Software developers who are still using Microsoft .NET 7 need to think about updating soon. The company has announced an "end of support" date for the older version of the open-source dev tool.
In a blog post today, Microsoft said that official support for .NET 7 will end after May 14, 2024. That gives that version of the tool 18 months of official support. Microsoft has given the odd number versions of .NET that amount of support time, which is known as Standard Term Support (STS).
Microsoft notes that May 14 is also the same day as the company"s monthly event known as Patch Tuesday. As a result, .NET 7 may get one final update on that date.
After May 14, here is what happens to apps made with .NET 7:
- Applications that use this version will continue to run.
- No new security updates will be issued for .NET 7.
- Continuing to use an unsupported version will expose you to security vulnerabilities.
- You may not be able to access technical support for .NET 7 applications.
In addition, Microsoft says that the .NET 7 component in Visual Studio will be changed to out of support and optional for Visual Studio 2022 17.6 and Visual Studio 2022 17.4 with the June 2024 servicing updates for those versions.
Microsoft says that if you know you are using an app made with .NET 7 app, you should ask the app"s developer or render to see if there is a version with the more recent .NET 8.
Speaking of which, .NET 8, which officially launched in November 2023, is currently not scheduled to reach its end of service date until November 2026. In February 2024, the company launched the first preview version of the next developer tool update. .NET 9. It is not currently scheduled to become official until November 2024.