dotnet-install

Check Current Installation

```bash

dotnet --version

# Output: 8.0.100

dotnet --list-sdks

# Output: 8.0.100 [/usr/local/share/dotnet/sdk]

dotnet --list-runtimes

# Output: Microsoft.NETCore.App 8.0.0 [/usr/local/share/dotnet/shared/Microsoft.NETCore.App]

```

Platform Detection

The skill automatically detects your operating system and recommends the best installation method:

```bash

# Detected: macOS 14.2 (arm64)

# Recommended: Official installer package (.pkg)

# Alternative: Homebrew (brew install dotnet)

```

Quick Install (Recommended Methods)

Windows (WinGet):

```powershell

# Install .NET 8 SDK (LTS)

winget install Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.8

# Verify installation

dotnet --version

# Output: 8.0.100

```

macOS (Official Installer):

```bash

# Download and install from:

# https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/8.0

# Or use Homebrew:

brew install dotnet

# Verify installation

dotnet --version

# Output: 8.0.100

```

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

```bash

# Add Microsoft package repository

wget https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/22.04/packages-microsoft-prod.deb -O packages-microsoft-prod.deb

sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb

rm packages-microsoft-prod.deb

# Install .NET 8 SDK

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install -y dotnet-sdk-8.0

# Verify installation

dotnet --version

# Output: 8.0.100

```

SDK vs Runtime Decision

Install SDK when:

• Building applications
• Developing locally
• Running dotnet build or dotnet run
• Need the complete toolchain

Install Runtime only when:

• Deploying production apps
• Running pre-compiled applications
• Minimizing installation size
• Production servers

```bash

# Install SDK (includes runtime)

sudo apt-get install dotnet-sdk-8.0

# Install runtime only (smaller)

sudo apt-get install aspnetcore-runtime-8.0 # For ASP.NET Core apps

sudo apt-get install dotnet-runtime-8.0 # For console apps

```

Windows Installation Methods

#### Method 1: WinGet (Recommended)

```powershell

# List available .NET versions

winget search Microsoft.DotNet.SDK

# Install .NET 8 SDK (LTS)

winget install Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.8

# Install specific version

winget install Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.8 --version 8.0.100

# Update existing installation

winget upgrade Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.8

```

#### Method 2: Visual Studio Installer

```powershell

# Visual Studio 2022 detected at: C:\Program Files\Visual Studio\2022\Community

# .NET 8 SDK available via: Modify Installation → .NET desktop development

```

Installation steps:

1. Launch Visual Studio Installer
2. Click "Modify" on your installation
3. Select ".NET desktop development" workload
4. Apply changes

#### Method 3: Standalone Installer

```powershell

# Download: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/8.0

# File: dotnet-sdk-8.0.100-win-x64.exe

# SHA512: [verification hash]

# Run installer (GUI)

.\dotnet-sdk-8.0.100-win-x64.exe

# Or silent install

.\dotnet-sdk-8.0.100-win-x64.exe /install /quiet /norestart

```

#### Method 4: PowerShell Script

```powershell

# Download install script

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.ps1 -OutFile dotnet-install.ps1

# Install latest .NET 8 SDK

.\dotnet-install.ps1 -Channel 8.0

# Install to custom location

.\dotnet-install.ps1 -Channel 8.0 -InstallDir "C:\Program Files\dotnet"

# Install runtime only

.\dotnet-install.ps1 -Channel 8.0 -Runtime dotnet

```

macOS Installation Methods

#### Method 1: Official Installer Package (Recommended)

```bash

# Detected: Apple Silicon (arm64)

# Recommended: dotnet-sdk-8.0.100-osx-arm64.pkg

# Download from: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/8.0

# Double-click .pkg file to install

# Verify installation location

which dotnet

# Output: /usr/local/share/dotnet/dotnet

```

#### Method 2: Homebrew

```bash

# Install Homebrew (if needed)

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install .NET SDK

brew install dotnet

# Install specific version (if available)

brew install dotnet@8

# Update existing installation

brew upgrade dotnet

```

#### Method 3: Install Script

```bash

# Download install script

curl -sSL https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.sh -o dotnet-install.sh

chmod +x dotnet-install.sh

# Install latest .NET 8 SDK

./dotnet-install.sh --channel 8.0

# Install to custom location

./dotnet-install.sh --channel 8.0 --install-dir ~/.dotnet

# Add to PATH

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.dotnet:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc

source ~/.zshrc

```

Linux Installation Methods

#### Ubuntu/Debian

```bash

# Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

wget https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/22.04/packages-microsoft-prod.deb -O packages-microsoft-prod.deb

sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb

rm packages-microsoft-prod.deb

# Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

wget https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/20.04/packages-microsoft-prod.deb -O packages-microsoft-prod.deb

sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb

rm packages-microsoft-prod.deb

# Install SDK

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install -y dotnet-sdk-8.0

# Install runtime only

sudo apt-get install -y aspnetcore-runtime-8.0

```

#### Fedora/RHEL/CentOS

```bash

# Fedora 39

sudo dnf install dotnet-sdk-8.0

# RHEL/CentOS (register Microsoft repository first)

sudo dnf install https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/9/packages-microsoft-prod.rpm

sudo dnf install dotnet-sdk-8.0

```

#### Arch Linux

```bash

# Install from official repositories

sudo pacman -S dotnet-sdk

# Install runtime only

sudo pacman -S aspnet-runtime

```

#### Alpine Linux

```bash

# Add Microsoft repository

wget https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.sh

chmod +x dotnet-install.sh

# Install .NET 8

./dotnet-install.sh --channel 8.0 --install-dir /usr/share/dotnet

# Add to PATH

export PATH="$PATH:/usr/share/dotnet"

```

Version Management with global.json

Control which .NET SDK version your project uses:

```bash

# Create global.json for .NET 8

dotnet new globaljson --sdk-version 8.0.100

# View current global.json

cat global.json

```

```json

{

"sdk": {

"version": "8.0.100",

"rollForward": "latestPatch"

}

}

```

Roll-forward policies:

• latestPatch - Use latest patch (8.0.x)
• latestFeature - Use latest feature band (8.x.x)
• latestMinor - Use latest minor (x.x.x)
• disable - Exact version required

SDK vs Runtime Architecture

SDK Components:

```

.NET SDK 8.0.100

├── Runtime (8.0.0)

├── Compiler (Roslyn)

├── CLI Tools (dotnet build, run, publish)

├── Templates (dotnet new)

└── MSBuild

```

Runtime-Only Components:

```

.NET Runtime 8.0.0

├── CoreCLR (execution engine)

├── Base Class Libraries

└── Framework assemblies

```

Size comparison:

• SDK: ~200-400 MB
• Runtime: ~50-150 MB

Installing Multiple Versions Side-by-Side

.NET supports multiple versions installed simultaneously:

```bash

# List all installed SDKs

dotnet --list-sdks

# Output:

# 6.0.420 [/usr/local/share/dotnet/sdk]

# 7.0.410 [/usr/local/share/dotnet/sdk]

# 8.0.100 [/usr/local/share/dotnet/sdk]

# Install additional versions

sudo apt-get install dotnet-sdk-7.0 # Adds to existing installation

# Project selects version via global.json

cd my-project

cat global.json

# { "sdk": { "version": "7.0.410" } }

dotnet --version

# Output: 7.0.410 (selected by global.json)

```

Offline Installation

For air-gapped environments or restricted networks:

#### Windows

```powershell

# Download offline installer

# https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/8.0

# Select: x64 | Binaries

# Extract to destination

Expand-Archive dotnet-sdk-8.0.100-win-x64.zip -DestinationPath "C:\Program Files\dotnet"

# Add to PATH

$env:PATH = "C:\Program Files\dotnet;$env:PATH"

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", $env:PATH, "Machine")

```

#### Linux

```bash

# Download tarball

wget https://download.visualstudio.microsoft.com/download/pr/[hash]/dotnet-sdk-8.0.100-linux-x64.tar.gz

# Extract to system location

sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/share/dotnet

sudo tar -xzf dotnet-sdk-8.0.100-linux-x64.tar.gz -C /usr/local/share/dotnet

# Create symlink

sudo ln -s /usr/local/share/dotnet/dotnet /usr/local/bin/dotnet

```

Docker Installation

```dockerfile

# Use official .NET SDK image

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:8.0 AS build

WORKDIR /app

# Copy and restore project

COPY *.csproj ./

RUN dotnet restore

# Build application

COPY . ./

RUN dotnet publish -c Release -o out

# Runtime image (smaller)

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:8.0

WORKDIR /app

COPY --from=build /app/out .

ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "MyApp.dll"]

```

Common Troubleshooting

#### PATH Not Updated

```bash

# Verify dotnet location

which dotnet # macOS/Linux

where.exe dotnet # Windows

# If not found, add to PATH manually:

# macOS/Linux (bash)

echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/share/dotnet"' >> ~/.bashrc

source ~/.bashrc

# macOS (zsh)

echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/share/dotnet"' >> ~/.zshrc

source ~/.zshrc

# Windows (PowerShell)

$env:PATH = "$env:PATH;C:\Program Files\dotnet"

```

#### SDK Not Found After Installation

```bash

# Check installation location

dotnet --info

# Look for "Base Path:" in output

# Register installation manually (Linux)

sudo ln -s /usr/local/share/dotnet/dotnet /usr/bin/dotnet

# Clear NuGet cache if corrupted

dotnet nuget locals all --clear

```

#### Version Conflicts

```bash

# Remove specific SDK version

sudo apt-get remove dotnet-sdk-7.0 # Linux

winget uninstall Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.7 # Windows

# Force project to use available SDK

# Edit global.json:

{

"sdk": {

"version": "8.0.100",

"rollForward": "latestMinor" # More permissive

}

}

```

Comprehensive Details: See [reference.md](./reference.md) for:

• Complete platform-specific installation commands
• Advanced version management strategies
• Enterprise deployment patterns
• CI/CD integration examples
• Performance optimization tips

Official Documentation:

• [.NET Installation Guide](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/install/)
• [Download .NET](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download)
• [SDK vs Runtime](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/introduction#sdk-and-runtimes)
• [global.json Reference](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/tools/global-json)