Here’s Why You Might Not See .NET 8 Preview in Visual Studio 2022

Photo by Florian Olivo on Unsplash

So, you’ve heard the buzz, right? .NET 8 preview is out, and it’s pretty cool. If you haven’t grabbed it yet, you can do so right here. But wait… after that exciting download and install, you boot up Visual Studio 2022, and… where’s the .NET 8 preview?

The Mystery of the Missing .NET 8 Preview

First off, a quick heads-up: Only Visual Studio 2022 works at the time of this article with .NET 8. So, if you’re on an older version, it’s time for an upgrade.

Now, if you’ve got Visual Studio 2022 and you’re still not seeing the .NET 8 preview, it’s likely because of one of this:

1. You’re a Tad Behind on Updates: If you’re not rocking the latest preview version of Visual Studio 2022 (that’s 17.7 for those keeping score), then .NET 8 might be playing hide and seek. But good news! If you’re on version 17.6, there’s a trick to bring it out of hiding. Go to Tools > Manage Preview > Preview Features > Use previews of the .NET SDK, and you’ll be able to enable preview features.

With this step under your belt, you’re all set to dive into the awesomeness of .NET 8. Happy coding!

P.S. Got thoughts or questions about the .NET ecosystem or the quirks of preview versions? Drop them in the comments below. Let’s chat!