How to Download and Install .NET / .NET Core

This is a step-by-step tutorial on how to download and install .NET (or .NET Core or Dot Net Core). You can download the .NET core from the link https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-core. There are four downloads available for installation. They are .NET SDK, ASP.NET Core Runtime, .NET Desktop Runtime & .NET Runtime. Under ASP.NET Core, we have an option of downloading the ASP.NET Core Hosting Bundle and ASP.NET Core runtime. The .NET SDK consists of both SDK & all runtimes, while the ASP.NET Core hosting bundle is required if you wish to test & run the Application on the IIS Server in Windows OS.

.NET Vs .NET Core Vs .NET Framework

There is confusion around the naming conventions adopted by Microsoft for .NET products. Three flavors of framework exist. They are .NET Framework, .NET Core & .NET.

  •  .NET Framework is a development platform for creating Windows apps. It was released in 2002. The current version is 4.8 and it will be its last version.
  • .NET Core is a successor .NET Framework. It was called .NET Core until version 3.1.
  • The .NET Core was renamed as .NET from the version 5.0.

For more information, please check the link .NET Framework Vs .NET Core

Download .NET

To get the latest version of .NET go to the https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download. There are three options here.

Download .NET

.NET SDK x64. This will download the latest .NET SDK (which is 8.0.1)

All .NET 8.0 downloads. This will take you to the .NET 8.0 download page (https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/8.0).

All .NET Versions You will be taken to https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet page, where you can choose the older versions of the .NET

Click on All .NET 8.0 downloads. This page contains several four download options.

  1. SDK
  2. ASP.NET Core Runtime
  3. .NET Desktop Runtime
  4. .NET Runtime
Download .NET

Installing the older version

You can install the older version from the link https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet

Download .NET Core Older Versions

Difference Between SDK Vs Runtime Vs Hosting Bundle

The dot not core download page contains three download options. They are

  1. .NET SDK
  2. Runtime. There are three options here. .NET Runtime, .NET Desktop Runtime & ASP.NET Core Runtime.
  3. ASP.NET Core Hosting Bundle for Windows. This is listed under ASP.NET Core Runtime.

.NET SDK

The SDK stands for Software Development Kit and contains everything you need to develop, build, and run .NET Core Applications. You can build an app either using command-line tools or using any editor like Visual Studio/Visual Studio Code.

SDK also includes the runtime.

Runtime

The Run time includes everything you need to run a .NET core Application. The SDK is to build the App. The Runtime is to run the App.

There are three run times available.

  • .NET Runtime
  • .NET Desktop Runtime
  • ASP.NET Core Runtime

NET Runtime: Contains just the components needed to run a console app.

ASP.NET Core Runtime: Contains the components needed to run an existing web/server application. This Runtime also includes the .NET Runtime

NET Desktop Runtime: Contains the components needed to run existing Windows desktop applications. This Runtime also includes the .NET Runtime

ASP.NET Core Hosting Bundle

The download option for the ASP.NET Core Hosting Bundle is under the ASP.NET Core runtime option.

You should install the Hosting Bundle MSI if you want to enable hosting ASP.NET Core with IIS.

The Hosting bundle contains the files required to run existing web/server applications on the IIS Server in Windows OS. It also includes the .NET Core run time & ASP.NET Core Runtime.

.NET SDK Dependencies

The .NET SDK has a dependency on the following Packages. Hence you need to install them

Windows 7

Window 8.1

Windows Server 2012

Windows Server 2012 R2

Installing .NET SDK

Installing .NET SDK is quite straightforward. Double-click on the Downloaded Installer

Dot Net Core installation. Run as Administrator

Click on Install to begin the installation.

Microsoft .NET SDK 8.0 Start Install

It will take some time.

.NET  Installation in Progress

In the end, you will see the installation successful window. It will give you the details of the component installed.

 .NET Installation successful

How to find out which .Net version is installed on your PC

Open the folder C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk or C:\Program Files (x86)\dotnet\sdk. You should be able to see all the Dot Net Core versions installed on your PC

How to find the version of dot net installed

You can check the version of the Dot net core runtime from the folder C:\Program Files\dotnet\shared\Microsoft.NETCore.App

Find out which version of DOT Net runtime is Installed

Path to dotnet.exe using where

Where dotnet

dotnet --info will give you more information about the .Net core installation as shown below

dotnet info

OS Supported by .NET

Windows

Version
Supported OSVersion
8.0Windows 7, Windows 8.1Not Supported
Windows 10 ClientVersion 1607+
Windows 11Version 22000+
Windows Server2012+
Windows Server Core2012+
Nano ServerVersion 1809+
7.0
Windows 7,
Windows 8.1
Not Supported
Windows 10
1607+
Windows 1122000+
Windows Server2012+
Nano Server1809+
6.0
Windows 7
SP1
Supported with Extended Security Updates
Windows 8.1
Windows 101607+
Windows 1122000+
Windows Server2012+
Nano Server1809+
5.0
Windows 7
SP1
Supported with Extended Security Updates
Windows 8.1
Windows 101607
Windows 1122000+
Windows Server2012+
Nano Server1809+
3.0Windows 7SP1
Windows 8.1
Windows 10
1607+
Nano Server
1803+
Windows Server2012 R2

macOS

Dot Net VersionMac Version
8.010.15+
7.010.15+
6.010.15+
5.010.15+
3.010.13+Apple Support Sitemap
Apple Security Updates

Linux

Dot Net VersionOSVersionArchitecture
8.0Alpine Linux3.17+x64, Arm64, Arm32
Debian11+x64, Arm64, Arm32
Fedora37+x64
openSUSE15+x64
Oracle Linux8+x64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux8+x64, Arm64
SUSE Enterprise Linux (SLES)12 SP5+x64
Ubuntu20.04x64, Arm64, Arm32
7.0Alpine Linux3.15+x64, Arm64, Arm32
CentOS7+x64
Debian10+x64, Arm64, Arm32
Fedora33+x64
openSUSE15+x64
Oracle Linux7+x64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux7+x64, Arm64
SUSE Enterprise Linux (SLES)12 SP2+x64
Ubuntu18.04+x64, Arm64, Arm32
6.0Alpine Linux3.13+x64, Arm64, Arm32
CentOS7+x64
Debian10+x64, Arm64, Arm32
Fedora33+x64
openSUSE15+x64
Oracle Linux7+x64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux7+x64, Arm64
SUSE Enterprise Linux (SLES)12 SP2+x64
Ubuntu16.04, 18.04, 20.04+x64, Arm64, Arm32
5.0Alpine Linux3.12+
3.13+(Arm64 only)
x64, Arm64
CentOS7+x64
Debian9+x64, Arm32, Arm64
Fedora33+x64
Linux Mint18+x64
openSUSE15+x64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux7+x64
SUSE Enterprise Linux (SLES)12 SP2+x64
Ubuntu21.04, 20.04, 18.04, 16.04x64, Arm32, Arm64
3.0Red Hat Enterprise Linux6+, 7, 8x64
CentOS7, 8x64
Oracle Linux7, 8x64
Fedora30+x64
Debian9+x64, ARM32, ARM64
Ubuntu16.04+x64, ARM32, ARM64
Linux Mint18+x64
openSUSE15+x64
SUSE Enterprise Linux (SLES)12 SP2+x64
Alpine Linux3.8+x64, ARM64

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