Microsoft has released .NET Aspire 9.5, an update of the company’s framework for building distributed apps that previews support for .NET 10 file-based apps. An AI-based visualizer also is featured.
Introduced September 25, Aspire 9.5 previews file-based AppHost support, which introduces backing for .NET 10’s new file-based applications. Developers can create an Aspire AppHost with a single file without the need for a project file. Whereas a traditional Aspire AppHost requires a .csproj file and multiple files to get started, the file-based AppHost allows developers to define a distributed application in a single apphost.cs file, Microsoft said. This builds on the work being delivered with .NET 10 that enables single-file applications. .NET 10 is in a release candidate stage, with a production release expected in November. The file-based AppHost feature is currently behind a feature flag and requires .NET SDK 10.0.100 RC1 or later.
.NET Aspire 9.5 also introduces the GenAI visualizer, a display that collates, summarizes, and visualizes calls to large language models (LLMs) within an app. When the dashboard detects AI telemetry, a sparkle icon is presented that will enable exploration of the interaction with the LLM. Developers will be able to see the prompts, responses, and images returned from the LLM in the visualizer, Microsoft said.
