.NET Core 2.1 has reached end of life

[.NET Core 2.1 reached end of life](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/net-core-2-1-will-reach-end-of-support-on-august-21-2021/) on **August 21, 2021**. This means [.NET Core 2.1](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/announcing-net-core-2-1/) is no longer supported and updates will no longer be provided. If your application uses NET Core 2.1, we strongly recommend you migrate your application to a supported version – .NET 3.1 or later. You can download these versions from the [.NET website](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet).

- [Download .NET Core 3.1](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/3.1)
- [Download .NET 5.0](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/5.0)
- [.NET Core 2.1 end-of-life statement](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/net-core-2-1-will-reach-end-of-support-on-august-21-2021/)

## .NET Core 2.1 Lifecycle

.NET Core releases belong to one of two [support lifecycles](https://www.microsoft.com/net/platform/support-policy): long term support (LTS) and Current. LTS releases are stable release which receive critical updates and are supported for at least three years. Current releases can include new features that may undergo future change based on feedback. Current releases are supported for three months after the subsequent .NET Core major or minor release. Both LTS and Current releases receive critical fixes throughout their lifecycle, for security, reliability, or to add support for new operating system versions. You must stay up-to-date with the latest patches to qualify for support.

[.NET Core 2.1](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/announcing-net-core-2-1/) was shipped in May 30, 2018 and was declared an LTS release with the 2.1.3 update in August 2018. The 3-year lifecycle for the 2.1 release has come to an end on August 21, 2021.

## .NET Core 2.1 Downloads

.NET Core 2.1 installers, zips and tar.gzs will remain available, but unsupported. This includes existing releases available on Linux package feeds. Previous versions, including 2.1, will be accessible through the [Download Archives](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/archives).

## Policy Information

Additional lifecycle and support details and background can be seen in the following:

* [.NET Core Support Lifecycle](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/platform/support/policy)
* [Microsoft Support for .NET Core](https://github.com/dotnet/core/blob/main/microsoft-support.md)
* [.NET Core OS Lifecycle Policy](https://github.com/dotnet/core/blob/main/os-lifecycle-policy.md)
* [Support and Versioning](https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/dotnet/2016/07/26/net-support-and-versioning/)