.NET Dev Containers: Test new .NET versions securely and flexibly
New .NET releases like .NET 10 Preview 2 bring exciting features, but also carry the risk of impacting existing development environments. .NET Dev Containers offer an elegant solution: They allow you to evaluate new framework versions in a completely isolated, reproducible environment, either locally or in the cloud.
This method is particularly suitable for development teams that value consistency, portability, and modern DevOps practices.
What are Development Containers?
.NET Dev Containers These are containerized development environments based on Docker, already equipped with the necessary SDKs, tools, and configurations. They enable a clearly defined project environment – independent of the operating system or locally installed .NET versions.
Especially in connection with Visual Studio Code or GitHub Codespaces Dev Containers offer a flexible, scalable development environment for use by the entire team.
Available .NET container images
Microsoft provides different container images – tailored to specific scenarios:
Setting up a container
Requirements
- DockerDesktop
- Visual Studio Code
- Dev Containers Extension for VS Code
project configuration
A folder named .devcontainer is created in the project directory. Using the Dev Containers extension, a predefined configuration based on the template can be applied. “C# (.NET)” can be selected. This contains a devcontainer.json file that can be further customized.
Starting the container and testing the environment
After setup, the environment can be accessed via the command
“Dev Containers: Open Folders in Containers”
can be started in Visual Studio Code.
To check the installed SDK versions, use the following command in the terminal:
dotnet –list-sdks
Should an update of the underlying images be necessary, it is recommended to execute:
“Dev Containers: Rebuild Containers Without Cache”.
Conclusion
Our preview of .NET Dev Containers A powerful method is available to efficiently evaluate new .NET versions, such as .NET 10 Preview 2, without impacting the existing environment. Its integration into modern development environments makes it a valuable component of current software projects – especially for teams that professionally implement continuous integration, testing, and deployment.
