Damian Edwards
About
Damian is a product architect working on .NET at Microsoft
Sessions at .NET Conf 2026
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Tuesday, November 10
8 AM - 9 AM PST
Keynote
Scott Hanselman, Damian Edwards
Software development has never stood still. From Windows to the web, from building across platforms to the cloud, every new era has opened up new possibilities. And through it all, .NET has evolved alongside you, helping you bring your code, your apps, and your ideas forward. Now, we're entering another defining moment. AI is changing not just what we build, but how we build it, opening up new ways to create, understand, modernize and operate applications. Join Scott Hanselman and the .NET team as we explore what's new in .NET 11, see how .NET is evolving for the applications you have and the ones you'll build next, and discover how Copilot and agents are shaping the next era of development. What's next isn't about starting over. It's about how far you can go from here.
View session details1:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Tuesday, November 10
1 PM - 1:30 PM PST
What's New in Aspire for .NET Developers
Maddy Montaquila, Damian Edwards
Last year, we told you that Aspire was for every developer - not just .NET developers. We've seen amazing adoption across all different languages, but of course, we have a special place in our heart for .NET. As we added new languages to Aspire, we challenged some of our early .NET-centric assumptions, and discovered a few ways to improve the experience we originally shipped. We're bringing some of these learnings back to the Aspire + .NET workflow, some which you can use today, and some coming very soon! Join Maddy and Damian from the Aspire team to learn how Aspire is better than ever for .NET developers - even if we changed the name 😉
View session details3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Wednesday, November 11
3:30 PM - 4 PM PST
C# File-based apps turned up to 11!
Damian Edwards
C# file-based apps are getting a serious upgrade in .NET 11. In this session, we'll tour the latest improvements, including faster launch performance, app-to-app references, richer package reference support, and expanded CLI support across more `dotnet` commands. We'll see how file-based apps are growing from a lightweight way to run a single C# file into a surprisingly capable model for building real tools and applications—without giving up the simplicity that made them compelling in the first place. If you've been curious how far C# can go without a project file, .NET 11 turns it up to 11!
View session details