# .NET

Endless Lifecycle Support (ELS) for .NET from TuxCare provides security fixes for .NET that has reached its end of life. This allows you to continue running .NET applications without vulnerability concerns, even after official support has ended.

# Supported Versions

^* .NET 1.1 supports Windows Server 2012 R2 and later; Windows Server 2012 is not supported.

# Available Runtimes

Choose the component that fits your use case. For more details, refer to the official .NET documentation. TuxCare applies security patches to .NET for the above OS versions, ensuring continued stability and security even beyond the official end-of-life date.

# Installation

TuxCare provides three ways to install ELS .NET on Windows: the TuxCare Installer (recommended) — a graphical tool that installs and removes .NET runtimes and SDKs, the PowerShell script that does the same from the command line, or manual installation of the .NET setup files from the repository.

# Additional Configurations

After installation, you can choose which .NET version each application uses, check which runtimes and SDKs you have, and uninstall them.

# Choose the .NET Version for an Application

.NET keeps all installed versions side by side under C:\Program Files\dotnet, and each application picks its own. There is no default version to switch.

• Runtime. An application requests a runtime in its *.runtimeconfig.json file (for example, Microsoft.NETCore.App 6.0.0). .NET uses the highest installed patch of that version: with 6.0.37-tuxcare.1 and 6.0.37-tuxcare.3 installed, the application runs on 6.0.37-tuxcare.3. Other major versions, such as .NET 8 and 10, do not affect it. To change this behavior, set rollForward in the application's runtimeconfig.json, set the DOTNET_ROLL_FORWARD environment variable, or start the application with dotnet --fx-version <version> app.dll.

• SDK. The dotnet CLI uses the newest installed SDK. To use a specific SDK for a project, put a global.json file in the project folder:

  { "sdk": { "version": "6.0.429-tuxcare.3", "rollForward": "latestPatch" } }
  

# Useful Commands

• where.exe dotnet — locates the dotnet executable on the system:

  where.exe dotnet
  
  Example output

  C:\Program Files\dotnet\dotnet.exe
  

• dotnet --info — displays information about installed SDKs, runtimes, and your OS:

  dotnet --info
  
  Example output

  .NET SDK (reflecting any global.json):
  Version:   6.0.429
  Commit:    ef6f5ce48c
  
  Runtime Environment:
  OS Name:     Windows
  OS Version:  10.0.22631
  OS Platform: Windows
  RID:         win10-x64
  Base Path:   C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk\6.0.429\
  
  global.json file:
    Not found
  
  Host:
    Version:      6.0.36
    Architecture: x64
    Commit:       N/A
  
  .NET SDKs installed:
    6.0.429 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk]
  
  .NET runtimes installed:
    Microsoft.AspNetCore.App 6.0.36 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\shared\Microsoft.AspNetCore.App]
    Microsoft.NETCore.App 6.0.36 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\shared\Microsoft.NETCore.App]
    Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App 6.0.36 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\shared\Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App]
  
  Download .NET:
    https://aka.ms/dotnet-download
  
  Learn about .NET Runtimes and SDKs:
    https://aka.ms/dotnet/runtimes-sdk-info
  

• dotnet --list-sdks — lists all installed SDKs. Uninstall old versions after installing a new one:

  dotnet --list-sdks
  
  Example output

  6.0.429 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk]
  

• dotnet --list-runtimes — lists all installed runtimes:

  dotnet --list-runtimes
  
  Example output

  Microsoft.AspNetCore.App 6.0.36 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\shared\Microsoft.AspNetCore.App]
  Microsoft.NETCore.App 6.0.36 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\shared\Microsoft.NETCore.App]
  

# Uninstallation

TuxCare.Installer.exe /uninstall /quiet

TuxCare.Installer.exe /uninstall /quiet UninstallProducts=1

After uninstalling .NET some files may remain in C:\Program Files\dotnet\ and C:\Users\<user>\.dotnet\. Delete these folders manually to fully remove .NET.

# Frequent Issues

• How do I update .NET if a new version is released?

  Run TuxCare Installer: the new build appears in the list next to the installed one. Tick it and click Continue. To remove the old build, untick it.

  With manual installation, download the latest installer and follow the manual installation steps above. After installing the new version, it's recommended to remove the previous one.

• The installation fails with "needs administrator rights", or says it was cancelled.

  Installing .NET changes the whole machine. Click Yes when Windows asks for permission (User Account Control), or run TuxCare Installer as administrator. Clicking No on the prompt cancels the installation of that file.

• .NET shows "(Not Authenticated)" in TuxCare Installer.

  Your license or token does not cover .NET. Contact [email protected].

• "TuxCare .NET Standard Targeting Pack" stays in Settings → Apps after uninstalling an SDK.

  Other SDKs on the machine share this package, for example, the one Visual Studio installs. Windows keeps it while another SDK still depends on it, so you can leave it in place.

• What should I do if there are conflicts during installation?

  If you encounter conflicts, try uninstalling the previous version before installing the new one. In most cases, .NET versions can coexist without issues, but removing the older version may help resolve compatibility problems.

# What's Next?