Microsoft has released the next stable version for .NET 5, .NET 5.0.5. They removed the word “Framework” and it is now only called “.NET 5.” This is because .NET 5 is now a more unified tool that combines .NET Framework, .NET Core, as well as Mono/Xamarin.
This release does not include any security updates, but rather to maintain .NET’s reliability. It also contains some other non-security updates. Microsoft has been working on improving some repositories as well which will be discussed further down the article.
If you are running Windows 10 version 1809 or higher, you will probably have .NET Framework 4.8. You can manually upgrade to .NET 5.0.5 using the download links provided below. You can also upgrade your app to .NET 5 regardless of which version of Framework they are currently on using the .NET Upgrade Assistant.
Let us see what this new release brings to the developers.
New features and improvements in .NET 5.0.5
.NET 5 NuGet restore failures on Linux distributions
The issue that was causing the NuGet restoration failure on Linux has been fixed by .NET SDK 5.0.202, which is of course included in .NET 5.0.5. This occurred due to expired NuGet certificates and due to the changes made to the root certificate stores on Linux, which are carried by ca-certificates and NSS packages.
You can read more about this fix in Microsoft’s blog post.
Updated Docker images
Microsoft has been updating its docker images in every release for the past few months. You can now run the latest releases of .NET and Docker together using the command below:
docker run --rm mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/samples
To check out more examples of recent updates made to Docker images, click here. Furthermore, the following repositories have also been updated:
- dotnet/sdk: .NET SDK
- dotnet/aspnet: ASP.NET Core Runtime
- dotnet/runtime: .NET Runtime
- dotnet/runtime-deps: .NET Runtime Dependencies
- dotnet/samples: .NET Samples
Microsoft made similar changes in their last stable releases .NET 5.0.4 and .NET 5.0.3. It seems that they are continuously working on enhancing the Docker experience for their consumers.
Bug fixes for Runtime and Windows SDK Projections
The .NET SDK 5.0.202 includes fixes for developers targeting specific Windows SDK versions in their project’s TargetFramework. Refer to these release notes to learn more about the fixes.
Supported Operating Systems/Requirements
.NET 5 can be installed on Windows 10 v1703 or higher. This is because it is only compatible with Visual Studio 2019 16.8 Preview 4 and above. Since the mentioned Visual Studio 2019 is only compatible with the following Operating Systems, the .NET 5.0.5 also only supports the following variants of Windows and Server:
- Windows 10 version 1703 or higher. Editions: Home, Professional, Education, and Enterprise (LTSC and S are not supported)
- Windows Server 2019. Editions: Standard and Datacenter
- Windows Server 2016. Editions: Standard and Datacenter
- Windows 8.1 (with Update KB2919355). Editions: Core, Professional, and Enterprise
- Windows Server 2012 R2 (with Update KB2919355). Editions: Essentials, Standard, Datacenter
- Windows 7 SP1 (with latest Windows Updates) Editions: Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate
Moreover, binaries are also available for x86, x64, ARM64, macOS, and Linux systems.
Download .NET 5.0.5
Use the direct download links below to download the .NET 5.0.5 Runtime and SDKs, according to your operating system and bit architecture:
Runtime
Download .NET Desktop Runtime 5.0.5 for Windows x64
Download .NET Desktop Runtime 5.0.5 for Windows x86
Download .NET Runtime 5.0.5 for Windows ARM64
Download .NET Runtime 5.0.5 for macOS
Download .NET Runtime 5.0.5 Binaries for Linux Arm32
Download .NET Runtime 5.0.5 Binaries for Linux Arm64
Download .NET Runtime 5.0.5 Binaries for Linux Arm64 Alpine
Download .NET Runtime 5.0.5 Binaries for Linux x64
Download .NET Runtime 5.0.5 Binaries for Linux x64 Alpine
SDKs
Download .NET SDK 5.0.202 for Windows x64
Download .NET SDK 5.0.202 for Windows x86
Download .NET SDK 5.0.202 for Windows ARM64
Download .NET SDK 5.0.202 for macOS
Download .NET SDK 5.0.202 Binaries for Linux Arm32
Download .NET SDK 5.0.202 Binaries for Linux Arm64
Download .NET SDK 5.0.202 Binaries for Linux Arm64 Alpine
Download .NET SDK 5.0.202 Binaries for Linux x64
Download .NET SDK 5.0.202 Binaries for Linux x64 Alpine
More download and install options here.
Install .NET 5.0.5
Now that you have downloaded the respective installation package, you can begin to install it. The installation of the .NET 5.0.5 is an easy process. Download the file from the links provided above and execute it for installation.
Once you have installed it, all your applications will run using the new build as the previous version will be replaced.
- Run the installation package by double-clicking it (in the case of macOS and Windows), and then clicking Install on the installation wizard.
- The installation will now begin. It does not take much time nor does it require a restart. Click Close once it has been installed successfully.
You have now installed the .NET 5.0.5. You may check which .NET version is running by typing in the following command in Command Prompt:
wmic product get description | findstr /C:.NET
Closing words
We recommend that if you were previously using .NET Framework to develop your applications, you should update them to the latest version right now using the Upgrade Assistant. Upgrade Assistant is a tool developed by Microsoft so that the developers can easily upgrade their existing applications to support newer versions of .NET and its features.
