Microsoft has announced the end of support for .NET 6

Microsoft has confirmed that this free, open source developer platform will reach End of Support later this year, specifically on November 12, 2024. .NET 6 is out. Launched the first preview version in February 2021, then officially released in November 2021.

In a support blog post, Microsoft mentioned that November 12 will also be when the regular monthly Patch Tuesday updates are rolled out. The company may release a final update for .NET 6 on that date if any serious issues are discovered. .NET 6 is released under Microsoft's Long Term Support (LTS) period, which means it's officially supported for three years.

After November 12, any apps developed with .NET 6 will continue to function normally, but because there will be no new updates, they may experience security issues in the future. Those who continue to use .NET 6-based applications may also no longer receive technical support. Microsoft says developers will see a 'gold bar' warning appear in Visual Studio if they choose to use .NET 6 after the end of support date.

Microsoft released .NET 6's successor, .NET 7, in November 2022. However, .NET 7 is only within the company's Standard Support window, thus ending the cycle. support period in May 2024.

Microsoft is urging developers with .NET 6 applications to upgrade them to the now supported .NET 8. Those who only use applications with .NET 6 are asked to notify their application developers or application vendors to request that they upgrade them to .NET 8. .NET 8 launches in November 2023 and is currently the best version.

Microsoft launched the .NET 9 preview version, in February five years. Currently this version is expected to officially launch in November.