Microsoft has unveiled the latest update to .NET Aspire, version 8.2, bringing new features that enhance the onboarding experience and improve testing capabilities. This new version, announced on August 29, focuses on streamlining integrations with cloud services and improving the testing infrastructure, making it easier for developers to build distributed applications on Microsoft’s cloud stack.
One of the key updates in .NET Aspire 8.2 is the introduction of “Integrations.” These are packages designed to simplify the process of setting up, starting, and connecting to various cloud services. Developers can now use Integrations in two ways: as a hosting package added to an AppHost project to spin up resources, or as a package within the app code itself to connect to resources in an AppHost. These integrations help reduce setup complexity and establish useful defaults, making it easier for developers to work with prominent cloud platforms.
In addition to simplifying cloud service setup, .NET Aspire 8.2 also strengthens Microsoft’s test suites, particularly in the realm of integration handling. Testing is now more tightly integrated with the Aspire framework, ensuring that developers can easily verify their cloud integrations and ensure the smooth operation of their distributed applications. This improvement will be particularly valuable for developers working with complex systems that require robust testing for cloud-based services.
The release of version 8.2 comes just weeks after .NET Aspire 8.1, which was released on July 23. Microsoft is also preparing for future improvements in .NET Aspire, with plans for the upcoming 9.0 version. One major change that’s being worked on is a way to build projects for .NET Aspire 9.0 without needing to install the .NET Aspire Workload. This update aims to improve continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) scenarios, where developers may prefer not to install the entire workload on build machines. Version 8.2 takes a step toward this goal by decoupling certain components from the workload and moving them into separate packages, making them automatically referenced by projects. This should help streamline development workflows and reduce dependencies.