The table below lists all versions of .NET Standard:
- The columns represent .NET Standard versions. The header is a link to a document that shows which APIs got added in that version of .NET Standard.
- The rows indicate which version of a given .NET platform implements a given .NET Standard version.
- Bold text indicates when a .NET implementation added support for a given .NET Standard version.
You can use this table to understand what the highest version of .NET Standard is that you can target, based on which .NET platforms you intend to run on. For instance, if you want to run on .NET Framework 4.5 and .NET Core 1.0, you can at most target .NET Standard 1.1.
.NET Standard |
1.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .NET Core | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| .NET Framework | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5.1 | 4.6 | 4.6.1 | 4.6.1 |
4.6.1 |
4.6.1 |
| Mono | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 5.4 |
| Xamarin.iOS | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.14 |
| Xamarin.Mac | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.8 |
| Xamarin.Android | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 |
| Universal Windows Platform | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0.16299 | 10.0.16299 | 10.0.16299 |
| Windows | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.1 | |||||
| Windows Phone | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.1 | |||||
| Windows Phone Silverlight | 8.0 |
NOTE: The table above reflects the mappings that will happen when we release the .NET Standard 2.0 tooling. You can see that .NET Framework 4.6.1 mapping is being moved from 1.4 to 2.0.
When choosing a .NET Standard version, you should consider this trade-off:
- The higher the version, the more APIs are available to you.
- The lower the version, the more platforms implement it.
So generally speaking, you should target the lowest version you get away with. To inform your decision, you should consider the compatibility matrix and the APIs additions linked from the table above.
There are two primary versioning rules:
- Additive. .NET Standard versions are logically concentric circles: higher versions incorporate all APIs from previous versions. There are no breaking changes between versions.
- Immutable. Once shipped, .NET Standard versions are frozen.
New APIs will first become available in specific .NET platforms, such as .NET Core. If the .NET Standard review board believes the new APIs should be made available everywhere, they'll be added in a new .NET Standard version.
.NET Standard is also compatible with Portable Class Libraries (PCLs). The mapping from PCL profiles to .NET Standard versions is listed in below.
For example, if your PCL is configured to target .NET Framework 4.5.1 and Windows 8.1, it uses profile Profile 44. Using the table below, that you can convert your PCL to .NET Standard 1.2.
| PCL Profile | .NET Standard | PCL Platforms |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1.1 | .NET Framework 4.5, Windows 8 |
| 31 | 1.0 | Windows 8.1, Windows Phone Silverlight 8.1 |
| 32 | 1.2 | Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1 |
| 44 | 1.2 | .NET Framework 4.5.1, Windows 8.1 |
| 49 | 1.0 | .NET Framework 4.5, Windows Phone Silverlight 8 |
| 78 | 1.0 | .NET Framework 4.5, Windows 8, Windows Phone Silverlight 8 |
| 84 | 1.0 | Windows Phone 8.1, Windows Phone Silverlight 8.1 |
| 111 | 1.1 | .NET Framework 4.5, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8.1 |
| 151 | 1.2 | .NET Framework 4.5.1, Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1 |
| 157 | 1.0 | Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1, Windows Phone Silverlight 8.1 |
| 259 | 1.0 | .NET Framework 4.5, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8.1, Windows Phone Silverlight 8 |