Download .NET 7 Preview 6 (Offline Installers)

Subhan Zafar|August 29, 2022

.NET 7 Preview 6 has been released for the developers to test out before the actual, stable .NET 7 is released. With each iteration, new features, support, and improvements are added so that when the stable version comes out, the developers already know what to expect.

With Preview 6, Microsoft has made improvements to the following areas:

Type converters

JSON contract customization
System.Formats.Tar API updates
Constraints to .NET template authoring

Performance enhancements in the CodeGen area

You can download and install .NET 7 Preview 6 on your compatible devices using the direct download links shared below. .NET 7 can be installed on the following platforms:

Windows

Linux
MacOS

.NET 7 Preview 6 has been tested with Visual Studio 17.3 Preview 3, thus Microsoft recommends that you use it with preview channel releases of Visual Studio only to avoid compatibility conflicts.

Let us now dig into the new improvements this release has to offer before you download and test it out.

New in .NET 7 Preview 6

New Primitive Type Converters

Microsoft has introduced exposed type converters for the newly added primitive types, which are the following:

DateOnly

TimeOnly
Int128
UInt128

Half

JSON Contract Customization

JSON contract customization gives the user more control over what and how types are serialized or deserialized.

Developers previously had trouble doing so because they either either came from an external library or it would greatly pollute the code but need to make some changes that influence serialization.

Changes to System.Formats.Tar

Systems.Formats.Tar was first released with .NET 7 preview 4. Now, Microsoft is making a few changes to it in the following areas:

Global Extended Attributes specialized class
The TarFormat enum was renamed to TarEntryFormat as an entry format, and not archive format.

Several writing and reading changes have been implemented which you can read here.

The list of changes and improvements does not end here. To read about what other changes have been made to .NET, read this Microsoft post.

Download .NET 7 Preview 6

Use the direct download links below to download the .NET 7 Preview 5 Runtime, SDKs, and ASP.NET Core matching your operating system and architecture:

More download and install options here.

Install .NET 7 Preview 6

You can begin by downloading .NET 7 Preview 6 for your architecture from the links above and then execute it to begin the installation process.

Run the installation package by double-clicking it (in the case of macOS and Windows), and then clicking Install on the installation wizard.

Begin installation
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.

Close installation wizard

You have now installed .NET 7 Preview 6. You may check which .NET version is running by typing in the following command in Command Prompt:

wmic product get description | findstr /C:.NET

isntalled — .NET 7 Preview 6 successfully installed

Closing Words

The last preview release for .NET 7, which was .NET 7 Preview 5, was released nearly 3 weeks ago. This indicates that Microsoft is working round the clock to improve the .NET platform and make the necessary changes before launching it publicly.

That said, since this release is still in its preview, we do not recommend that you install it in a production environment. Rather, we suggest you use it in test environments only and check out the new improvements and compatibility with your existing and new applications.

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Tags: .NET 7, Software Updates

Subhan Zafar

Subhan Zafar is an established IT professional with interests in Windows and Server infrastructure testing and research, and is currently working with Itechtics as a research consultant. He has studied Electrical Engineering and is also certified by Huawei (HCNA & HCNP Routing and Switching).

See all posts from Subhan Zafar

Subhan Zafar|November 15, 2023

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