Homebrew dotnet

Install the .NET SDK side-by-side on macOS using the Homebrew package manager.

How to Use

First, tap the repository:

brew tap junian/homebrew-dotnet

If you are currently using the .NET formula from the official homebrew-cask, you should uninstall it first. For example:

brew uninstall --zap dotnet-sdk

Installation

Install the desired .NET version:

brew install dotnet-sdk@<version>

For example:

brew install [email protected]

Uninstallation

Uninstall the desired .NET version:

brew uninstall dotnet-sdk@<version>

For example:

brew uninstall [email protected]

.NET SDK Versions

Version	Formula
⭐️ .NET 10 (LTS)	[email protected]
⭐️ .NET 9	[email protected]
⭐️ .NET 8 (LTS)	[email protected]
.NET 7	[email protected]
.NET 6 (LTS)	[email protected]
.NET 5	[email protected]

⭐️ Supported versions

Where is .NET 4 / .NET Core 4?

There is no .NET 4 or .NET Core 4. Version 4.x is reserved for .NET Framework, which only runs on Windows.

Microsoft transitioned from .NET Core to simply .NET starting with version 5.

The closest alternative to .NET Framework 4.x on macOS is Mono MDK.

.NET Core SDK Versions

Version	Formula
.NET Core 3.1 (LTS)	[email protected]
.NET Core 3.0	[email protected]
.NET Core 2.2	[email protected]
.NET Core 2.1 (LTS)	[email protected]
.NET Core 2.0	[email protected]
.NET Core 1.1	[email protected]
.NET Core 1.0	[email protected]

Special Note for .NET Core 3.1 and .NET 5

On Apple Silicon Macs, if you install .NET Core 3.1 or .NET 5, the dotnet binary is located at:

/usr/local/share/dotnet/x64/dotnet

You can create an alias:

alias dotnet-x64=/usr/local/share/dotnet/x64/dotnet

Then use it, for example:

% dotnet-x64 --list-sdks
3.1.426 [/usr/local/share/dotnet/x64/sdk]
5.0.408 [/usr/local/share/dotnet/x64/sdk]

Mono MDK Version

Before Microsoft created a cross-platform .NET, there was a community-developed .NET-compatible implementation called Mono.

Version	Formula
Mono MDK 6.12	[email protected]

Xamarin Versions

These packages depend on Mono MDK:

Version	Formula
Xamarin.Mac	[email protected]
Xamarin.iOS	[email protected]
Xamarin.Android	[email protected]

Visual Studio for Mac

This application also depends on Mono MDK:

Version	Formula
Visual Studio 2022 for Mac	visual-studio@2022

Brief History of .NET

If you’re confused about .NET versions and naming, here’s a quick history:

1. 2002: .NET Framework (Windows-only, closed source)
2. 2004: Mono (community-driven, cross-platform, open source)
3. 2011: Xamarin (Mono for Android, MonoTouch for iOS)
4. 2016: Microsoft acquires Xamarin and releases .NET Core (modern, cross-platform, open source)
5. 2020: .NET 5 unifies everything into one platform, simply called .NET (cross-platform, open source)

Cask Updater

A simple script is provided to automatically update the supported .NET Casks.

Install .NET 10, then run:

./update_casks.cs

If updates are available, the script will modify the cask files. Commit and push the changes afterward.

Most of the time, you don’t need to run it manually, as updates are checked every 6 hours via GitHub Workflow.