Assembly Line

Runtime

.NET is a cross-platform runtime for cloud, mobile, desktop, and IoT apps.

Runtime is an open-source programming language project on GitHub under the MIT license (permissive), with 18k stars. It is built with LLVM project. Its last push was today.

Stars
18k
License
MIT
Activity
Active
Latest release
v10.0.13

Code on GitHub Website

Judgement

What it is
Framework or platform
What it does
The .NET runtime and base class libraries for running C# and F# applications on Windows, Linux, macOS and mobile.
Adopt it when
You build applications on .NET and need the runtime or want to contribute to it.
Watch out
Non-LTS releases have short support windows.
Ready for
Production-ready
Runs as
Library and command line
Built with
C# and C++
How established
Established: started 7 years ago, latest release v10.0.13.
What the license allows
You can build it into a product you sell, as long as you keep its copyright notice.

Judged on 2026-11-03 from the project's README and GitHub data. The license and age lines are worked out directly.

Built from

LLVM project

Follow it down: Runtime → LLVM project → runs on a microchip

How compilers were built, back to punched paper tape

Built on Runtime: 88 projects

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    Godot godotengine

    Godot Engine – Multi-platform 2D and 3D game engine

    Framework or platform Production-ready You want a royalty-free engine for 2D games or small to mid-size 3D games.

    ★ 119k MIT C++ Active, pushed today
  2. 2
    Jellyfin jellyfin

    The Free Software Media System - Server Backend & API

    Complete system Production-ready You want Plex or Emby features without accounts, subscriptions or a vendor cloud.

    ★ 59k GPL-2.0 C# Active, pushed 2 days ago
  3. 3
    ShareX ShareX

    ShareX is a free and open-source application that enables users to capture or record any area of their screen with a single keystroke. It also supports uploading images, text, and various file types to a wide range of destinations.

    Complete system Production-ready You capture and share screenshots constantly on Windows and want automation after each capture.

    ★ 41k GPL-3.0 C# Active, pushed today
  4. 4
    OpenRA OpenRA

    Open Source real-time strategy game engine for early Westwood games such as Command & Conquer: Red Alert written in C# using SDL and OpenGL. Runs on Windows, Linux, *BSD and Mac OS X.

    Complete system Production-ready You want to play or mod classic Command & Conquer games on modern systems.

    ★ 18k GPL-3.0 C# Active, pushed 5 days ago
  5. 5
    Dagger dagger

    Automation engine to build, test and ship any codebase. Runs locally, in CI, or directly in the cloud

    Developer tool Usable You are tired of untestable CI YAML and want pipelines that run the same on a laptop as in any CI provider.

    ★ 17k Apache-2.0 Go Active, pushed today
  6. 6
    DnsServer TechnitiumSoftware

    Technitium DNS Server

    Complete system Production-ready You want a full DNS server for your home or office, including authoritative zones, not just a blocker.

    ★ 10k GPL-3.0 C# Active, pushed 9 days ago
  7. 7
    LiteDB litedb-org

    LiteDB - A .NET NoSQL Document Store in a single data file

    Building block Production-ready A .NET desktop app, tool or small service needs local document storage without a database server.

    ★ 9.5k MIT C# Active, pushed 6 days ago
  8. 8
    STranslate STranslate

    A ready-to-go translation ocr tool developed with WPF/WPF 开发的一款即用即走的翻译、OCR工具

    Complete system Production-ready You work on Windows and often need to translate snippets or text in images.

    ★ 8.5k MIT C# Active, pushed 40 days ago
  9. 9
    PixiEditor PixiEditor

    PixiEditor is a Universal Editor for all your 2D needs

    Complete system Usable Indie game developers or artists want a free editor for sprites and simple animation.

    ★ 8.1k LGPL-3.0 C# Active, pushed today
  10. 10
    Stride stride3d

    Stride (formerly Xenko), a free and open-source cross-platform C# game engine.

    Framework or platform Usable You want a C# 3D engine with an editor and full source access as an alternative to Unity.

    ★ 7.9k MIT C# Active, pushed today
  11. 11
    Btcpayserver btcpayserver

    Accept Bitcoin payments. Free, open-source & self-hosted, Bitcoin payment processor.

    Complete system Production-ready You want to accept Bitcoin directly into your own wallet without a third-party processor.

    ★ 7.9k MIT C# Active, pushed today
  12. 12
    FASTER microsoft

    Fast persistent recoverable log and key-value store + cache, in C# and C++.

    Building block Experimental Only if you already depend on it; Microsoft points new users to Garnet and its Tsavorite engine.

    ★ 6.6k MIT C# Active, pushed 14 days ago
  13. 13
    Keepass2android PhilippC

    Password manager app for Android

    Complete system Production-ready You use KeePass on desktop and want an Android client that syncs directly with Dropbox, Google Drive or WebDAV.

    ★ 6.4k GPL-3.0 C# Active, pushed 5 days ago
  14. 14
    Redot-Engine Redot-Engine

    Redot Engine – Multi-platform 2D and 3D game engine

    Framework or platform Usable You prefer Redot's governance over Godot's and accept a smaller community.

    ★ 6.2k MIT C++ Active, pushed yesterday
  15. 15
    Workflow Core danielgerlag

    Lightweight workflow engine for .NET Standard

    Building block Usable You need long-running workflows inside a .NET app without adopting an external orchestrator.

    ★ 5.9k MIT C# Active, pushed 4 days ago
  16. 16
    Translumo ramjke

    Advanced real-time screen translator for games, hardcoded subtitles in videos, static text and etc.

    Complete system Usable You play games or watch videos in a language you do not read and use Windows.

    ★ 5.9k Apache-2.0 C# Active, pushed 42 days ago
  17. 17
    Text Grab TheJoeFin

    Use OCR in Windows quickly and easily with Text Grab. With optional background process and notifications.

    Complete system Production-ready You often need to copy text out of images, videos or locked apps on Windows.

    ★ 5.1k MIT C# Active, pushed 7 days ago
  18. 18
    SparkleShare hbons

    Share and collaborate by syncing with any Git repository instantly. Linux, macOS, and Windows

    Complete system Usable Rarely now; consider Syncthing or Nextcloud instead.

    ★ 5k GPL-3.0 C# Active, pushed 2 months ago
  19. 19
    Docfx dotnet

    Static site generator for .NET API documentation.

    Developer tool Production-ready You publish docs for a .NET library and need API reference generated from the source.

    ★ 4.4k MIT C# Active, pushed today
  20. 20
    KillerPDF SteveTheKiller

    Free and open-source PDF editor for Windows with a built-in PDF 2.0 engine. View, annotate, OCR, merge, split, crop, rotate, compare, edit text, draw, sign, fill forms, print, flatten, and open password-protected PDFs without a subscription.

    Complete system Usable You want an Acrobat-style editor on Windows without a subscription and can accept a young project.

    ★ 4.3k GPL-3.0 C# Active, pushed today

Open-source alternatives to Runtime

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    ★ 140k BSD-3-Clause Go Active, pushed today
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Stars, license and activity come from GitHub and refresh on a rolling hourly schedule. The project's own description is quoted as written.