[Solved] Telerik Testing Framework support for .NET 8

[Nahla]

Will the Testing Framework support .NET 8 in near future.  If so, can you share when?

Our application is migrating to .NET 8 and our automation framework does not support it which is a huge impact.

If there is no plan to support .NET 8, is there another product that can be used for .NET 8.0 support.

Thanks

[Jun]

Removed for duplicate as below

[Ivaylo]

Unfortunately, we cannot provide a timeline or commit to a release date for .NET 8 support at this time. Currently, support for .NET 8 coded test projects is not on the Test Studio roadmap.

We understand the impact this has on teams migrating their applications to .NET 8, and we appreciate you sharing this requirement. We will make sure your feedback is documented and considered as part of future product planning.

For now, the supported approach remains using Test Studio coded tests in a separate .NET Framework 4.8.1 project.

Thank you for your understanding.

[Ivaylo]

Hello Nahla,

Thank you for reaching out and for sharing your concerns. I understand that your application is migrating to .NET 8 and that the lack of direct .NET 8 support in your automation framework raises questions about impact and next steps.

At this time, there are no plans to upgrade the Test Studio Testing Framework itself to target .NET 8. We are not able to share timelines or roadmap commitments for .NET 8 support.
That said, it is important to clarify a common misconception:
Test Studio does not require the .NET framework version used by the tested application to match the .NET framework version used by the Test Studio testing project. In other words, even though Test Studio currently targets a lower .NET version, it can still be used to automate and test applications that are built on higher .NET versions, including .NET 8.

The Test Studio framework interacts with the application at the UI and browser level, not by referencing or compiling against the application’s .NET runtime. Because of this separation, migrating your application to .NET 8 does not, by itself, prevent Test Studio from automating it. 

If you are building custom extensions or deeply integrated code-level automation that must compile against the application’s assemblies, then framework version alignment can become relevant.
For standard Test Studio UI automation and coded steps written in C#, this alignment is not required.

Regarding alternative products there is no requirement to switch products solely due to your application migrating to .NET 8, provided your use case aligns with Test Studio’s supported scenarios for UI and functional testing. Test Studio continues to be positioned primarily as a web and UI functional automation tool, and it remains suitable for testing applications built on newer .NET runtimes.

Thank you for your understanding.

Regards,
Ivaylo
Progress Telerik

[Jun]

Removed for duplicated comments

[Jun]

Removed for duplicated comments

[Jun]

Hi Ivaylo,

I am from the same team as Nahla, let me give you an example code, could you please help to confirm again?

The project file is .net core framework

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>Library</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>net9.0</TargetFramework>
    <UseHostCompilerIfAvailable>false</UseHostCompilerIfAvailable>
    <GenerateAssemblyInfo>false</GenerateAssemblyInfo>
    <AssemblyTitle>netframework_telerik.testCore</AssemblyTitle>
    <Product>netframework_telerik.testCore</Product>
    <Copyright>Copyright    2025</Copyright>
    <AssemblyVersion>1.0.0.0</AssemblyVersion>
    <FileVersion>1.0.0.0</FileVersion>
    <IsTestProject>true</IsTestProject>
    <RunSettingsFilePath>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\test.runsettings</RunSettingsFilePath>
    <LangVersion>10.0</LangVersion>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="Machine.Specifications" Version="1.1.3" />
    <PackageReference Include="Machine.Specifications.Runner.VisualStudio" Version="2.10.3" />
    <PackageReference Include="Machine.Specifications.Should" Version="1.0.0" />
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk" Version="17.8.0" />
<PackageReference Include="System.Threading.AccessControl" Version="8.0.0" />
  </ItemGroup>

  <!-- Telerik references for .NET 9.0 (uses NetCore versions) -->
  <ItemGroup>
    <Reference Include="ArtOfTest.WebAii">
   <HintPath>C:\Program Files (x86)\Progress\Test Studio\Bin\ArtOfTest.WebAii.dll</HintPath>
    </Reference>
    <Reference Include="ArtOfTest.WebAii.Messaging">
      <HintPath>C:\Program Files (x86)\Progress\Test Studio\Bin\NetCore\ArtOfTest.WebAii.Messaging.dll</HintPath>
      <Aliases>Messaging</Aliases>
    </Reference>
  </ItemGroup>

  <!-- Copy NetCore Telerik DLLs to output -->
  <ItemGroup>
    <None Include="C:\Program Files (x86)\Progress\Test Studio\Bin\NetCore\ArtOfTest.*.dll">
      <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
      <Visible>false</Visible>
    </None>
    <None Include="C:\Program Files (x86)\Progress\Test Studio\Bin\NetCore\Telerik.*.dll">
      <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
      <Visible>false</Visible>
    </None>
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>



The test code is like

 private Establish context = () =>
 {
     // Use fully qualified name for BrowserType to resolve ambiguity
     var settings = new Settings
     {
         Web =
         {
             DefaultBrowser = global::ArtOfTest.WebAii.Core.BrowserType.Chrome,
             KillBrowserProcessOnClose = true,
             RecycleBrowser = false
         },
         UnexpectedDialogAction = UnexpectedDialogAction.HandleAndContinue
     };

     _manager = new Manager(settings);
     _manager.Start();
     _manager.LaunchNewBrowser();
     _browser = _manager.ActiveBrowser;
 };

 private Because of = () =>
 {
     
     _browser.NavigateTo("Telerik Test Studio Getting Started - Telerik Test Studio");
     _browser.WaitUntilReady();
 };



the code could build success, just run fail with exception in line _manager = new Manager(settings);

the exception is

   Source: LoginTest.cs line 49
   Duration: < 1 ms

  Message: 
Method not found: 'Void System.Threading.Mutex..ctor(Boolean, System.String, Boolean ByRef, System.Security.AccessControl.MutexSecurity)'.

  Stack Trace: 
System.MissingMethodException: Method not found: 'Void System.Threading.Mutex..ctor(Boolean, System.String, Boolean ByRef, System.Security.AccessControl.MutexSecurity)'.
TraceInfo.cctor()
Manager.CreateLog(Settings settings)
Manager.Init(Settings settings)
Manager.ctor(Settings settings)
<.ctor>b__7_0() line 31
RuntimeMethodHandle.InvokeMethod(Object target, Void** arguments, Signature sig, Boolean isConstructor)
MethodBaseInvoker.InvokeWithNoArgs(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr)


Can you help to confirm if we can fix it to run case success?



Another question is about C:\Program Files (x86)\Progress\Test Studio\Bin\NetCore, will this folder will help to run telerik automation with .net core project?

 

Thanks,

Jun

[Jun]

Removed for duplicated comments

[Ivaylo]

Thank you for the additional details.

The key point is that Test Studio supports coded tests only in .NET Framework projects, with .NET Framework 4.8.1 being the highest supported version.
Although .NET Framework and .NET Core/.NET 5+ share the C# language, they are different runtimes with different APIs and implementation details. Your project targets:

<TargetFramework>net9.0</TargetFramework>

which is .NET 9, not .NET Framework 4.8.1. As a result, a project may compile successfully but still fail at runtime when Test Studio attempts to use .NET Framework APIs that are unavailable or implemented differently in .NET 9.

For this reason, it is not supported to host Test Studio coded tests within the same .NET Core/.NET 5+/6+/7+/8+/9+ project. The Test Studio automation project must be a separate .NET Framework 4.8.1 project.

Therefore, the exception you are seeing is expected in this unsupported configuration, and the recommended solution is to move the Test Studio automation code into a separate .NET Framework 4.8.1 test project.

Thank you for your understanding

[Jun]

Hi Ivaylo, 

Thanks very much for your quick feedback, got it now.  Got the same answer from AI for exception Method not found: 'Void System.Threading.Mutex..ctor(Boolean, System.String, Boolean ByRef, System.Security.AccessControl.MutexSecurity)'.

The `System.Threading.Mutex` constructor signature changed between .NET Framework and .NET Core

So we will use .net framework first.

please allow me to ask one more question. Can you tell me what's this folder for C:\Program Files (x86)\Progress\Test Studio\Bin\NetCore after installing telerik testing framework? 

 

Thanks,

Jun