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.NET & C# Development · Lesson 13 of 229

Setting Up Your Machine for .NET — Windows, macOS & Linux

A consistent dev environment prevents "works on my machine" before you write business logic. This guide targets ASP.NET Core work on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Related: C# basics · OrderFlow scaffold · Course: Module 0

1. Install the .NET SDK

Download from https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download. Install the latest LTS or current SDK your team standardizes on (e.g. .NET 8 LTS for production, .NET 9/10 for learning new features).

Bash
dotnet --version
dotnet --list-sdks

You need the SDK, not just the runtime, to build and run dotnet new, tests, and publish.

Multiple SDK versions

Side-by-side SDKs are normal. Pin a repo with global.json:

JSON
{
  "sdk": {
    "version": "8.0.404",
    "rollForward": "latestFeature"
  }
}

2. Choose an IDE

| Tool | Best for | |------|----------| | Visual Studio 2022 (Windows) | Full-stack .NET, debugging, profiling, Azure tooling | | VS Code + C# Dev Kit | Cross-platform, lightweight, Docker/Git integrated | | Rider | Cross-platform, strong refactoring (paid) |

Minimum VS Code extensions:

  • C# Dev Kit (or C# extension)
  • REST Client or Thunder Client (API testing)
  • Docker (optional)
  • GitLens (optional)

3. Git and SSH

Bash
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@company.com"
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@company.com"

Use SSH remotes with GitHub/Azure DevOps. Enable branch protection and PR reviews on team repos.

4. Docker (recommended for APIs)

Containers give you local Postgres, Redis, and Seq matching production.

  • Windows: Docker Desktop (WSL2 backend)
  • macOS: Docker Desktop
  • Linux: Docker Engine + Compose plugin
Bash
docker --version
docker compose version

Verify with a hello container:

Bash
docker run --rm hello-world

You'll use Docker heavily in production deployment.

5. Database tools

Pick one:

  • Azure Data Studio / SSMS for SQL Server
  • pgAdmin or DBeaver for PostgreSQL
  • TablePlus (cross-platform)

Match what OrderFlow (or your app) uses in appsettings.Development.json.

6. Secrets — never commit credentials

Local development:

Bash
cd src/OrderFlow.Api
dotnet user-secrets init
dotnet user-secrets set "ConnectionStrings:Default" "Server=localhost;..."
dotnet user-secrets set "Jwt:SigningKey" "dev-only-key-min-32-chars-long!!"

Production: environment variables, Azure Key Vault, or your host's secret store — see configuration guide.

7. Optional but high-value tools

| Tool | Purpose | |------|---------| | httpie or Postman | Manual API calls | | nfes / nvm | Node only if you run a React front-end | | az CLI | Azure deployments | | gh CLI | GitHub PRs and Actions logs |

8. First project smoke test

Bash
dotnet new webapi -n DevSetupSmokeTest --use-controllers false
cd DevSetupSmokeTest
dotnet run

Browse to the HTTPS URL shown in the console. If Swagger/OpenAPI loads, your SDK and IDE debugger are wired.

Platform notes

Windows

  • Prefer WSL2 for Docker Linux containers.
  • Long path support can matter for deep node_modules + .NET repos.

macOS (Apple Silicon)

  • Install ARM64 .NET builds natively; Rosetta only if you depend on x64-only tools.

Linux

  • Install SDK via package feed or dotnet-install.sh.
  • For VS Code, install .NET dependencies documented for your distro.

Checklist before joining a team codebase

  • [ ] dotnet test passes on main
  • [ ] User secrets or .env documented in README (not committed)
  • [ ] Docker Compose brings up DB + cache
  • [ ] IDE launches with correct launch profile
  • [ ] HTTPS dev certificate trusted (dotnet dev-certs https --trust)

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