Official agent skill

Setup Local SDK

by dotnet in dotnet/skills

Install a .NET SDK locally for safe preview testing, specific-version pinning, or reproducible team setups — without modifying the system-wide installation.

OfficialMITAuto-check: notesMobile

Install Setup Local SDK

skills CLI
$ npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill setup-local-sdk -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install dotnet/skills setup-local-sdk --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/dotnet/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/dotnet/skills/setup-local-sdk .claude/skills/setup-local-sdk && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
setup-local-sdk
GitHub stars
5.6k
Used in
1 other repo
Token cost
~3.7k tokens
SKILL.md length
1,026 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
91
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Install a .NET SDK locally for safe preview testing, specific-version pinning, or reproducible team setups — without modifying the system-wide installation.

  • Works in 12 steps: Clarify what to install → Verify .NET 10+ host → Detect operating system → …
  • : trying .NET previews safely
  • SKILL.md covers Purpose, When NOT to use, Inputs / Prerequisites and Workflow, plus 1 more section
  • Calls dotnet, curl and bash; reaches dot.net

What it does

Setup Local SDK is an agent skill from dotnet/skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Install a .NET SDK locally for safe preview testing, specific-version pinning, or reproducible team setups — without modifying the system-wide installation. USE FOR: trying .NET previews safely, testing specific SDK versions, installing MAUI or other workloads on a preview, updating or replacing an existing local SDK, creating reproducible team/CI install scripts, configuring global.json paths. DO NOT USE FOR: system-wide SDK installs, .NET hosts older than 10, runtime-only installs, or projects not using…

Its SKILL.md is about 3.7k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Mobile, covering Cross-platform mobile apps. It works with .NET. The repository describes itself as: Repository for skills to assist AI coding agents with .NET and C. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • : trying .NET previews safely
  • Testing specific SDK versions
  • Installing MAUI
  • Other workloads on a preview

Example prompts

  • “/setup-local-sdk”

Workflow steps

12 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Clarify what to install
  2. Verify .NET 10+ host
  3. Detect operating system
  4. Check for existing local SDK
  5. Download and run the install script
  6. Identify the installed version
  7. Create or update global.json
  8. Update .gitignore
  9. Install workloads (if requested)
  10. Create team install scripts
  11. Verify SDK resolution
  12. Summarize and explain cleanup

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 8d670fa. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • dotnet
    • curl
    • bash
    • jq

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:

    • dot.net

    Also links to:

    • github.com

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Setup Local SDK loads about 3.7k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 137 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,026 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~137
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~3.7k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check: notes

The automated check noted patterns worth knowing about, such as sudo or a known installer.

  • NoteRuns commands with sudoSKILL.md:181
    install using the **local** binary (no sudo needed):

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from dotnet/skills at commit 8d670fa, republished under its MIT licence (© dotnet). 1,026 words, ~3,660 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/setup-local-sdk/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
setup-local-sdk
description
Install a .NET SDK locally for safe preview testing, specific-version pinning, or reproducible team setups — without modifying the system-wide installation. USE FOR: trying .NET previews safely, testing specific SDK versions, installing MAUI or other workloads on a preview, updating or replacing an existing local SDK, creating reproducible team/CI install scripts, configuring global.json paths. DO NOT USE FOR: system-wide SDK installs, .NET hosts older than 10, runtime-only installs, or projects not using SDK-style commands.
license
MIT

setup-local-sdk

Purpose

Guide the user through installing a .NET SDK into a project-local .dotnet/ directory and wiring it up via the global.json paths feature (.NET 10+). The examples use .NET 11, but this works with any version — prerelease or stable.

The result is a fully isolated SDK that:

  • Does not modify the system-wide .NET installation.
  • Is picked up automatically by dotnet commands from the project root.
  • Can be deleted to revert (rm -rf .dotnet/ or Remove-Item -Recurse -Force .\.dotnet).

When NOT to use

  • User wants a system-wide install — direct to the official installer.
  • Host dotnet is older than v10 — paths doesn't exist; explain and stop.
  • User needs a runtime-only install — paths applies to SDK resolution only.

Inputs / Prerequisites

InputRequiredDefaultNotes
Channel or versionNo11.0e.g. 11.0, STS, LTS, or an exact version like 11.0.100-preview.2.26159.112
QualityNopreviewOne of: daily, preview, ga
jqNo—Optional for bash team scripts when patching an existing global.json; without it, do not overwrite the file
Prerequisites
  1. A .NET 10+ SDK is installed globally — run dotnet --version; major ≥ 10.
  2. curl (macOS/Linux) or PowerShell (Windows) is available.

Workflow

Step 1 — Clarify what to install

If the user didn't specify, ask what .NET SDK version they want (e.g., "latest .NET 11 preview" or an exact version like 11.0.100-preview.2.26159.112). Map the answer to --channel/--quality or --version flags.

Step 2 — Verify .NET 10+ host

If the user already provided dotnet --version output, treat that as the authoritative version for their machine. Do not override it with the agent workspace's version; if the two differ, explain that the workspace differs and continue advising for the user's machine.

bash
dotnet --version

If major version < 10, stop before downloading anything: the paths feature requires a .NET 10+ host SDK. Tell the user to install .NET 10 or later system-wide first, then return to the local SDK setup.

Step 3 — Detect operating system

Run uname -s 2>/dev/null. If it succeeds (including MINGW*, MSYS*, CYGWIN* — these are bash-capable environments like Git Bash) → use bash/dotnet-install.sh. If it fails (native Windows without Git Bash) → use PowerShell/dotnet-install.ps1.

Step 4 — Check for existing local SDK

macOS / Linux:

bash
test -d .dotnet && echo "exists" || echo "not found"

Windows (PowerShell):

powershell
if (Test-Path -LiteralPath .\.dotnet) { "exists" } else { "not found" }

If .dotnet/ exists, ask: update with the new version, or skip and keep it?

Step 5 — Download and run the install script

macOS / Linux:

bash
INSTALL_SCRIPT="$(mktemp "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/dotnet-install.XXXXXX")"
trap 'rm -f "$INSTALL_SCRIPT"' EXIT
curl -fsSL https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.sh -o "$INSTALL_SCRIPT"
bash "$INSTALL_SCRIPT" --channel <CHANNEL> --quality <QUALITY> --install-dir .dotnet

Windows (PowerShell):

powershell
$installScript = Join-Path $env:TEMP "dotnet-install-$([guid]::NewGuid()).ps1"
try {
    Invoke-WebRequest -Uri 'https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.ps1' -OutFile $installScript
    & $installScript -Channel <CHANNEL> -Quality <QUALITY> -InstallDir .dotnet
}
finally {
    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $installScript) {
        Remove-Item -LiteralPath $installScript -Force
    }
}

For exact versions: use --version <VERSION> (bash) or -Version <VERSION> (PowerShell) instead of channel/quality flags. The install scripts are from Microsoft's official URLs: https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.sh and https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.ps1.

Step 6 — Identify the installed version
bash
./.dotnet/dotnet --version          # macOS/Linux
.\.dotnet\dotnet.exe --version      # Windows

Record the exact version string (e.g., 11.0.100-preview.2.26159.112) for global.json.

Step 7 — Create or update global.json
json
{
  "sdk": {
    "version": "<INSTALLED_VERSION>",
    "allowPrerelease": true,
    "rollForward": "latestFeature",
    "paths": [".dotnet", "$host$"],
    "errorMessage": "Required .NET SDK not found. Run ./install-dotnet.sh (or .ps1) to install it locally."
  }
}
  • paths: .dotnet first (local priority), $host$ = system-wide fallback.
  • rollForward: "latestFeature": use for latest-preview or floating feature-band installs.
  • Exact version requests: use rollForward: "disable" so SDK resolution doesn't move to a different feature band.
  • allowPrerelease: set to true only when installing a prerelease SDK. Omit for stable versions.
  • errorMessage: include only when team install scripts are created (Step 10). Otherwise omit.

If global.json already exists, merge carefully: preserve existing properties (msbuild-sdks, tools, etc.) and only add/update the sdk section. Read the existing file first, update/add the sdk object, then write it back. This ensures cross-project config (e.g., MSBuild settings) isn't lost. Always back up the original file (e.g., global.json.bak) before modifying.

Minimal config (when version pinning isn't needed): {"sdk":{"paths":[".dotnet","$host$"]}}

Step 8 — Update .gitignore

macOS / Linux (or Git Bash):

bash
grep -qxF '.dotnet/' .gitignore 2>/dev/null || printf '\n.dotnet/\n' >> .gitignore

Windows (PowerShell):

powershell
if (-not (Test-Path .gitignore) -or -not (Select-String -Path .gitignore -Pattern '^\.dotnet/$' -Quiet)) {
    Add-Content -Path .gitignore -Value '.dotnet/'
}
Show full SKILL.md (471 more words)Show less
Step 9 — Install workloads (if requested)

Only do this after global.json and .gitignore are complete, so a slow or platform-limited workload install does not prevent the base local SDK setup from being usable.

If the user mentioned MAUI, mobile, workload, Blazor WASM, or cross-platform, install using the local binary (no sudo needed):

bash
./.dotnet/dotnet workload install <workload>       # macOS/Linux
.\.dotnet\dotnet.exe workload install <workload>   # Windows

Verify: ./.dotnet/dotnet workload list (or .\.dotnet\dotnet.exe workload list).

For MAUI, pick a workload supported by the current OS and target platform. On Linux, the full maui meta-workload is not available; use a supported workload such as maui-android when Android is the target, or explain the platform limitation and ask which target to configure.

Always use the local dotnet binary for workload commands. Workload metadata is stored relative to the host process's dotnet root. The system dotnet puts metadata in the wrong location. (See dotnet/sdk#49825.)

Step 10 — Create team install scripts

Create if user mentioned "team", "share", "CI", "scripts", etc. Otherwise offer. These examples back up global.json and preserve existing settings. The bash script uses jq when an existing global.json must be patched; if jq is unavailable, it refuses to overwrite the file and prints the settings to merge manually. Adapt script variables to the install choice from Step 1: exact versions should use --version / -Version and rollForward: "disable"; channel installs should use channel/quality and only set allowPrerelease: true for prerelease SDKs. If global.json already pins sdk.version and the user mainly needs team scripts, reuse that version in the scripts and update global.json first; do not start a long SDK download just to discover the version. When the user asks for both setup and scripts, create the scripts/config before any long install so the reproducible setup exists even if download or workload installation is slow.

install-dotnet.sh:

bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
INSTALL_DIR=".dotnet"
CHANNEL="11.0"
QUALITY="preview"
VERSION=""
ROLL_FORWARD="latestFeature"
ALLOW_PRERELEASE="true"
WORKLOADS=("${@}")
ERROR_MESSAGE="Required .NET SDK not found. Run ./install-dotnet.sh (or .ps1) to install it locally."
INSTALL_SCRIPT="$(mktemp "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/dotnet-install.XXXXXX")"
GLOBAL_JSON_TMP=""
cleanup() {
    rm -f "$INSTALL_SCRIPT"
    [ -n "$GLOBAL_JSON_TMP" ] && rm -f "$GLOBAL_JSON_TMP"
}
trap cleanup EXIT
curl -fsSL https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.sh -o "$INSTALL_SCRIPT"
INSTALL_ARGS=(--install-dir "$INSTALL_DIR")
if [ -n "$VERSION" ]; then
    INSTALL_ARGS+=(--version "$VERSION")
    ROLL_FORWARD="disable"
else
    INSTALL_ARGS+=(--channel "$CHANNEL" --quality "$QUALITY")
fi
bash "$INSTALL_SCRIPT" "${INSTALL_ARGS[@]}"
SDK_VERSION=$("$INSTALL_DIR/dotnet" --version)
write_global_json() {
    if [ -f global.json ]; then
        cp global.json global.json.bak
        if ! command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
            echo "global.json exists; install succeeded, but this script will not overwrite it without jq." >&2
            echo "Merge these sdk settings manually so existing global.json properties are preserved:" >&2
            cat >&2 <<EOF
{
  "sdk": {
    "version": "$SDK_VERSION",
    "allowPrerelease": $ALLOW_PRERELEASE,
    "rollForward": "$ROLL_FORWARD",
    "paths": [".dotnet", "\$host\$"],
    "errorMessage": "$ERROR_MESSAGE"
  }
}
EOF
            exit 1
        fi
        GLOBAL_JSON_TMP="$(mktemp "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/global-json.XXXXXX")"
        jq --arg version "$SDK_VERSION" --arg rollForward "$ROLL_FORWARD" --argjson allowPrerelease "$ALLOW_PRERELEASE" --arg errorMessage "$ERROR_MESSAGE" '
          .sdk = ((.sdk // {}) + {
            version: $version,
            allowPrerelease: $allowPrerelease,
            rollForward: $rollForward,
            paths: [".dotnet", "$host$"],
            errorMessage: $errorMessage
          })
        ' global.json > "$GLOBAL_JSON_TMP"
        mv "$GLOBAL_JSON_TMP" global.json
        GLOBAL_JSON_TMP=""
    else
        cat > global.json <<EOF
{
  "sdk": {
    "version": "$SDK_VERSION",
    "allowPrerelease": $ALLOW_PRERELEASE,
    "rollForward": "$ROLL_FORWARD",
    "paths": [".dotnet", "\$host\$"],
    "errorMessage": "$ERROR_MESSAGE"
  }
}
EOF
    fi
}
write_global_json
grep -qxF '.dotnet/' .gitignore 2>/dev/null || printf '\n.dotnet/\n' >> .gitignore
[ ${#WORKLOADS[@]} -gt 0 ] && "$INSTALL_DIR/dotnet" workload install "${WORKLOADS[@]}"
echo "Done. SDK: $SDK_VERSION"
bash
chmod +x install-dotnet.sh

install-dotnet.ps1:

powershell
param([string[]]$Workloads = @())
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$installDir = '.dotnet'; $channel = '11.0'; $quality = 'preview'
$version = ''; $rollForward = 'latestFeature'; $allowPrerelease = $true
$errorMessage = 'Required .NET SDK not found. Run ./install-dotnet.sh (or .ps1) to install it locally.'
$installScript = Join-Path $env:TEMP "dotnet-install-$([guid]::NewGuid()).ps1"
try {
    Invoke-WebRequest -Uri 'https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.ps1' -OutFile $installScript
    $installArgs = @('-InstallDir', $installDir)
    if ($version) {
        $installArgs += @('-Version', $version)
        $rollForward = 'disable'
    } else {
        $installArgs += @('-Channel', $channel, '-Quality', $quality)
    }
    & $installScript @installArgs
}
finally {
    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $installScript) {
        Remove-Item -LiteralPath $installScript -Force
    }
}
$sdkVersion = & "$installDir\dotnet.exe" --version
$globalJson = if (Test-Path 'global.json') {
    Copy-Item 'global.json' 'global.json.bak'
    Get-Content -Path 'global.json' -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json
} else {
    [pscustomobject]@{}
}
if (-not $globalJson.PSObject.Properties['sdk']) {
    $globalJson | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name 'sdk' -Value ([pscustomobject]@{})
}
$updates = [ordered]@{
    version = $sdkVersion
    allowPrerelease = $allowPrerelease
    rollForward = $rollForward
    paths = @('.dotnet', '$host$')
    errorMessage = $errorMessage
}
foreach ($entry in $updates.GetEnumerator()) {
    $property = $globalJson.sdk.PSObject.Properties[$entry.Key]
    if ($property) {
        $property.Value = $entry.Value
    } else {
        $globalJson.sdk | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name $entry.Key -Value $entry.Value
    }
}
$globalJson | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10 | Set-Content -Path 'global.json' -Encoding UTF8
if (-not (Test-Path .gitignore) -or -not (Select-String -Path .gitignore -Pattern '^\.dotnet/$' -Quiet)) {
    Add-Content -Path .gitignore -Value '.dotnet/'
}
if ($Workloads.Count -gt 0) { & "$installDir\dotnet.exe" workload install @Workloads }
Write-Host "Done. SDK: $sdkVersion"

Commit these scripts to the repo so teammates can run them.

Step 11 — Verify SDK resolution
bash
dotnet --version

Output should match the locally installed version. If not, check: global.json location, paths array contents, host dotnet version ≥ 10.

Step 12 — Summarize and explain cleanup

Tell the user: SDK installed, global.json configured, .dotnet/ gitignored, system install untouched. Cleanup: delete .dotnet/, remove paths/errorMessage from global.json, optionally delete install scripts. Include the final global.json sdk values (or a short snippet) so the user can see the configured version, paths, and any errorMessage. If workloads were requested, include the local dotnet workload install ... command used and the workload verification result or the exact blocker if the workload could not be installed.

Common pitfalls

PitfallCauseFix
paths ignoredHost dotnet < v10Install .NET 10+ system-wide
Wrong SDK resolvesglobal.json in parent directoryCheck for global.json up the tree
Teammates get "SDK not found".dotnet/ gitignored, no install script runUse errorMessage in global.json
Workloads missingUsed system dotnet instead of localUse ./.dotnet/dotnet workload install
dotnet app.dll wrong runtimepaths is SDK-only, not apphostUse dotnet run or set DOTNET_ROOT

© dotnet, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in plugins/dotnet/skills/setup-local-sdk of dotnet/skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 8d670fa

Used in 1 other repository

We found 2 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in dotnet/skills, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Setup Local SDK next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Setup Local SDK compared with similar skills
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Setup Local SDK this skilldotnet/skills5.6k1 repos~3.7kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT
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.NET MAUI Dependency Flow Guidedotnet/maui23k—~10kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
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Maui AI DebuggingRedth/Maui.Gtk101—~4.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Maui Hot Reload Diagnosticsdavidortinau/maui-skills174—~1.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Works with

Categories

Questions about Setup Local SDK

What does Setup Local SDK do?

Install a .NET SDK locally for safe preview testing, specific-version pinning, or reproducible team setups — without modifying the system-wide installation. Setup Local SDK is an agent skill from dotnet/skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization.NET SDK locally for safe preview testing, specific-version pinning, or reproducible team setups — without modifying the system-wide installation.

When should I use Setup Local SDK?

Setup Local SDK fits situations like: : trying .NET previews safely; testing specific SDK versions; installing MAUI; other workloads on a preview.

How do I install Setup Local SDK in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill setup-local-sdk -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/dotnet/skills/setup-local-sdk in dotnet/skills) into .claude/skills/setup-local-sdk in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Setup Local SDK in Codex?

Run `npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill setup-local-sdk -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/dotnet/skills/setup-local-sdk in dotnet/skills) into .agents/skills/setup-local-sdk in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Setup Local SDK in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill setup-local-sdk -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/setup-local-sdk, .gemini/skills/setup-local-sdk, .github/skills/setup-local-sdk and .opencode/skills/setup-local-sdk in your project.

What does Setup Local SDK need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Setup Local SDK needs the command-line tools its instructions call (dotnet, curl, bash and jq).

Does Setup Local SDK access the network?

SKILL.md names 2 domains. In commands or code: dot.net; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. As links in the text: github.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Setup Local SDK safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found notes only (runs commands with sudo), nothing it rates as a warning. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Setup Local SDK use?

Setup Local SDK is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Setup Local SDK use?

About 3.7k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 15k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Setup Local SDK?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Setup Local SDK: Winui (managedcode/dotnet-skills, 486 stars), .NET MAUI Dependency Flow Guide (dotnet/maui, 23k stars), Run Maui App (tig/winprint, 101 stars) and Maui AI Debugging (Redth/Maui.Gtk, 101 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Setup Local SDK?

dotnet (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in dotnet/skills, which has 5,568 GitHub stars. The repository holds 91 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.

Source: dotnet/skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.