.NET Workload Info Discovery

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

Inputs

Parameter	Required	Example	Notes
dotnetVersion	yes	9.0, 10.0	Major.minor format
prerelease	no	true/false	Default false
workload	no	ios, android, maui	Alias or full id

Workload Aliases

Alias	Full ID
ios	microsoft.net.sdk.ios
android	microsoft.net.sdk.android
maccatalyst	microsoft.net.sdk.maccatalyst
macos	microsoft.net.sdk.macos
tvos	microsoft.net.sdk.tvos
maui	microsoft.net.sdk.maui

Discovery Process

Step 1: Get Latest SDK Version

bash

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:

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

Step 2: Find Workload Set Package

bash

curl -s "https://azuresearch-usnc.nuget.org/query?q=Microsoft.NET.Workloads.{MAJOR}.0&prerelease=false&semVerLevel=2.0.0"

Filter: Match Microsoft.NET.Workloads.{major}.{band}, exclude .Msi.*, pick highest version.

Version conversion: NuGet 10.102.0 → CLI 10.0.102 (swap middle segments)

Step 3: Download Workload Set Manifest

bash

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)

bash

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):

json

{
  "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"
  }
}

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

json

{
  "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:

bash

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'

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

To use newer version than workload:

xml

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

Output Format

json

{
  "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.