---
uid: Guides.GettingStarted.Installation
title: Installing Discord.Net
---

# Discord.Net Installation

Discord.Net is distributed through the NuGet package manager; the most
recommended way for you to install this library. Alternatively, you
may also compile this library yourself should you so desire.

## Supported Platforms

Discord.Net targets [.NET 6.0] and [.NET 5.0], but is also available on older versions, like [.NET Standard] and [.NET Core]; this still means
that creating applications using the latest version of .NET (6.0)
is most recommended. If you are bound by Windows-specific APIs or
other limitations, you may also consider targeting [.NET Framework]
4.6.1 or higher.

> [!WARNING]
> Using this library with [Mono] is not supported until further
> notice. It is known to have issues with the library's WebSockets
> implementation and may crash the application upon startup.

[mono]: https://www.mono-project.com/
[.net 6.0]: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/whats-new/dotnet-6
[.net 5.0]: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/whats-new/dotnet-5
[.net standard]: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/articles/standard/library
[.net core]: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/articles/core/
[.net framework]: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/get-started/
[additional steps]: #installing-on-net-standard-11

## Installing

Release builds of Discord.Net will be published to the
[official NuGet feed].

### Experimental/Development

Development builds of Discord.Net will be
published to our [MyGet feed]. The MyGet feed can be used to run the latest dev branch builds.
It is not advised to use MyGet packages in a production environment, as changes may be made that negatively affect certain library functions.

### Labs

This exterior branch of Discord.Net has been deprecated and is no longer supported.
If you have used Discord.Net-Labs in the past, you are advised to update to the latest version of Discord.Net.
All features in Labs are implemented in the main repository.

[official NuGet feed]: https://nuget.org
[MyGet feed]: https://www.myget.org/feed/Packages/discord-net

### [Using Visual Studio](#tab/vs-install)

1. Create a new solution for your bot
2. In the Solution Explorer, find the "Dependencies" element under your
   bot's project
3. Right click on "Dependencies", and select "Manage NuGet packages"

   ![Step 3](images/install-vs-deps.png)

4. In the "Browse" tab, search for `Discord.Net`
5. Install the `Discord.Net` package

   ![Step 5](images/install-vs-nuget.png)

### [Using JetBrains Rider](#tab/rider-install)

1. Create a new solution for your bot
2. Open the NuGet window (Tools > NuGet > Manage NuGet packages for Solution)

   ![Step 2](images/install-rider-nuget-manager.png)

3. In the "Packages" tab, search for `Discord.Net`

   ![Step 3](images/install-rider-search.png)

4. Install by adding the package to your project

   ![Step 4](images/install-rider-add.png)

### [Using Visual Studio Code](#tab/vs-code)

1. Create a new project for your bot
2. Add `Discord.Net` to your `*.csproj`

[!code[Sample .csproj](samples/project.xml)]

### [Using dotnet CLI](#tab/dotnet-cli)

1. Launch a terminal of your choice
2. Navigate to where your `*.csproj` is located
3. Enter `dotnet add package Discord.Net`

---

## Compiling from Source

In order to compile Discord.Net, you will need the following:

### Using Visual Studio

- [Visual Studio 2019](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/) or later.
- [.NET 5 SDK]

The .NET 5 workload is required during Visual Studio
installation.

### Using Command Line

* [.NET 5 SDK]

## Additional Information

### Installing on Unsupported WebSocket Platform

When running any Discord.Net-powered bot on an older operating system
(e.g. Windows 7) that does not natively support WebSocket,
you may encounter a @System.PlatformNotSupportedException upon
connecting.

You may resolve this by either targeting .NET Core 2.1 or higher, or
by installing one or more custom packages as listed below.

#### [Targeting .NET Core 2.1](#tab/core2-1)

1. Download the latest [.NET Core SDK].
2. Create or move your existing project to use .NET Core.
3. Modify your `<TargetFramework>` tag to at least `netcoreapp2.1`, or
   by adding the `--framework netcoreapp2.1` switch when building.

#### [Custom Packages](#tab/custom-pkg)

1.  Install or compile the following packages:

    - `Discord.Net.Providers.WS4Net`
    - `Discord.Net.Providers.UDPClient` (Optional)
      - This is _only_ required if your bot will be utilizing voice chat.

2.  Configure your [DiscordSocketClient] to use these custom providers
    over the default ones.

        * To do this, set the `WebSocketProvider` and the optional
        `UdpSocketProvider` properties on the [DiscordSocketConfig] that you
        are passing into your client.

[!code-csharp[Example](samples/netstd11.cs)]

[discordsocketclient]: xref:Discord.WebSocket.DiscordSocketClient
[discordsocketconfig]: xref:Discord.WebSocket.DiscordSocketConfig

---

[.NET 5 SDK]: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download