Knowing the version of the .NET SDK installed on your machine is essential for ensuring compatibility with your projects and for troubleshooting issues. The .NET Command Line Interface (CLI) provides a simple command to check the installed version of the .NET SDK. This guide will walk you through the steps to view the version of the .NET SDK using the CLI.

How to Check the .NET SDK Version

To view the version of the .NET SDK installed on your machine, you can use the following command:

dotnet --version

This command will display the version number of the .NET SDK currently in use. It is a quick and straightforward way to check the installed version.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Open Your Command Line Interface

Open your terminal (macOS/Linux) or command prompt (Windows).

Step 2: Run the Version Command

Type the following command and press Enter:

dotnet --version

After executing this command, you should see output similar to the following:

5.0.400

In this example, 5.0.400 indicates that version 5.0.400 of the .NET SDK is installed on the machine.

Viewing All Installed SDKs

If you want to see all versions of the .NET SDK installed on your machine, you can use the following command:

dotnet --list-sdks

This command will display a list of all installed SDK versions along with their installation paths. The output will look something like this:

5.0.400 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk]
3.1.100 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk]

In this example, both version 5.0.400 and version 3.1.100 of the .NET SDK are installed on the machine.

Conclusion

Checking the version of the .NET SDK installed on your machine using the CLI is a simple yet important task for any .NET developer. By using the dotnet --version command, you can quickly determine the current SDK version, while the dotnet --list-sdks command allows you to view all installed SDK versions. Keeping track of your SDK versions is essential for ensuring compatibility with your projects and for effective development practices.