.NET Native Support Policy

Last updated: November 12, 2024

What's covered

This document provides information about the support lifecycle for the .NET Native runtime.

Looking for the support policy for another part of the .NET platform? See the .NET Support Policy page.

Every Microsoft product has a lifecycle. The lifecycle begins when a product is released and ends when it reaches end of support. Knowing key dates in this lifecycle helps you make informed decisions about when to upgrade or make other changes to your software. This product is governed by Microsoft's Modern Lifecycle Policy.

What is .NET Native?

.NET Native is a pre-compilation technology for building Universal Windows (UWP) applications in Visual Studio 2015 and later. The .NET Native toolchain will compile your managed IL binaries into native binaries. Applications are automatically compiled to native code before they reach consumer devices.

.NET Native release types

Major release

Major releases include new features and functionality, new public APIs, and bug fixes. Due to the nature of the changes, these releases are expected to include breaking changes. Currently there are two major releases .NET Native 1.0 and .NET Native 2.0.

Minor release

Minor release includes new features and functionality; however, the difference between major and minor releases is generally smaller than between major releases. There are no major releases planned for .NET Native beyond version 2.2.

Servicing updates

Service releases are supported from the time they are released until the next servicing update. The release cadence for servicing updates is typically bi-annual and includes critical and high impact fixes. This means you need to install servicing releases to ensure your applications are in a secure and supported state.

.NET Native lifecycle

.NET Native adopts the modern lifecycle policy, which is different from the traditional fixed lifecycle policy. Products with fixed lifecycles provide a fixed period of support, this is typically long, for example, 5 years of mainstream support (including security and non-security hotfixes) and another 5 years of extended support (security fixes only). Products like .NET Native that use a modern lifecycle typically adopt a more service-like support model that is shorter and ship more frequently.

Lifecycle policy for .NET Native

Major and minor releases

.NET Native major and minor releases are supported for one year after the next major or minor release ships. For example, .NET Native 1.6 reached end of support one year after the .NET Native 1.7 release date.

Servicing releases

Servicing releases are supported until the next update is released. For example, if the latest servicing update for .NET Native 2.2 is 2.2.12 and we ship 2.2.13 then the latter is the latest supported servicing level. Servicing releases update the compiler version used by the Microsoft Store to build submitted applications which means you will not be able to compile your app using an older .NET Native servicing version after a new servicing release has shipped. Servicing releases typically occur bi-annually.

End of support

End of support refers to the date when Microsoft no longer provides fixes, updates, or on-line technical assistance. Furthermore, you can't update or send in new applications to the Microsoft Store with .NET Native toolchains that are no longer supported. To upgrade applications built with toolchains that have reached end of support, switch to the newest .NET Native version using Visual Studio 2017 or a newer edition.

End of support dates for .NET Native releases

.NET Native 1.7 is the latest minor release for 1.x and is supported. Similarly, .NET Native 2.2 is the latest release for 2.x and is supported.

We'll provide 12 months of support from the time of this announcement for .NET Native 1.0, 1.1, 1.3, 1.6, 2.0 and 2.1.

We'll continue to support .NET Native 1.4 and 1.7.

• .NET Native 1.4 ships with Visual Studio. We'll continue to support hybrid releases in supported versions of Visual Studio 2017, 2019, and 2022. A description of hybrid projects can be found in Authoring a C# Windows Runtime component for use from a C++/WinRT app - UWP applications.

• .NET Native 1.7 and 2.2 ship together on NuGet.org as part of the Microsoft.NETCore.UniversalWindowsPlatform package. Applications targeting Windows 10 RS2 (15063) and below compile using the .NET Native 1.7 toolchain. Applications targeting Windows 10 Version of RS3 (16299) or higher use .NET Native 2.2.

FAQ

Where can I find the latest .NET Native release?

Information on the latest .NET Native Tools 2.2 can be found on GitHub and downloaded from NuGet.

How to update to the latest .NET Native version?

The .NET Native compiler can be updated to the latest version by using the Visual Studio NuGet Package Manager to update the Microsoft.NETCore.UniversalWindowsPlatform NuGet package.

Why are we continuing to support .NET Native 1.4 and .NET Native 1.7?

UWP applications built in C++ and using C# as the component use .NET Native 1.4. We'll continue to provide support for this scenario.

.NET Native Samples of UWP 6.2.X builds targeting C++/C# components.

Do .NET Native toolchain versions map to specific UWP versions?

Yes, each toolchain version is used for a specific UWP version.

Where can I reach for support and provide feedback?

You can send questions and suggestions to dotnetnative@microsoft.com.