# itsmattkc/dotnet9x

Backport of .NET 2.0 - 3.5 to Windows 9x

Repository: https://github.com/itsmattkc/dotnet9x
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/dotnet9x
Language: NSIS
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2025-05-17T21:08:05+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 28/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 22, release rhythm 8, longevity 74
- inputs: {"age_days": 1044, "days_push": 473, "days_rel": 473, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2591, forks 159 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:02.943886+00:00)

## What it is
A backport of the .NET Framework 2.0-3.5 (CLR 2.0) to Windows 95/98/ME, which Microsoft never officially supported. It packages installers and system patches so .NET applications can run on legacy Windows 9x systems.

## Use cases
- run .NET 2.0 applications on Windows 95
- install .NET Framework 3.5 on Windows 98
- backport CLR 2.0 to Windows 9x
- run legacy .NET software on retro Windows systems
- make .NET apps work on Windows ME

## When to choose
- you need to run .NET 2.0-3.5 applications on Windows 95/98/ME
- you maintain legacy software for retro or embedded 9x systems
- you're doing retro-computing and want modern-ish .NET on old Windows

## When to avoid
- you're targeting Windows XP or newer, where official .NET Framework installers exist
- you need fully supported, production-grade .NET runtime behavior
- you need .NET versions beyond 3.5 or .NET Core/5+

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: experimental
- function: interpreter, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, windows, programming-languages
- platform: windows
- tags: dotnet-framework, windows-9x, backport, retro-computing, clr, legacy-systems, desktop

## Member repositories
- itsmattkc/dotnet9x (main) score 28

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:02.943886+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:22:19.116578+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/itsmattkc/dotnet9x (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:02.943886+00:00, sha 5c6e0d00fa16)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.