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Deploy & cloud (DevOps)40k · #5124

dotnet-upgrade

Provides ready-to-use prompts to help your agent analyze and execute comprehensive .NET framework upgrades. It simplifies the code modernization process.

What it does

This tool helps analyze and plan the upgrade of software projects to newer .NET versions. It identifies what needs to change, suggests how to do it, and helps organize the process.

When to use it

  • ✓When you need to update an old project to a newer .NET version.
  • ✓To understand the complexity and risks of an upgrade.
  • ✓To plan the necessary steps and organize the upgrade tasks.

Example of what to ask your AI

“I want to upgrade my project to .NET 8. Can you help me plan the steps and identify potential issues?”

Want more? Open the sections below.

How to use

The easiest way: copy the message below and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any AI. It reads the skill and follows the instructions.

Skill link

https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/blob/main/skills/dotnet-upgrade/SKILL.md

Ready-to-paste message

Use this skill to help me: https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/blob/main/skills/dotnet-upgrade/SKILL.md Read the SKILL.md file at that link and follow its instructions for my task.
How it works

The tool examines your code and dependencies to find parts that need updating. It suggests the best order to upgrade projects and which tools to use.

Installation

Easiest way: copy the skill link and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor asking it to follow the instructions.

In the terminal (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor), in your project folder:

npx skills add github/awesome-copilot --skill dotnet-upgrade

Or download just the file:

curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/github/awesome-copilot/main/skills/dotnet-upgrade/SKILL.md -o SKILL.md
Technical content (original SKILL.md)

Original text by the author, straight from GitHub.

Project Discovery & Assessment

  • name: "Project Classification Analysis" prompt: "Identify all projects in the solution and classify them by type (.NET Framework, .NET Core, .NET Standard). Analyze each .csproj for its current TargetFramework and SDK usage."

  • name: "Dependency Compatibility Review" prompt: "Review external and internal dependencies for framework compatibility. Determine the upgrade complexity based on dependency graph depth."

  • name: "Legacy Package Detection" prompt: "Identify legacy packages.config projects needing migration to PackageReference format."

Upgrade Strategy & Sequencing

  • name: "Project Upgrade Ordering" prompt: "Recommend a project upgrade order from least to most dependent components. Suggest how to isolate class library upgrades before API or Azure Function migrations."

  • name: "Incremental Strategy Planning" prompt: "Propose an incremental upgrade strategy with rollback checkpoints. Evaluate the use of Upgrade Assistant or manual upgrades based on project structure."

  • name: "Progress Tracking Setup" prompt: "Generate an upgrade checklist for tracking build, test, and deployment readiness across all projects."

Framework Targeting & Code Adjustments

  • name: "Target Framework Selection" prompt: "Suggest the correct TargetFramework for each project (e.g., net8.0). Review and update deprecated SDK or build configurations."

  • name: "Code Modernization Analysis" prompt: "Identify code patterns needing modernization (e.g., WebHostBuilder → HostBuilder). Suggest replacements for deprecated .NET APIs and third-party libraries."

  • name: "Async Pattern Conversion" prompt: "Recommend conversion of synchronous calls to async where appropriate for improved performance and scalability."

NuGet & Dependency Management

  • name: "Package Compatibility Analysis" prompt: "Analyze outdated or incompatible NuGet packages and suggest compatible versions. Identify third-party libraries that lack .NET 8 support and provide migration paths."

  • name: "Shared Dependency Strategy" prompt: "Recommend strategies for handling shared dependency upgrades across projects. Evaluate usage of legacy packages and suggest alternatives in Microsoft-supported namespaces."

  • name: "Transitive Dependency Review" prompt: "Review transitive dependencies and potential version conflicts after upgrade. Suggest resolution strategies for dependency conflicts."

CI/CD & Build Pipeline Updates

  • name: "Pipeline Configuration Analysis" prompt: "Analyze YAML build definitions for SDK version pinning and recommend updates. Suggest modifications for UseDotNet@2 and NuGetToolInstaller tasks."

  • name: "Build Pipeline Modernization" prompt: "Generate updated build pipeline snippets for .NET 8 migration. Recommend validation builds on feature branches before merging to main."

  • name: "CI Automation Enhancement" prompt: "Identify opportunities to automate test and build verification in CI pipelines. Suggest strategies for continuous integration validation."

Testing & Validation

  • name: "Build Validation Strategy" prompt: "Propose validation checks to ensure the upgraded solution builds and runs successfully. Recommend automated test execution for unit and integration suites post-upgrade."

  • name: "Service Integration Verification" prompt: "Generate validation steps to verify logging, telemetry, and service connectivity. Suggest strategies for verifying backward compatibility and runtime behavior."

  • name: "Deployment Readiness Check" prompt: "Recommend UAT deployment verification steps before production rollout. Create comprehensive testing scenarios for upgraded components."

Breaking Change Analysis

  • name: "API Deprecation Detection" prompt: "Identify deprecated APIs or removed namespaces between target versions. Suggest automated scanning using .NET Upgrade Assistant and API Analyzer."

  • name: "API Replacement Strategy" prompt: "Recommend replacement APIs or libraries for known breaking areas. Review configuration changes such as Startup.cs → Program.cs refactoring."

  • name: "Regression Testing Focus" prompt: "Suggest regression testing scenarios focused on upgraded API endpoints or services. Create test plans for critical functionality validation."

Version Control & Commit Strategy

  • name: "Branching Strategy Planning"

…

FAQ

What are .NET Framework and .NET Core/5/6/7/8?

.NET Framework is an older version, while .NET Core and subsequent versions (5, 6, 7, 8) are the modern, recommended versions for new development and upgrades.

What are dependencies?

Dependencies are other software parts (libraries or packages) that your project uses to function. Upgrading may require changing or updating these dependencies.

What is the .NET Upgrade Assistant?

It is an official Microsoft tool that helps automate parts of the .NET project upgrade process.

Details

Original description by the author

Ready-to-use prompts for comprehensive .NET framework upgrade analysis and execution

repo: github/awesome-copilot

Popularity

GitHub stars
40k
Ranking position
#5124
License
MIT
Updated
10/15/2026

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