
• Microsoft.DotNet.Runtime.9—.NET Runtime 9.0
• Microsoft.DotNet.AspNetCore.9—ASP.NET Core Runtime 9.0
• Microsoft.DotNet.DesktopRuntime.9—.NET Desktop Runtime 9.0
• Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.9—.NET SDK 9.0
• Microsoft.DotNet.Runtime.8—.NET Runtime 8.0
• Microsoft.DotNet.AspNetCore.8—ASP.NET Core Runtime 8.0
• Microsoft.DotNet.DesktopRuntime.8—.NET Desktop Runtime 8.0
• Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.8—.NET SDK 8.0

Install the SDK

If you install the SDK, you don't need to install the corresponding runtime.

1. Install WinGet.

2. Open a terminal, such as PowerShell or Command Prompt.

3. Run thewinget install command and pass the name of the SDK package:

   winget install Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.10

To learn how to use the .NET CLI, see.NET CLI overview.

Install the runtime

There are different runtimes you can install. Refer to theChoose the correct runtime section to understand what's included with each runtime.

1. Install WinGet.

2. Open a terminal, such asPowerShell orCommand Prompt.

3. Run thewinget install command and pass the name of the SDK package:

   winget install Microsoft.DotNet.DesktopRuntime.10winget install Microsoft.DotNet.AspNetCore.10

To learn how to use the .NET CLI, see.NET CLI overview.

Search for versions

Use thewinget search command to search for different versions of the package you want to install. For example, the following command searches for all .NET SDKs available via WinGet:

winget search Microsoft.DotNet.SDK

The search results are printed in a table with each package identifier.

Name                            Id                           Version                 Source--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Microsoft .NET SDK 3.1          Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.3_1     3.1.426                 wingetMicrosoft .NET SDK 5.0          Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.5       5.0.408                 wingetMicrosoft .NET SDK 6.0          Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.6       6.0.428                 wingetMicrosoft .NET SDK 7.0          Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.7       7.0.410                 wingetMicrosoft .NET SDK 8.0          Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.8       8.0.415                 wingetMicrosoft .NET SDK 9.0          Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.9       9.0.306                 wingetMicrosoft .NET SDK 10.0         Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.10      10.0.100                winget

Install preview versions

If a preview version is available, substitute the version number in theId with the wordPreview. The following example installs the preview release of the .NET Desktop Runtime:

winget install Microsoft.DotNet.DesktopRuntime.Preview

Install with PowerShell

Installing .NET through thedotnet-install PowerShell script is recommended for continuous integration and nonadmin installs. If you're installing .NET for normal use on your system, use either the.NET Installer orWindows Package Manager installation methods.

The script defaults to installing the latestlong term support (LTS) version, which is .NET 10. You can choose a specific release by specifying the-Channel switch. Include the-Runtime switch to install a runtime. Otherwise, the script installs the SDK. The script is available athttps://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.ps1 and the source code is hosted onGitHub.

For more information about the script, seedotnet-install script reference.

Install the runtime

The .NET Runtime is installed by providing the-Runtime switch.

1. Download the install script fromhttps://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.ps1

2. Open PowerShell and navigate to the folder containing the script.

3. Run the following commands to install both the Desktop runtime and ASP.NET Core runtime for maximum compatibility:

   dotnet-install.ps1 -Runtime windowsdesktopdotnet-install.ps1 -Runtime aspnetcore

To learn how to use the .NET CLI, see.NET CLI overview.

Install the SDK

If you install the SDK, you don't need to install the runtimes.

1. Download the install script fromhttps://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.ps1

2. Open PowerShell and navigate to the folder containing the script.

3. Run the following command to install the .NET SDK.

   dotnet-install.ps1

   Note

   The SDK is installed by omitting the-Runtime switch.

To learn how to use the .NET CLI, see.NET CLI overview.

Validation

After downloading an installer or binary release, verify it to make sure that the file hasn't been changed or corrupted. You can verify the checksum on your computer and then compare it to what was reported on the download website.

When you download the file from an official download page, the checksum for the file is displayed in a text box. Select theCopy button to copy the checksum value to your clipboard.

You can usePowerShell orCommand Prompt to validate the checksum of the file you've downloaded. For example, the following command reports the checksum of thedotnet-sdk-9.0.306-win-x64.exe file:

> certutil -hashfile dotnet-sdk-9.0.306-win-x64.exe SHA512SHA512 hash of dotnet-sdk-9.0.306-win-x64.exe:f048ddf80c0aa88e713070e66a0009435ad9a5f444adbde6edf2b17f8da562d494a5c37cbabaf63ee3125fe1d2da735a397de9a38dd6ca638b8dc085adc01d4fCertUtil: -hashfile command completed successfully.

> (Get-FileHash .\dotnet-sdk-9.0.306-win-x64.exe -Algorithm SHA512).Hashf048ddf80c0aa88e713070e66a0009435ad9a5f444adbde6edf2b17f8da562d494a5c37cbabaf63ee3125fe1d2da735a397de9a38dd6ca638b8dc085adc01d4f

Compare the checksum with the value provided by the download site.

Use PowerShell and a checksum file to validate

The .NET release notes contain a link to a checksum file you can use to validate your downloaded file. The following steps describe how to download the checksum file and validate a .NET install binary:

1. The release notes page for .NET 9 on GitHub athttps://github.com/dotnet/core/tree/main/release-notes/9.0 contains a section namedReleases. The table in that section links to the downloads and checksum files for each .NET 9 release. The following image shows the .NET 8 release table as a reference:

   

2. Select the link for the version of .NET that you downloaded. The previous section used .NET SDK 9.0.306, which is in the .NET 9.0.10 release.

   Tip

   If you're not sure which .NET release contains your checksum file, explore the links until you find it.

3. In the release page, you can see the .NET Runtime and .NET SDK version, and a link to the checksum file. The following image shows the .NET 8 release table as a reference:

   

4. Copy the link to the checksum file.

5. Use the following script, but replace the link to download the appropriate checksum file:

   Invoke-WebRequest https://builds.dotnet.microsoft.com/dotnet/checksums/9.0.10-sha.txt -OutFile 9.0.10-sha.txt

6. With both the checksum file and the .NET release file downloaded to the same directory, search the checksum file for the checksum of the .NET download:

   When validation passes, you seeTrue printed:

   > (Get-Content .\9.0.10-sha.txt | Select-String "dotnet-sdk-9.0.306-win-x64.exe").Line -like (Get-FileHash .\dotnet-sdk-9.0.306-win-x64.exe -Algorithm SHA512).Hash + "*"True

   If you seeFalse printed, the file you downloaded isn't valid and shouldn't be used.

Troubleshooting

After installing the .NET SDK, you might run into problems trying to run .NET CLI commands. This section collects those common problems and provides solutions.

• No .NET SDK was found
• Building apps is slower than expected
• hostfxr.dll /api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll /api-ms-win-cor-timezone-l1-1-0.dll is missing

No .NET SDK was found

Most likely you installed both the x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) versions of the .NET SDK. This is causing a conflict because when you run thedotnet command, it's resolving to the x86 version when it should resolve to the x64 version. This problem is fixed by adjusting the%PATH% variable to resolve the x64 version first.

1. Verify that you have both versions installed by running thewhere.exe dotnet command. If you do, you should see an entry for both theProgram Files\ andProgram Files (x86)\ folders. If theProgram Files (x86)\ folder is first, as demonstrated by the following example, it's incorrect and you should continue on to the next step.

   > where.exe dotnetC:\Program Files (x86)\dotnet\dotnet.exeC:\Program Files\dotnet\dotnet.exe

   Tip

   Even thoughProgram Files is used in this example, you may see other copies ofdotnet.exe listed. Adjust them so that the appropriatedotnet.exe is resolved first.

   If it's correct andProgram Files\ is first, you don't have the problem this section is discussing and you should create a.NET help request issue on GitHub.

2. Press the Windows button and type "Edit the system environment variables" into search. SelectEdit the system environment variables.

   

3. TheSystem Properties window opens up to theAdvanced Tab. SelectEnvironment Variables.

   

4. On theEnvironment Variables window, under theSystem variables group, select thePath* row and then select theEdit button.

   

5. Use theMove Up andMove Down buttons to move theC:\Program Files\dotnet\ entry aboveC:\Program Files (x86)\dotnet\.

   

Building apps is slower than expected

Ensure that Smart App Control, a Windows feature, is off. Smart App Control isn't recommended to be enabled on machines used for development. Any setting other than "off" might negatively affect SDK performance.

hostfxr.dll /api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll /api-ms-win-cor-timezone-l1-1-0.dll is missing

Install the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2019 Redistributable (64-bit or32-bit).

Related content

• .NET CLI overview
• Upgrade to a new .NET version.
• How to check if .NET is already installed.
• Tutorial: Hello World tutorial.
• Tutorial: Create a new app with Visual Studio Code.