DotUninstall: Cross Platform UI for .NET Uninstall Tool

A minimalist cross‑platform (Windows / macOS) graphical user interface that wraps the official dotnet-core-uninstall command‑line utility from Microsoft.

This project is a community UI helper. It is not an official Microsoft application. Uninstalling SDKs/runtimes can impact existing projects—read the safety notes below.

Why does this exist?

Managing many installed .NET SDK and runtime versions becomes cumbersome. The official dotnet-core-uninstall tool provides the correct uninstall logic and safety rules (e.g. protecting required or currently in‑use SDKs), but it is console-only. This UI layers discoverability, visual status, and one‑click removal while preserving the tool’s rules.

Key Features

• Detects and lists installed .NET SDKs & runtimes using the same logic of dotnet-core-uninstall (including uninstallability reasons).
• Shows architecture, uninstallability, and reason (e.g. "Cannot uninstall SDK that is required...").
• One click uninstall.
• UI locking during operations to prevent re-entrancy.
• Status + error surface; reasons shown as tooltip and inline text.

Supported Platforms

.NET SDKs/runtimes of supported versions (8+ right now) on Windows/macOS. Older .NET versions are supported in best-effort mode.

Usage

1. Launch this app.
2. Review the listed SDKs & runtimes.
3. Uninstall an entry by pressing Uninstall (button is disabled if the reason indicates it is not allowed).
4. The UI locks and shows progress; when done, the list refreshes automatically.

Safety / Disclaimer

• This UI only surfaces what the underlying tool allows. If the command line would refuse an uninstall, the UI should also reflect that.
• Always confirm you do not need a version for active projects or global build servers.
• If something fails, consider running the dotnet-core-uninstall tool manually for verbose diagnostics.
• Not affiliated with Microsoft. Use at your own risk.

macOS Notes

Gatekeeper / Unsigned App Launch

The distributed macOS builds are currently not code signed or notarized. Gatekeeper blocks first launch with:

"DotUninstall" cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified.

Choose one method to allow it:

1. Right‑click the app bundle (DotUninstall (arm64).app or DotUninstall (x64).app) and select Open, then Open again in the dialog (Gatekeeper remembers).
2. Double‑click (blocked), then open System Settings → Privacy & Security, click Allow Anyway, relaunch and confirm.
3. Remove the quarantine flag (CLI approach):

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/DotUninstall (arm64).app"  # adjust path if placed elsewhere

1. (Optional) Ad‑hoc sign locally to silence further warnings:

codesign --force --deep --sign - "/Applications/DotUninstall (arm64).app"
spctl --assess --verbose "/Applications/DotUninstall (arm64).app"  # should report 'accepted'

Verify Download Integrity (Recommended)

Compute SHA256 and compare with the value posted on the release page:

shasum -a 256 "DotUninstall-macos-<version>.dmg"

Proceed only if the hash matches. Always download from the official GitHub Releases page.

Security Considerations

• Removing quarantine or self‑signing trusts current contents; re‑download for updates rather than modifying internals.
• Organizations can re‑sign/notarize internally if required.

Elevation / Permissions

If you installed .NET SDKs/runtimes system-wide (typically under /usr/local/share/dotnet) some uninstall operations require elevated rights. The app will prompt for your password via a standard macOS dialog when needed.

Run

Prebuilt Binaries

Release binaries are available on the Releases page.

Build from Source

From repository root:

git submodule update --init --recursive
dotnet build DotNetUninstall/DotNetUninstall.csproj -c Debug
dotnet run --project DotNetUninstall/DotNetUninstall.csproj

Project Structure (Simplified)

DotNetUninstall/
  App.xaml / App.xaml.cs      - Application bootstrap (Uno single-project)
  Presentation/               - UI pages, view models, converters
  Models/                     - Data record for install entries
  ReadMe.md                   - This document

Localization

Strings are currently inline. Future enhancement: move UI labels and status messages into resource files for easy translation.

Roadmap / Ideas

• Custom filtering and sorting.
• Theming toggle and high contrast improvements.
• Optional confirmation dialog before uninstall.
• Light telemetry (opt-in) for which commands are used (never collecting personal data).
• Linux support.

Offline / Cached Metadata

The app enriches entries with lifecycle & latest info. In offline or restricted environments it falls back to an embedded snapshot and/or a local disk cache. See the contributor documentation for full details, update scripts, cache TTL, and CI automation:

• docs/offline-metadata.md

Contributing

PRs and issues welcome. Please:

1. Open an issue describing the change.
2. Keep UI changes accessible (keyboard navigation & contrast).

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. You are free to use, modify, and distribute with attribution and inclusion of the license text.

Acknowledgements

• Microsoft dotnet-core-uninstall team for the underlying logic.
• Uno Platform for cross-platform UI.