Keeping your dependencies up to date is critical for security, performance, and maintainability in any .NET application. But blindly updating all your packages can lead to breaking changes and hours of frustration. In this blog post, we’ll walk through a practical and safe approach to updating dependencies in a .NET project.
Why Update Dependencies?
Before we dive into the how, let’s quickly talk about the why:
- Security fixes: Vulnerabilities in outdated packages can leave your application open to attack.
- Bug fixes: Many minor updates include stability and performance improvements.
- New features: Updated packages often introduce better APIs and capabilities.
- Compatibility: Updating helps ensure you’re not stuck on deprecated or unsupported versions.
Tools You’ll Need
You’ll primarily use these tools for managing updates:
dotnetCLI (built-in)- NuGet Package Manager (Visual Studio)
Step-by-Step: Updating Dependencies Manually
Review Your Current Dependencies
You can see all current packages with:
dotnet list package
To view only outdated packages:
dotnet list package --outdated
This will show you:
- Current version
- Latest version
- Whether the update is major, minor, or patch
Update One Package at a Time
Start with low-risk (patch) updates first. You can update a specific package with:
dotnet add package <PackageName> --version <TargetVersion>
For example:
dotnet add package Newtonsoft.Json --version 13.0.3
If you’re in Visual Studio, the process is quite simple. Simply right-click the project > Manage NuGet Packages > Updates tab.
Test Thoroughly
After updating a package:
- Rebuild your project
- Run all unit/integration tests
- Test affected functionality manually if needed
This is critical especially for major updates which might introduce breaking changes.
Rinse, Repeat
Move on to the next package, or group related packages (e.g., Microsoft.AspNetCore.*) when updating.
If you’re feeling confident or have solid test coverage, you can update all at once:
dotnet outdated --upgrade
(Requires dotnet-outdated tool)
Commit in Chunks
Avoid bundling 20 updates in a single commit. Instead, commit by group or criticality. This makes it easier to troubleshoot if something breaks.
Avoiding Headaches
Check release notes: Look for breaking changes or migration steps.
Follow semantic versioning (SemVer): Understand what major, minor, and patch versions imply.
Use version ranges carefully: Avoid floating versions (`*`) in production.
Keep test coverage high: Your test suite is your safety net.
Automate with Caution
Tools like Dependabot can create PRs for updated dependencies automatically. These are great, but:
- Configure them to ignore major versions unless explicitly allowed.
- Always test before merging.
What About SDK and Framework Updates?
Update your target framework in the .csproj:
<TargetFramework>net8</TargetFramework>
And finally, update NuGet packages to be compatible with the new target framework.
Wrapping Up
Keeping dependencies up to date isn’t glamorous, but it’s vital. The key is to:
Stay proactive
Use the right tools
Update incrementally
Test thoroughly
With a bit of discipline, you’ll avoid the tech debt trap and keep your .NET project healthy and secure.