.NET Workload Info Discovery

Query live NuGet APIs to discover authoritative .NET SDK versions, workload sets, and dependency requirements.

Inputs

Workload Aliases

Discovery Process

Step 1: Get Latest SDK Version

curl -s "https://dotnetcli.blob.core.windows.net/dotnet/release-metadata/releases-index.json" | \
  jq '.["releases-index"][] | select(.["channel-version"]=="{MAJOR}.0")'

Extract latest-sdk and derive SDK band:

• 10.0.103 → band 10.0.100 (hundreds digit)
• 10.0.205 → band 10.0.200

Step 2: Find Workload Set Package / Version

Use the dotnet workload search version command to discover the latest workload set version (requires .NET SDK 9.0.200+ with workload sets support):

dotnet workload search version
# Returns: workload set version, e.g. 10.0.103

dotnet workload search version

Note: This command requires .NET SDK 9.0.200 or later. If unavailable, use the NuGet API instead: https://api.nuget.org/v3/registration5-gz-semver2/microsoft.net.workloads.10.0.100/index.json

The returned workloadVersion is the CLI version to use with --version flag.

Version conversion: To convert this to the NuGet package version (needed for Steps 3-4):

CLI 10.0.103 → NuGet 10.103.0 (remove middle .0., combine) Do not use the CLI version as the NuGet package version in flat-container URLs. The NuGet package is Microsoft.NET.Workloads.{band} where {band} is the SDK band derived from the CLI version (for example, CLI 10.0.103 → package Microsoft.NET.Workloads.10.0.100, NuGet version 10.103.0).

Step 3: Download Workload Set Manifest

curl -o workloadset.nupkg "https://api.nuget.org/v3-flatcontainer/microsoft.net.workloads.{band}/{version}/microsoft.net.workloads.{band}.{version}.nupkg"
unzip -p workloadset.nupkg data/microsoft.net.workloads.workloadset.json

Format: "{workload_id}": "{manifestVersion}/{sdkBand}"

Step 4: Download Workload Manifest

Build package id: {WorkloadId}.Manifest-{sdkBand} (e.g., Microsoft.NET.Sdk.iOS.Manifest-10.0.100) Use the same SDK band discovered in Step 1 or extracted from the workload set entry. Do not hardcode 10.0.100 when the current SDK band is 10.0.200, 10.0.300, or another band.

curl -o manifest.nupkg "https://api.nuget.org/v3-flatcontainer/{packageid}/{version}/{packageid}.{version}.nupkg"
unzip -p manifest.nupkg data/WorkloadDependencies.json

Step 5: Parse Dependencies

Android (microsoft.net.sdk.android):

{
  "jdk": { "version": "[17.0,22.0)", "recommendedVersion": "17.0.14" },
  "androidsdk": {
    "packages": ["build-tools;35.0.0", "platform-tools", "platforms;android-35"],
    "apiLevel": "35", "buildToolsVersion": "35.0.0"
  }
}

After extracting androidsdk.packages, show how to install them in CI:

sdkmanager --install "platform-tools" "platforms;android-35" "build-tools;35.0.0"

Use the exact package IDs from WorkloadDependencies.json; do not copy the sample API level or build-tools version blindly.

When the user asks for CI-ready Android SDK package discovery, include this minimum flow in the answer:

1. Download Microsoft.NET.Workloads.{sdkBand} and read data/microsoft.net.workloads.workloadset.json (workloadset.json).
2. Read the microsoft.net.sdk.android entry to get {manifestVersion}/{manifestSdkBand}.
3. Download Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Android.Manifest-{manifestSdkBand} at that manifest version and read data/WorkloadDependencies.json.
4. Extract androidsdk.packages, including platform-tools, platforms;android-*, build-tools;*, and cmdline-tools;*. Filter by "optional": "false" when the manifest marks packages optional.
5. Feed the extracted package IDs to sdkmanager --install.

iOS/macOS (microsoft.net.sdk.ios):

{
  "xcode": { "version": "[26.2,)", "recommendedVersion": "26.2" },
  "sdk": { "version": "26.2" }
}

Version ranges: [17.0,22.0) = >=17.0 AND <22.0; [26.2,) = >=26.2

MAUI NuGet Packages

MAUI packages may be newer than workload versions. Query for latest:

curl -s "https://azuresearch-usnc.nuget.org/query?q=packageid:Microsoft.Maui.Controls&prerelease=false" | \
  jq '.data[0].versions | map(select(.version | startswith("{MAJOR}."))) | last'

When the user asks for the NuGet search API or an exact package ID filter, use https://azuresearch-usnc.nuget.org/query?q=packageid:<PackageId> and show the packageid: filter. Do not answer with only the flat-container or registration endpoints; those are useful follow-up APIs but they are not the search API.

Key packages: Microsoft.Maui.Controls, Microsoft.Maui.Essentials, Microsoft.Maui.Graphics

To use newer version than workload:

<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Maui.Controls" Version="10.0.30" />

Output Format

{
  "dotnetVersion": "10.0",
  "latestSdk": "10.0.102",
  "sdkBand": "10.0.100",
  "workloadSet": { "packageId": "...", "nugetVersion": "10.102.0", "cliVersion": "10.0.102" },
  "workloads": [{
    "workloadId": "microsoft.net.sdk.ios",
    "manifestVersion": "26.2.10191",
    "sdkBand": "10.0.100",
    "dependencies": { "xcode": { "versionRange": "[26.2,)", "recommendedVersion": "26.2" } }
  }],
  "mauiNugets": [{ "packageId": "Microsoft.Maui.Controls", "latestVersion": "10.0.30" }]
}

Error Handling

• No results → retry with prerelease=true
• Missing WorkloadDependencies.json → report explicitly
• Missing dependency key → note which keys absent

Best Practices

• ALWAYS fetch live data; never hardcode versions
• ALWAYS include sdkBand with manifest versions
• Show exact URLs used for transparency

Reference

See references/workload-discovery-process.md for detailed NuGet API documentation and complete examples.