actions/setup-dotnet: Install the .NET SDK in CI

setup-dotnet installs the .NET SDK version(s) your project needs.

Pin one or several SDK versions, or read global.json. Optionally configure a NuGet source for restoring or publishing packages.

Key inputs (with:)

dotnet-version: one or more SDK versions, e.g. 8.0.x.
global-json-file: read the SDK version from global.json.
source-url: a NuGet feed to authenticate against.
cache: enable NuGet package caching.

Example workflow

.github/workflows/ci.yml

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
        with:
          dotnet-version: 8.0.x
      - run: dotnet restore
      - run: dotnet test

On any runner

setup-dotnet runs on any runner. Latchkey managed runners run it unchanged.

Key takeaways

You can install multiple SDK versions at once.
global-json-file keeps CI pinned to your repo SDK.
source-url plus a token enables NuGet publishing.

Related guides

actions/checkout: Inputs & Workflow UsageReference for actions/checkout: clone your repository into the runner, control fetch-depth, submodules, refs,… actions/cache: Save & Restore Build CachesReference for actions/cache: cache dependencies and build outputs across runs using key and restore-keys, wit… codecov/codecov-action: Upload Coverage ReportsReference for codecov/codecov-action: upload test coverage reports to Codecov with a token, flags, and file p…