How can I convert a .NET Core project to a .NET Framework project?

Question

I created a "Console App (.NET Core)" project in Visual Studio. Now I need to add a dependency that only works on .NET Framework 4.6+, not .NET Core.

Is there a way to convert my project to a full .NET Framework project?

Here's what I've tried:

I went to the project properties and attempted to change the project framework, but I don't see the option I need in the dropdown:

If I click "Install other frameworks..." I'm taken to a page that says .NET Framework versions are included in Visual Studio 2017 -- which is exactly what I'm using to edit this project. This is where I got stuck.

in the .csproj, just change <TargetFramework>netcoreapp1.1</TargetFramework> to <TargetFramework>net46</TargetFramework> or <TargetFramework>net462</TargetFramework> - job done — Marc Gravell
– Marc Gravell, Commented May 4, 2017 at 16:16
@MarcGravell Is your comment also true for .net core with MVC? I wish there was a guideline for different conversion demands. — swcraft
– swcraft, Commented Mar 31, 2020 at 15:53

Jon Skeet · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-04 16:16:51Z

40

If you're happy with it still using the new tooling, the easiest approach is probably just to edit the project file (csproj). Right-click on the project in Solution Explorer and you should have a context menu option of "Edit <yourproject>.csproj". Click on that, and just change

<TargetFramework>netcoreapp1.1</TargetFramework>

to

<TargetFramework>net46</TargetFramework>

... and I suspect you'll be good to go. (It may confuse VS for a little while as it restores appropriate packages etc.)

answered May 4, 2017 at 16:16

Jon Skeet

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8 Comments

Steve Trout Over a year ago

Thanks! I ran into this when adding my first dependency, so luckily VS had nothing to get confused about.

rfcdejong Over a year ago

Worked here trying to connect to a ws-trust wcf service throws PlatformNotSupported exception, so back to .NET Framework platform works fine.. After configuring I had to add many and many NuGet packages tho

mslissap Over a year ago

Is there any way to do this from netcoreapp2.2 to net48? I changed the project file but get an error that package Microsoft.AspNetCore.All 2.2.6 is not compatible with net48.

Jon Skeet Over a year ago

@mslissap: I believe you'll need to stop using that metapackage, and use the specific packages instead. See learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/migration/… which gives some instructions that might help you.

Jon Skeet Over a year ago

@Shemiroth: I don't know if ClickOnce supports .NET Core at all. stackoverflow.com/questions/56390876/… suggests probably not.

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