Installation Guide

🎯 What You'll Learn

• How to install .NET SDK
• How to install CurlDotNet
• How to verify your installation
• Platform-specific setup instructions

📚 Prerequisites

• A computer running Windows, macOS, or Linux
• Internet connection
• 10-15 minutes

🚀 Quick Start

If you already have .NET installed, getting CurlDotNet is just one command:

dotnet add package CurlDotNet

That's it! Jump to Verify Installation to confirm everything works.

📦 Step-by-Step Installation

Step 1: Install .NET SDK

CurlDotNet requires .NET. Here's how to install it on your platform:

Windows

Option 1: Official Installer (Recommended)

1. Visit dotnet.microsoft.com/download
2. Download the .NET SDK (not just the runtime)
3. Run the installer
4. Click through the wizard (defaults are fine)
5. Restart your terminal/command prompt

Option 2: Windows Package Manager (winget)

winget install Microsoft.DotNet.SDK.8

Option 3: Chocolatey

choco install dotnet-sdk

macOS

Option 1: Official Installer (Recommended)

1. Visit dotnet.microsoft.com/download
2. Download the .NET SDK for macOS
3. Open the .pkg file
4. Follow the installation wizard
5. Restart your terminal

Option 2: Homebrew

brew install --cask dotnet-sdk

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

# Add Microsoft package repository
wget https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/22.04/packages-microsoft-prod.deb -O packages-microsoft-prod.deb
sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb
rm packages-microsoft-prod.deb

# Install .NET SDK
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y dotnet-sdk-8.0

Linux (Fedora/RHEL/CentOS)

# Add Microsoft package repository
sudo dnf install dotnet-sdk-8.0

Linux (Arch)

sudo pacman -S dotnet-sdk

Linux (Other Distributions)

See the official .NET installation guide for your specific distribution.

Step 2: Verify .NET Installation

Open a terminal/command prompt and run:

dotnet --version

You should see a version number like 8.0.100 or 10.0.0. If you get an error, restart your terminal or check the .NET installation troubleshooting guide.

Step 3: Create a New Project

# Create a directory for your project
mkdir MyCurlApp
cd MyCurlApp

# Create a new console application
dotnet new console

# Verify the project was created
ls

You should see:

• MyCurlApp.csproj - Project file
• Program.cs - Your code file
• obj/ directory - Build artifacts

Step 4: Install CurlDotNet Package

Now install CurlDotNet using one of these methods:

Option 1: .NET CLI (Recommended)

dotnet add package CurlDotNet

Option 2: NuGet Package Manager (Visual Studio)

1. Right-click on your project in Solution Explorer
2. Select "Manage NuGet Packages"
3. Search for "CurlDotNet"
4. Click "Install"

Option 3: Package Manager Console (Visual Studio)

Install-Package CurlDotNet

Option 4: Manual PackageReference

Edit your .csproj file and add:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="CurlDotNet" Version="1.0.0" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

Then run:

dotnet restore

Step 5: Verify CurlDotNet Installation

Create a simple test file to verify everything works:

using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using CurlDotNet;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Testing CurlDotNet installation...\n");

        try
        {
            var result = await Curl.ExecuteAsync("curl https://httpbin.org/status/200");

            if (result.IsSuccess)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("✓ CurlDotNet is working correctly!");
                Console.WriteLine($"✓ Status Code: {result.StatusCode}");
                Console.WriteLine($"✓ .NET Version: {Environment.Version}");
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine($"✗ Unexpected status: {result.StatusCode}");
            }
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"✗ Error: {ex.Message}");
        }
    }
}

Run it:

dotnet run

You should see:

Testing CurlDotNet installation...

✓ CurlDotNet is working correctly!
✓ Status Code: 200
✓ .NET Version: 8.0.0

If you see this, congratulations! CurlDotNet is installed and working.

🔧 IDE and Editor Setup

Visual Studio 2022 (Windows/Mac)

Installation:

1. Download from visualstudio.microsoft.com
2. During installation, select ".NET desktop development" workload
3. Install CurlDotNet via NuGet Package Manager

Creating a project:

1. File → New → Project
2. Select "Console App (.NET)"
3. Name your project
4. Right-click project → Manage NuGet Packages
5. Search "CurlDotNet" and install

Visual Studio Code (Cross-Platform)

Installation:

1. Download from code.visualstudio.com
2. Install the C# extension (by Microsoft)
3. Install the C# Dev Kit extension (optional but recommended)

Creating a project:

dotnet new console -n MyCurlApp
cd MyCurlApp
dotnet add package CurlDotNet
code .

Running in VS Code:

• Press F5 to debug
• Or use the terminal: dotnet run

JetBrains Rider (Cross-Platform)

Installation:

1. Download from jetbrains.com/rider
2. Install and open Rider
3. Create new solution or open existing

Adding CurlDotNet:

1. Right-click project → Manage NuGet Packages
2. Search "CurlDotNet"
3. Click Install

Command Line / Terminal Only

You don't need an IDE! You can use any text editor:

# Create project
dotnet new console
dotnet add package CurlDotNet

# Edit with your favorite editor
nano Program.cs
# or
vim Program.cs
# or
code Program.cs

# Build and run
dotnet run

🎯 Platform-Specific Notes

Windows

Supported Versions:

• Windows 10 (1607+)
• Windows 11
• Windows Server 2012 R2+

Requirements:

• .NET SDK 8.0 or later (or .NET Standard 2.0 compatible runtime)
• PowerShell 5.1+ or PowerShell Core 7+
• Windows Terminal recommended for best experience

Common Issues:

• If dotnet command not found, restart your terminal
• If SSL errors occur, ensure Windows is updated
• For Windows 7/8, use .NET Framework 4.7.2+

macOS

Supported Versions:

• macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later
• macOS 11 (Big Sur)
• macOS 12 (Monterey)
• macOS 13 (Ventura)
• macOS 14 (Sonoma)

Requirements:

• .NET SDK 8.0 or later
• Xcode Command Line Tools (install with: xcode-select --install)

Common Issues:

• If you get permission errors, check your Gatekeeper settings
• For M1/M2 Macs, use ARM64 version of .NET
• SSL certificates: use security find-certificate -a to verify system certs

Linux

Supported Distributions:

• Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, 24.04
• Debian 10, 11, 12
• Fedora 37+
• RHEL/CentOS 7, 8, 9
• Arch Linux (rolling)
• Alpine Linux 3.16+
• Many others via .NET Standard 2.0

Requirements:

• .NET SDK 8.0 or later
• OpenSSL 1.1 or 3.0
• ca-certificates package

Common Issues:

• If SSL errors occur: sudo apt-get install ca-certificates (Ubuntu/Debian)
• For permission issues: ensure user is in required groups
• Some distros need: sudo apt-get install libicu-dev

Docker / Containers

Dockerfile example:

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:8.0 AS build
WORKDIR /app

# Copy and restore
COPY *.csproj ./
RUN dotnet restore

# Copy everything and build
COPY . ./
RUN dotnet publish -c Release -o out

# Build runtime image
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/runtime:8.0
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=build /app/out .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "MyCurlApp.dll"]

Building and running:

docker build -t mycurlapp .
docker run mycurlapp

Azure Functions / App Service

Installation via portal:

1. Create Azure Function or App Service
2. Select .NET 8.0 runtime
3. Add CurlDotNet to your project dependencies

Local development:

# Install Azure Functions Core Tools
npm install -g azure-functions-core-tools@4

# Create function app
func init MyFunctionApp --dotnet
cd MyFunctionApp
dotnet add package CurlDotNet

# Create function
func new --name MyHttpTrigger --template "HTTP trigger"

# Run locally
func start

📋 Version Compatibility

.NET Target Frameworks

CurlDotNet supports these .NET versions:

Recommendation: Use .NET 8.0 (current LTS) for new projects.

CurlDotNet Versions

# Install latest version (recommended)
dotnet add package CurlDotNet

# Install specific version
dotnet add package CurlDotNet --version 1.0.0

# Update to latest
dotnet add package CurlDotNet

Version History:

• 1.0.0 - Initial stable release
• 1.0.1 - Bug fixes and improvements (upcoming)

🔍 Troubleshooting Installation

Problem: "dotnet: command not found"

On Windows:

1. Restart your command prompt/terminal
2. Check if .NET is in PATH: echo %PATH%
3. Manually add to PATH if needed: C:\Program Files\dotnet

On macOS/Linux:

1. Restart your terminal
2. Check PATH: echo $PATH
3. Add to PATH: export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/share/dotnet
4. Add to shell profile: echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/share/dotnet' >> ~/.bashrc

For more details, see the troubleshooting guide.

Problem: "Package 'CurlDotNet' not found"

Solution:

# Update NuGet sources
dotnet nuget list source

# Add NuGet.org if missing
dotnet nuget add source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json -n nuget.org

# Clear cache and retry
dotnet nuget locals all --clear
dotnet restore
dotnet add package CurlDotNet

For more details, see the troubleshooting guide.

Problem: "The target framework 'netX.X' is not supported"

Solution:

# Check your .NET version
dotnet --version

# Update your project's target framework in .csproj
# Change from:
<TargetFramework>net5.0</TargetFramework>
# To:
<TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>

# Or for maximum compatibility:
<TargetFramework>netstandard2.0</TargetFramework>

Problem: "SDK not found" or "A compatible SDK version was not found"

Solution:

1. Install .NET SDK (not just runtime)
2. Check installed SDKs: dotnet --list-sdks
3. If empty, reinstall .NET SDK from dotnet.microsoft.com

For more details, see the troubleshooting guide.

Problem: SSL/TLS Errors on First Run

On Windows:

# Update certificates
certutil -generateSSTFromWU roots.sst

On macOS:

# Update certificates
security find-certificate -a -p /System/Library/Keychains/SystemRootCertificates.keychain > /dev/null

On Linux:

# Update CA certificates
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --reinstall ca-certificates

For more details, see the troubleshooting guide.

Problem: Permission Errors

On Windows: Run terminal as Administrator

On macOS/Linux:

# Don't use sudo for dotnet commands
# Instead, fix permissions:
sudo chown -R $USER ~/.dotnet
sudo chown -R $USER ~/.nuget

🎓 Next Steps

Now that CurlDotNet is installed:

1. Try it out → Your First Request
2. Learn the basics → Tutorials
3. Explore recipes → Cookbook
4. Read API docs → API Guide

📚 Additional Resources

Official Documentation

• CurlDotNet Documentation
• .NET Documentation
• NuGet Package Page

Getting Help

• GitHub Issues - Bug reports
• GitHub Discussions - Questions
• Stack Overflow - Community help

Learning Resources

• Tutorial Series - Step-by-step learning
• Cookbook Recipes - Ready-to-use samples
• API Reference - Complete API reference

🎯 Quick Reference

# Install .NET SDK
# Visit: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download

# Verify installation
dotnet --version

# Create new project
dotnet new console -n MyCurlApp
cd MyCurlApp

# Add CurlDotNet
dotnet add package CurlDotNet

# Run your app
dotnet run

# Build for production
dotnet publish -c Release

✅ Installation Checklist

Before continuing, make sure:

• .NET SDK is installed (dotnet --version works)
• CurlDotNet package is added to your project
• Test program runs successfully
• Your IDE/editor is set up (optional)
• You can make a simple HTTP request

If all boxes are checked, you're ready to start building with CurlDotNet!

Ready to make your first request? → Your First Request

Need help? Check the Troubleshooting Guide or ask in Discussions