Microsoft Visual Studio 2019: The project file cannot be opened. Unable to locate the .NET SDK

Question

I just upgraded my visual studio 2019 to latest version 16.8.3 and suddenly I am not able to load any C# project and getting the following error for all .NET core projects:

The project file cannot be opened. Unable to locate the .NET SDK. Check that it is installed and that the version specified in global.json (if any) matches the installed version.

Do you perhaps have a global.json file somewhere in the file system (in a common folder beneath all your failing projects) that is specifying an SDK version that no longer exists on your computer? If so: try renaming/deleting that file! (To be fair, the error message did suggest this) — Marc Gravell, Dec 09 '20 at 07:27

Karney. · Accepted Answer · 2020-12-09T06:18:16.110

45

Try to edit envrionment Variables.

Right click on This PC -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Advanced -> Environment Variables -> System Variables

Add [install path] C:\Program Files\dotnet\ to the variable path.

Restart visual studio.

If it does not solve this problem, you can refer to this answer.

edited Dec 09 '20 at 06:18

answered Dec 09 '20 at 06:04

Karney.

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Path [C:\Program Files\dotnet\] is already there. Though I removed the x86 one and it started working, Thanks – Dadwals Dec 09 '20 at 21:37
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Removing the path as @Dadwals did resolve the issue for me. – Gabriel Mongeon Dec 10 '20 at 15:22
I edited the C:\Program Files (x86)\dotnet to what Karney listed above and it fixed it for me! Thank you! – Dave Dec 11 '20 at 16:08
Thank you!! FWIW, I encountered this error after removing a ton of old .Net Core SDKs, and this resolved it. Possibly one of those uninstallers removed the Path variable. – David Cuccia Feb 03 '21 at 17:24
@Dadwals that worked for me as well. Great suggestion! – Robert II Feb 16 '21 at 08:15
In my case I have two installations in the folders C:\Program Files\dotnet\ and C:\Program Files (x86)\dotnet\ , so i had to add the adrdress like this C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk in my System Variables. – rodolfocop Feb 24 '21 at 19:11
tnx. great answer – Nader Gharibian Fard Mar 18 '21 at 06:20

score 17 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 27 '21 at 18:50

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I found that the path C:\Program Files\dotnet was already in my path but it was ordered below the C:\Program Files (x86)\dotnet entry. By simply moving C:\Program Files\dotnet above C:\Program Files (x86)\dotnet in the list and restarting Visual Studio cleared up the problem.

answered Jan 27 '21 at 18:50

stidhat

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Thanks, saved my day and sanity ;) – Gerzson Mar 16 '21 at 19:13
Oh my god, you are a true savior – pratnala Mar 18 '21 at 11:13
Alright, this one worked for me. Thank you! – seanquijote May 05 '21 at 05:40

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered May 16 '21 at 20:44

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If there is a global.json file in your solution folder(where *.sln file reside), delete this. Problem solved for me.

answered May 16 '21 at 20:44

Ahmet Arslan

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Krunal Solanki · Answer 4 · 2021-02-10T05:43:11.780

This works for me... Check first if which .net Core SDK is available in the system.

Step 1: Open Command prompt (CMD) and type dotnet --info

The above image shows no SDK is installed or register

Step 2: Install SDK from https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-core

Done Visual studio works like charm... Verify if its properly installed and register

Above image you can see .net core SDK is registered properly on the system.

Microsoft Visual Studio 2019: The project file cannot be opened. Unable to locate the .NET SDK

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