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How does packages.config differ from PackageReference, and which is used in Framework versus modern .NET projects? Can .NET Framework and modern .NET applications be run side by side on the same machine, and how does that work? How does language version support differ between .NET Framework and modern .NET, specifically regarding C# language features? What major APIs or features exist in .NET Framework but are unavailable or different in modern .NET? What is the release cadence and Long-Term Support (LTS) model for modern .NET, and how does it differ from Framework's release history? How does the CLR implementation differ between .NET Framework and modern .NET (CoreCLR)? What migration strategies exist for gradually moving a large .NET Framework application to modern .NET rather than a big-bang rewrite?
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What tools does Microsoft provide to help analyze and migrate a .NET Framework project to modern .NET?

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Answer

.NET Upgrade Assistant is a CLI/VS Code tool that automates much of the migration process (updating TFMs, converting packages.config to PackageReference, flagging incompatible APIs). The .NET Portability Analyzer and try-convert tool help assess API compatibility before committing to a migration, identifying which APIs used in the codebase have no direct modern .NET equivalent.
dotnet tool install -g upgrade-assistant
upgrade-assistant upgrade MyLegacyApp.sln
Real-world example Before committing engineering time to a migration, a team runs the .NET Upgrade Assistant in analyze-only mode against their Framework 4.8 solution to get a report estimating migration effort and flagging blocking incompatible APIs.

Common follow-ups: What percentage of typical migrations does Upgrade Assistant fully automate?;How do you handle third-party dependencies with no modern .NET version?

CI/CD Publishing & Deployment;Assemblies & NuGet
All 16 .NET vs .NET Framework questions