The MSBuild Binlog MCP Server Turns Your AI Assistant into a Build Detective
Microsoft's Binlog MCP Server exposes 38 tools that let AI assistants query MSBuild binary logs directly, turning cryptic build failures and performance bottlenecks into natural-language conversations.
dotnetup: The .NET SDK Version Manager That Should Have Existed Years Ago
Microsoft is building dotnetup, an official cross-platform .NET SDK and runtime version manager inspired by rustup. Here's what it does, how it works with global.json, and why it matters for teams and CI pipelines.
Aspire 13.3: Kubernetes Deployment with Helm, Browser Telemetry, and a CLI That Cleans Up After Itself
Aspire 13.3 ships native Kubernetes deployment via Helm, browser telemetry streaming, three JavaScript publishing models, and an aspire destroy command that tears down what aspire deploy created. Here is what changed and why it matters.
Visual Studio Goes Rolling: What the 2027 Announcement Means for .NET Teams
At VSLive! Las Vegas, Microsoft confirmed that Visual Studio 2027 will arrive as an in-place update to 2026 — not a side-by-side install. Here is how the new annual rolling release model, decoupled build tools, and LTSC channels change daily life for .NET developers.
.NET 10 on Ubuntu 26.04: One apt install Away from a Clean Linux Setup
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS ships .NET 10 in the default package archive, ending years of package conflicts and multi-feed confusion. Here is what changed, how to set up your environment, and what the new container images and Native AOT tooling look like.
878 Pull Requests Later: What the .NET Team Learned from Copilot Coding Agent
The .NET team ran GitHub's Copilot Coding Agent against dotnet/runtime for ten months. The data tells a nuanced story about where AI excels, where it struggles, and what your team needs to get right before adopting it.
.NET Agent Skills: Teaching Your Coding Agent to Think in C#
Microsoft's dotnet/skills repository gives AI coding agents specialised .NET knowledge through the open Agent Skills standard. Here's how the system works, what's available, and how to set it up in your editor.
Automatic Versioning with Nerdbank.GitVersioning
Use Nerdbank.GitVersioning to derive deterministic, semver-compliant versions from your Git history without manual version bumps.
.NET SDK Container Publishing: No Dockerfile Required
Publish .NET applications as container images directly from the SDK without writing a Dockerfile.
Code Coverage in CI for .NET Projects
Collect, report, and enforce code coverage thresholds in your .NET CI pipeline using Coverlet and ReportGenerator.
SourceLink: Debug NuGet Packages Like Your Own Code
Enable SourceLink in your .NET libraries so consumers can step into your source code directly from the debugger.
Directory.Build.props Patterns for .NET Solutions
Use Directory.Build.props to centralise build settings, enforce standards, and reduce duplication across .NET projects.
Central Package Management in .NET
Manage NuGet package versions in one place using Directory.Packages.props to eliminate version drift across projects.
dotnet-tools and Local Tool Manifests
Use local tool manifests to version and share .NET CLI tools across your team without global installs.
Building a NuGet Package Publishing Pipeline
Automate NuGet package building, versioning, and publishing with GitHub Actions and best practices for package metadata.
Docker Compose for Local .NET Development
Set up a Docker Compose environment for .NET development with databases, caches, and hot reload.
Dockerfile Best Practices for .NET Projects
Practical Dockerfile patterns that improve build speed, image size, and security for .NET applications.
.NET Container Images Explained: Chiselled, Alpine, and More
Understand the differences between .NET's container image variants — standard, Alpine, chiselled, and AOT — and when to use each.
Multi-Stage Docker Builds for .NET Applications
Use multi-stage Docker builds to produce small, secure .NET container images without shipping the SDK.
GitHub Actions for .NET: A Practical CI/CD Pipeline
Build a complete CI/CD pipeline for .NET projects using GitHub Actions, from restore through to deployment.
Bicep for .NET Developers: Infrastructure as Code Without the YAML
A practical introduction to Azure Bicep for .NET developers who want to define their infrastructure alongside their application code.
EF Core Migrations Best Practices: From Development to Production
Practical strategies for managing EF Core migrations across teams, environments, and production deployments without losing data.