Set Up a Windows PC for .NET Development

Six hands-on parts for a Windows 11 PC used for .NET work: SDKs, runtimes and global.json, WSL, ports and the firewall, LocalDB and PostgreSQL in Docker, the Git for Windows settings that stop the warnings, and the HTTPS developer certificate. Every command was run on a real machine and every output is quoted.

6 parts · ~38 min of reading, in order, nothing assumed.

Start with Part 1

🧭 The next series for this PC: Docker for .NET Developers on Windows 🔧 Every setup error we have reproduced, in the Fixes category

Set Up a Windows PC for .NET Development · Part 1

.NET SDKs, Runtimes and global.json: Which One Builds, Which One Runs

Which .NET SDK builds your project and which runtime runs it. global.json and roll-forward, NETSDK1045, a missing runtime, and Visual Studio swapping the SDK. Oct 14, 2026 6 min read

Set Up a Windows PC for .NET Development · Part 2

WSL for .NET Work: A Distribution, the SDK, the File System and the Ports

WSL for .NET work on a throwaway distribution. The default user, the SDK from Ubuntu's feed, /mnt/c against ext4 build times, and a server reached from Windows. Oct 14, 2026 6 min read

Set Up a Windows PC for .NET Development · Part 3

Ports and the Firewall on a Windows Dev PC: Reserved Ranges, localhost and the Security Alert

Why a free port will not bind, and what clicking Allow does. Plus localhost as two addresses, netsh, Kestrel on a dozen ports, and WSL and Docker both ways. Oct 14, 2026 8 min read

Set Up a Windows PC for .NET Development · Part 4

Databases on a Dev PC: LocalDB, Express and PostgreSQL in Docker

LocalDB, SQL Server Express and PostgreSQL in Docker on one PC. Which one a connection string reaches, three slow errors, and the tools you already have. Oct 14, 2026 6 min read

Set Up a Windows PC for .NET Development · Part 5

Git for Windows Settings That Stop the Warnings

The Git for Windows settings behind each warning, run for real. Line endings, long paths, credentials, dubious ownership, identity, default branch, editor. Oct 14, 2026 6 min read

Set Up a Windows PC for .NET Development · Part 6

HTTPS on localhost: The Developer Certificate on Windows, in WSL and in a Container

Where the ASP.NET Core dev certificate lives, and who trusts it. Read on Windows, created and trusted in WSL the Ubuntu way, and refused in a container. Oct 14, 2026 6 min read

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