Installing .NET on Various Operating Systems

Overview

.NET is a cross-platform development framework that can be installed on Windows, macOS, and Linux. This guide covers installation methods for all supported operating systems, including troubleshooting common issues.

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

Component	Requirement
OS	Windows 10+, macOS 10.15+, or Linux
RAM	512 MB minimum, 2 GB recommended
Disk Space	500 MB for SDK
Architecture	x64, x86, ARM64

Supported Operating Systems

graph TD
    A[.NET Runtime Support] --> B[Windows]
    A --> C[macOS]
    A --> D[Linux]

    B --> B1[Windows 10/11]
    B --> B2[Windows Server 2016+]

    C --> C1[macOS 10.15+]
    C --> C2[Intel & Apple Silicon]

    D --> D1[Ubuntu 18.04+]
    D --> D2[Debian 9+]
    D --> D3[CentOS 7+]
    D --> D4[RHEL 7+]
    D --> D5[Fedora 32+]
    D --> D6[SUSE Linux Enterprise 12+]

Installation Options

.NET Runtime vs SDK

Package	Purpose	Contains
.NET Runtime	Run applications	Runtime only
.NET SDK	Develop applications	Runtime + Tools + Compilers

Recommendation: Install SDK for development, Runtime for production.

Windows Installation

Method 1: Download from Microsoft (Recommended)

1. Visit Official Website

   https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download
   

2. Choose Version

3. Select latest LTS version (recommended)

4. Choose SDK for development

5. Run Installer

   # Download and run the installer
   # Follow the installation wizard
   

6. Verify Installation

   dotnet --version
   dotnet --info
   

Method 2: Using Package Managers

Chocolatey

# Install Chocolatey first (if not installed)
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072
iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))

# Install .NET SDK
choco install dotnet-sdk

# Install specific version
choco install dotnet-sdk --version=8.0.0

Winget

# Install latest SDK
winget install Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.8

# List available versions
winget search Microsoft.DotNet

Scoop

# Install Scoop first
iwr -useb get.scoop.sh | iex

# Install .NET
scoop bucket add extras
scoop install dotnet-sdk

Method 3: Visual Studio Installer

# Visual Studio includes .NET SDK
# Select ".NET desktop development" workload
# Or "ASP.NET and web development" workload

macOS Installation

Method 1: Download from Microsoft

1. Download Installer

   # Visit: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download
   # Select macOS installer
   # Choose Intel or Apple Silicon version
   

2. Install Package

   # Double-click the .pkg file
   # Follow installation wizard
   

3. Verify Installation

   dotnet --version
   dotnet --info
   

Method 2: Using Homebrew

# Install Homebrew (if not installed)
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install .NET SDK
brew install --cask dotnet-sdk

# Install specific version
brew install --cask dotnet-sdk@8

# Verify installation
dotnet --version

Method 3: Manual Installation

# Download and extract manually
curl -sSL https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.sh | bash /dev/stdin --version latest

# Add to PATH (add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile)
export DOTNET_ROOT=$HOME/.dotnet
export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.dotnet:$HOME/.dotnet/tools

Linux Installation

Ubuntu/Debian

Method 1: Microsoft Repository

# Add Microsoft 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

# Update package index
sudo apt update

# Install .NET SDK
sudo apt install -y dotnet-sdk-8.0

# Install Runtime only
sudo apt install -y aspnetcore-runtime-8.0

Method 2: Snap Package

# Install using Snap
sudo snap install dotnet-sdk --classic --channel=8.0

# Install Runtime only
sudo snap install dotnet-runtime-80 --classic

Method 3: Manual Installation

# Download installation script
curl -sSL https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.sh | bash /dev/stdin --version latest

# Add to PATH
echo 'export DOTNET_ROOT=$HOME/.dotnet' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.dotnet:$HOME/.dotnet/tools' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

CentOS/RHEL/Fedora

RHEL/CentOS 8+

# Add Microsoft repository
sudo rpm --import https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc
sudo wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/microsoft-prod.repo https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/8/prod.repo

# Install .NET SDK
sudo dnf install dotnet-sdk-8.0

# Install Runtime only
sudo dnf install aspnetcore-runtime-8.0

Fedora

# Add Microsoft repository
sudo rpm --import https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc
sudo wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/microsoft-prod.repo https://packages.microsoft.com/config/fedora/37/prod.repo

# Install .NET SDK
sudo dnf install dotnet-sdk-8.0

Arch Linux

# Install from AUR
yay -S dotnet-runtime dotnet-sdk

# Or using pacman (if in official repos)
sudo pacman -S dotnet-runtime dotnet-sdk

Alpine Linux

# Add community repository
echo "http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community" >> /etc/apk/repositories

# Update package index
apk update

# Install .NET
apk add dotnet8-sdk

Docker Installation

Using Official Docker Images

# .NET SDK image for development
docker pull mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:8.0

# .NET Runtime image for production
docker pull mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/runtime:8.0

# ASP.NET Core Runtime for web apps
docker pull mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:8.0

# Run container with SDK
docker run -it mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:8.0

Dockerfile Example

# Multi-stage build example
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:8.0 AS build
WORKDIR /app

# Copy project files
COPY *.csproj ./
RUN dotnet restore

# Copy source code and build
COPY . ./
RUN dotnet publish -c Release -o out

# Runtime stage
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:8.0 AS runtime
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=build /app/out .

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

Version Management

Installing Multiple Versions

# Install specific versions side by side
curl -sSL https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.sh | bash /dev/stdin --version 6.0.0
curl -sSL https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.sh | bash /dev/stdin --version 7.0.0
curl -sSL https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.sh | bash /dev/stdin --version 8.0.0

# List installed versions
dotnet --list-sdks
dotnet --list-runtimes

Global.json for Project-Specific Versions

{
  "sdk": {
    "version": "8.0.0",
    "rollForward": "latestMinor"
  }
}

Installation Verification

Basic Verification

# Check .NET version
dotnet --version

# Show detailed information
dotnet --info

# List installed SDKs
dotnet --list-sdks

# List installed runtimes
dotnet --list-runtimes

# Show help
dotnet --help

Create Test Application

# Create new console application
dotnet new console -n TestApp
cd TestApp

# Run the application
dotnet run

# Expected output: "Hello, World!"

Advanced Verification

# Check runtime information
dotnet --info

# Example output should show:
# - .NET version
# - Runtime environment
# - Host information
# - Installed workloads

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Issue 1: Permission Denied (Linux/macOS)

# Problem: Cannot install due to permissions
# Solution: Use proper installation method or fix permissions

# For manual installation
chmod +x dotnet-install.sh
./dotnet-install.sh --version latest

# Or use sudo for system-wide installation
sudo apt install dotnet-sdk-8.0

Issue 2: PATH Not Set

# Problem: dotnet command not found
# Solution: Add .NET to PATH

# For bash
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.dotnet' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# For zsh (macOS)
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.dotnet' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

# For fish shell
set -U fish_user_paths $HOME/.dotnet $fish_user_paths

Issue 3: Certificate Issues

# Problem: SSL/TLS certificate errors
# Solution: Trust certificates

# Windows
certlm.msc  # Import certificates

# Linux
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ca-certificates

# macOS
# Certificates usually work by default

Issue 4: Architecture Mismatch

# Problem: Wrong architecture installed
# Solution: Install correct version

# Check system architecture
uname -m

# Install correct version
# For ARM64: use arm64 installer
# For x64: use x64 installer

Issue 5: Multiple Versions Conflict

# Problem: Multiple .NET versions causing issues
# Solution: Use global.json or remove conflicting versions

# Create global.json to specify version
echo '{"sdk":{"version":"8.0.0"}}' > global.json

# Or remove specific version
sudo rm -rf /usr/share/dotnet/sdk/7.0.0

Development Environment Setup

IDE/Editor Installation

Visual Studio (Windows/macOS)

# Download from: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/
# Choose appropriate edition:
# - Community (Free)
# - Professional
# - Enterprise

Visual Studio Code (Cross-platform)

# Download from: https://code.visualstudio.com/

# Install C# extension
code --install-extension ms-dotnettools.csharp
code --install-extension ms-dotnettools.vscode-dotnet-runtime

JetBrains Rider

# Download from: https://www.jetbrains.com/rider/
# Premium IDE with excellent .NET support

Additional Tools

# Entity Framework Tools
dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef

# ASP.NET Core HTTPS development certificate
dotnet dev-certs https --trust

# User secrets for development
dotnet user-secrets init
dotnet user-secrets set "ConnectionString" "Server=..."

Performance Optimization

Ahead-of-Time (AOT) Compilation

<!-- In .csproj file -->
<PropertyGroup>
  <PublishAot>true</PublishAot>
</PropertyGroup>

Ready-to-Run Images

# Publish with ReadyToRun
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishReadyToRun=true

Trim Unused Code

<PropertyGroup>
  <PublishTrimmed>true</PublishTrimmed>
  <TrimMode>link</TrimMode>
</PropertyGroup>

Installation Flow Diagram

graph TD
    A[Choose Installation Method] --> B{Operating System?}

    B -->|Windows| C[Windows Options]
    B -->|macOS| D[macOS Options]
    B -->|Linux| E[Linux Options]

    C --> C1[Official Installer]
    C --> C2[Package Manager]
    C --> C3[Visual Studio]

    D --> D1[Official Installer]
    D --> D2[Homebrew]
    D --> D3[Manual Install]

    E --> E1[Package Manager]
    E --> E2[Snap]
    E --> E3[Manual Install]

    C1 --> F[Verify Installation]
    C2 --> F
    C3 --> F
    D1 --> F
    D2 --> F
    D3 --> F
    E1 --> F
    E2 --> F
    E3 --> F

    F --> G[Create Test Project]
    G --> H[Development Ready]

Post-Installation Configuration

Configure NuGet

# Add NuGet source
dotnet nuget add source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json -n nuget.org

# List configured sources
dotnet nuget list source

# Set NuGet config
dotnet nuget config

Configure Development Environment

# Set default project template
dotnet new --install Microsoft.DotNet.Web.ProjectTemplates

# Configure global tools location
export DOTNET_TOOLS_PATH=$HOME/.dotnet/tools
export PATH=$PATH:$DOTNET_TOOLS_PATH

Summary

Platform	Recommended Method	Alternative Methods
Windows	Official Installer	Chocolatey, Winget, Visual Studio
macOS	Homebrew	Official Installer, Manual
Ubuntu/Debian	Microsoft Repository	Snap, Manual
RHEL/CentOS	DNF Package Manager	Manual Installation
Docker	Official Images	Custom Dockerfile

Next Steps

After successful installation:

1. Learn .NET project structure
2. Master .NET CLI commands
3. Create your first project
4. Explore NuGet packages

Remember to always use the latest LTS version for production applications and keep your development environment updated with security patches.