Weekly .NET Roundup: .NET 10 RC1, IDE Agent Tools, and Data Access

by TechHub

This section highlights new milestone releases and tooling updates from Microsoft. With .NET 10 approaching general release, developers are encouraged to start testing, while Visual Studio and VS Code both see new AI and automation features. Guides offer practical advice for modern development and migration.

.NET 10 Release Candidate 1 and Ecosystem Updates

.NET 10 RC1 is available for production testing. Previous updates focused on CLI improvements, multi-platform workflows, and new language features—now, RC1 can be tried with Visual Studio 2026 Insiders and VS Code’s C# Dev Kit. Updates include new quantum-safe cryptography APIs, faster UTF-8 hex-string conversions, and new tensor types for numerical computation. Runtime, SDK, and languages (C#, F#, VB) have refinements for increased stability. ASP.NET Core features new Blazor component state persistence, expanded identity support, improved Minimal API validation, and better OpenAPI docs. Blazor continues UX and platform improvements, while .NET MAUI offers debugging, new UI events, enhanced refresh controls, and early CoreCLR support on Android. Windows Forms now has dark mode, improved themes, async capabilities, and easier renderer management. Entity Framework Core adds vector search in SQL Server, native JSON types, enhanced Cosmos DB support, and better complex type handling. Developers are encouraged to validate their applications on RC1, check for breaking changes, join standups, and plan migrations. The .NET Unboxed event shares rollout details and technical Q&A.

Visual Studio 2026 Insiders and VS Code v1.104 Feature Enhancements

Visual Studio 2026 Insiders is a new early-access program for monthly IDE updates and direct community feedback. AI integration improves code completion, automated testing, and review—embeddeding GitHub Copilot Free for all users. Enhanced solution management, Profiler Agent, and faster performance are available for x64/Arm64. UI updates include new Fluent designs, themes, and user onboarding, shaped by user contributions. VS Code v1.104 features Agent Mode for workspace automation—allowing developers to offload routine tasks and focus on coding. Additional updates include improved APIs for plugins, automated terminal approval, and new TODO management. Git Worktree support simplifies multi-branch reviews and development, enhancing last week’s prompt automation for collaboration.

.NET Tooling, Packaging, and Servicing Releases

A new guide shows how .NET 10 enables expanded packaging for multi-targeted, reusable tools—developers can create NuGet packages for self-contained, trimmed, or ahead-of-time compiled tool distributions. The article includes deployment and configuration samples and recommends thorough testing ahead of general release. Routine servicing for .NET 8 and .NET 9 in September 2025 brings bug fixes and reliability updates for ASP.NET Core, the SDK, and .NET Framework across all platforms. Developers should consult changelogs and apply fixes to maintain platform stability.

Data Access Strategies: Dapper vs Entity Framework Core

The .NET Data Community Standup compared Dapper and Entity Framework Core. Presenters shared concrete lessons—Dapper’s speed and simplicity versus EF Core’s feature set and maintainability. The session covered use cases, performance tips, pitfalls, and factors for teams deciding between direct SQL mapping and a higher-level ORM.