Dotnet Upgrade Skill for Claude Code: Plan and Run .NET Upgrades

A set of 33 prompts that walk your agent through analyzing and carrying out a .NET framework upgrade.

Installs: 11.6K; on skills.sh
Stars: 40.7K; on GitHub
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

dotnet-upgrade is a list of 33 named prompts in 11 groups, covering the whole path of a .NET upgrade. Groups include project discovery, upgrade order, target framework choice, NuGet packages, CI/CD pipelines, testing, breaking changes, branching and pull requests, documentation, tools and final validation.

It has no commands of its own, only prompts. Several prompts point your agent at tools such as .NET Upgrade Assistant, dotnet list package --outdated, dotnet migrate and a graph.json dependency view. Some prompts ask the agent to change things, like updating the target framework or CI definitions, so run it on a branch.

Good for

Teams moving a solution from .NET Framework or older .NET to a newer target such as net8.0
Developers who want a checklist-style plan before touching .csproj files
Leads planning pull requests, CI changes and release notes for an upgrade

Install dotnet-upgrade

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the dotnet-upgrade skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot --skill dotnet-upgrade

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js.

From its listing on skills.sh. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Ready-to-use prompts for comprehensive .NET framework upgrade analysis and execution

Key facts

Author: GitHub (github/awesome-copilot, a community collection)
Repo: github/awesome-copilot, folder skills/dotnet-upgrade
Installs on skills.sh: 11,562 as of 2026-11-02
GitHub stars: 40,666 for the whole github/awesome-copilot repo, 2026-11-02
License: MIT
Last repo commit: 2026-10-30
What is inside: 1 file: SKILL.md
Source: The awesome-copilot README calls the repo a community-created collection and says its contents come from third-party developers

What it includes

Classifies projects, reviews dependencies and finds packages.config projects.
Three prompts: Project Classification Analysis, Dependency Compatibility Review and Legacy Package Detection.
Files · Project Discovery & Assessment
Orders projects and plans an incremental upgrade with rollback points.
Project Upgrade Ordering, Incremental Strategy Planning and Progress Tracking Setup.
Read · Upgrade Strategy & Sequencing
Picks target frameworks and finds code to modernize.
Target Framework Selection, Code Modernization Analysis and Async Pattern Conversion.
Write · Framework Targeting & Code Adjustments
Checks package compatibility and version conflicts.
Package Compatibility Analysis, Shared Dependency Strategy and Transitive Dependency Review.
Runs code · NuGet & Dependency Management
Reviews YAML pipelines and SDK pinning.
Pipeline Configuration Analysis, Build Pipeline Modernization and CI Automation Enhancement.
Write · CI/CD & Build Pipeline Updates
Proposes build, integration and deployment-readiness checks.
Build Validation Strategy, Service Integration Verification and Deployment Readiness Check.
Read · Testing & Validation
Finds removed APIs and plans replacements.
API Deprecation Detection, API Replacement Strategy and Regression Testing Focus.
Read · Breaking Change Analysis
Plans branches, commit templates and pull request structure.
Branching Strategy Planning, PR Structure Optimization and Code Review Guidelines.
Read · Version Control & Commit Strategy
Drafts release notes and progress trackers.
Upgrade Documentation Strategy, Stakeholder Communication and Progress Tracking Systems.
Write · Documentation & Communication
Says when to use Upgrade Assistant and dotnet commands, and generates analysis scripts.
Upgrade Tool Selection, Analysis Script Generation and Multi-Repository Validation.
Runs code · Tools & Automation
Confirms the upgraded solution passes checks and writes the release note.
Final Solution Validation, Deployment Readiness Confirmation and Release Documentation.
Write · Final Validation & Delivery

From the official docs

Questions

What does the dotnet-upgrade skill do?

It gives your agent 33 ready-made prompts in 11 groups for analyzing and carrying out a .NET framework upgrade, from project discovery through release notes.

How do I install it?

Use the install box at the top of this page. The awesome-copilot README documents plugin installs for Copilot CLI, not a command for this single skill. The csharp-dotnet-development plugin manifest lists dotnet-upgrade among 9 skills and 1 agent, so a Copilot CLI plugin install brings the others too.

Which .NET versions does it cover?

SKILL.md gives net8.0 and .NET 8 as its examples, and names .NET Framework, .NET Core and .NET Standard as the starting points it classifies. It does not set a fixed list of versions.

Will it change my projects?

Some prompts ask the agent to update target frameworks, build definitions and code. Work on a branch, as one of its own prompts also advises, and review each change.

Is it safe to use?

The folder holds one SKILL.md and no scripts. The prompts mention tools like .NET Upgrade Assistant and dotnet list package --outdated, and ask for scripts and edits, so approve commands one at a time and keep the work in version control.

Does it need an API key?

SKILL.md names no API key.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: github/awesome-copilot
Folder: skills/dotnet-upgrade

github/awesome-copilot skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 2

https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/blob/HEAD/skills/dotnet-upgrade/SKILL.md · github.com
csharp-dotnet-development plugin.json · github.com