.NET 8 Preview 6 is now available to download. With this release, Microsoft has made a number of improvements and changes. Several improvements have been made to System.Text.Json, and Microsoft has also included an option validation source generator to reduce the startup overhead and improve the validation feature set.
With that, the final, stable release of .NET 8 is expected to be in November 2023.
We now discuss what’s new in .NET 8 Preview 6 before moving on to downloading the Runtimes, SDKs, and the ASP.NET Cores.
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What’s new in .NET 8 Preview 6
Improvements to System.Text.Json
The following improvements have been made to the System.Text.Json source generator:
- Added caching support to the incremental generator, improving IDE performance in large projects.
- Improved formatting of source-generated code, including fixes to a number of indentation issues.
- Added a number of new diagnostic warnings.
- Fixed a number of bugs related to accessibility modifier resolution.
- Ensured that types of ignored or inaccessible properties are not included by the generator.
- Fixed issues related to
JsonNumberHandlingsupport. - Fixed support for recursive collection types.
- Fixed custom converter support for nullable structs.
- Fixed a number of bugs in the compile-time attribute parsing implementation.
- Added support for nesting
JsonSerializerContextdeclarations within arbitrary type kinds.
Overloads added
The following overloads have been added for the said purpose:
ZipFile.CreateFromDirectory: It allows users to collect all the files included in a directory and zip them, then store the resulting zip file into the provided stream.ZipFile.ExtractToDirectory: It allows users to provide a stream containing a zipped file and extract its contents into the filesystem.
Other Features and Improvements
There is a list of improvements in .NET 8 Preview 6. Click on the given links below to learn more about them:
- Options validation source generator
- Expanding LoggerMessageAttribute Constructor Overloads for enhanced functionality
- Configuration binding source generator improvements
- Source Generated COM Interop
- Support for HTTPS proxy
- SHA-3 support
- iOS and NativeAOT compatibility
To learn more, read this .NET 8 Preview 6 announcement.
Download .NET 8 Preview 6
Use the direct download links below to download the .NET 8 Preview 6 Runtime, SDKs, and ASP.NET Core matching your operating system and architecture. Simply click on the respective link in the “Download” column to begin the download.
Runtime
| Version | Platform | Download |
|---|---|---|
| .NET 8 Preview 6 Desktop Runtime | Windows | x64 x86 ARM64 |
| .NET 8 Preview 6 Runtime | macOS | x64 ARM64 |
| .NET 8 Preview 6 Runtime Binaries | Linux | x64 ARM32 ARM64 |
| .NET 8 Preview 6 Runtime Binaries | Linux Alpine | x64 ARM32 ARM64 |
SDK
| Version | Platform | Download |
|---|---|---|
| .NET 8.0.100 Preview 6 SDK | Windows | x64 x86 ARM64 |
| .NET 8.0.100 Preview 6 SDK | macOS | x64 ARM64 |
| .NET 8.0.100 Preview 6 SDK Binaries | Linux | x64 ARM32 ARM64 |
| .NET 8.0.100 Preview 6 SDK Binaries | Linux Alpine | x64 ARM32 ARM64 |
ASP.NET Core
| Version | Platform | Download |
|---|---|---|
| .NET 8 Preview 6 ASP.NET Core Runtime | Windows | Hosting bundle x64 x86 ARM64 (Binaries) |
| .NET 8 Preview 6 ASP.NET Core Runtime Binaries | macOS | x64 ARM64 |
| .NET 8 Preview 6 ASP.NET Core Runtime Binaries | Linux | x64 ARM32 ARM64 |
| .NET 8 Preview 6 ASP.NET Core Runtime Binaries | Linux Alpine | x64 ARM32 ARM64 |
Click on this link for more .NET 8 download options.
Install .NET 8
You can begin by downloading the right .NET version for you from the links above and then running it to begin the installation process. Here is how:
Once you have installed the newer .NET preview version, all your applications will run using the new build as the previous preview version will be replaced. However, if a stable version is installed and running, it will not be replaced.
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Execute the downloaded installation package and click Install.
Install .NET 8 Preview 6 Run the installation package by double-clicking it (in the case of macOS and Windows), and then clicking Install on the installation wizard.
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Close the wizard once the installation is complete.
Close .NET 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. You may check which .NET version is running by running the following command in Command Prompt:
wmic product get description | findstr /C:.NET
How to uninstall .NET
If you wish to remove a .NET version from your computer, you can simply uninstall it like any other regular application. Here are the steps to following:
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Press the “Windows Key + R” shortcut keys to open the Run Command box.
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Type in “appwiz.cpl” and press Enter to open the Programs and Features applet.
Open Programs & Features applet -
Right-click the .NET component that you want to remove, then click “Uninstall” from the context menu.
Uninstall .NET The uninstallation wizard will now launch.
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Click “Uninstall” again.
Uninstall .NET 8 Preview 6 -
When removed, click Close.
Close the .NET uninstallation wizard
Closing words
.NET 8 will replace .NET 6 in the Long Term Support (LTS) channel which is said to be supported for 3 years after its initial release. Currently, its preview version is available to download which is now Preview 6.
That said, we suggest that you remain on the stable releases for your production environment while continuing to test out the latest features and improvements in an isolated environment within .NET 8.
.NET 8 Release History
| Complete Version | Release Date | Significant Improvements | Announcement |
| .NET 8 | 14-Nov-23 | – Includes security improvements – Fastest .NET version to date – AI integration in .NET apps – AOT replaces JIT | Microsoft announces .NET 8 |
| .NET 8 RC 2 | 10-Oct-23 | – Package READMEs for .NET libraries – Publish directly to TAR.GZ archives – Tensor Primitives for .NET | Microsoft announces .NET 8 RC 2 |
| .NET 8 RC 1 | 12-Sep-23 | – Improvements to System.Text.Json | Microsoft announces .NET 8 RC 1 |
| .NET 8 Preview 7 | 8-Aug-23 | – Improvements to System.Text.Json – Keyed services support amongst many other changes | Microsoft announces .NET 8 Preview 7 |
| .NET 8 Preview 6 | 11-Jul-23 | – Improvements to System.Text.Json – New overloads – Addition of options validation source generator | Microsoft announces .NET 8 Preview 6 |
| .NET 8 Preview 5 | 13-Jun-23 | – Improved Metrics APIs – Included .NET MAUI – Improved IDE experience with source link integration – Addition of .NET libraries analyzers | Microsoft announces .NET 8 Preview 5 |
| .NET 8 Preview 4 | 16-May-23 | – Nuget security improvements to Template Engines – New terminal build output – Updates to simplified output paths | Microsoft announces .NET 8 Preview 4 |
| .NET 8 Preview 3 | 11-Apr-23 | – Updates to SDK and Runtime libraries – Optimizations to JIT compilers – Improvements to containers | Microsoft announces .NET 8 Preview 3 |
| .NET 8 Preview 2 | 14-Mar-23 | – Updates to libraries – Introspection support for function pointers | Microsoft announces .NET 8 Preview 2 |
| .NET 8 Preview 1 | 21-Feb-23 | – Native AOT – Improvements to container images and Runtime Libraries | Microsoft announces .NET 8 Preview 1 |
