| name | ef6-migration-policy |
| description | EF6 to EF Core migration policy for .NET Framework to modern .NET upgrades. Use when: assessing EF6 usage, planning package compatibility, multitargeting projects with Entity Framework 6. EF Core is NOT supported on .NET Framework — EF6 packages must be retained during framework-to-modern-dotnet migration and only migrated to EF Core as a separate post-migration effort. |
EF6 Migration Policy
Policy
Entity Framework 6 (EF6) must NOT be migrated to Entity Framework Core (EF Core) during a .NET Framework to modern .NET migration. EF Core does not support .NET Framework, and replacing EF6 with EF Core during the framework migration introduces unnecessary risk and scope.
Rules
- Retain EF6 during migration — Keep
EntityFramework / EntityFramework.SqlServer packages throughout SDK conversion, package compatibility, and multitargeting phases
- Do not replace EF6 with EF Core — Never swap
EntityFramework for Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.* as part of the framework migration
- EF6 is compatible with modern .NET — The
EntityFramework 6.5+ package supports net8.0+ via netstandard2.1. Upgrade to the minimum EF6 version that supports the target framework
- EF Core migration is a separate effort — Migrating from EF6 to EF Core is a post-migration activity, performed only after the project fully runs on modern .NET
- Assessment should flag, not act — When EF6 usage is detected during assessment, note it as a future post-migration task, not a migration blocker or in-scope work item
When This Applies
- Package compatibility analysis: Do not flag EF6 as incompatible. Find the minimum EF6 version supporting the target framework.
- Multitarget migration: EF6 APIs are available on modern .NET via EF6 6.5+. Do not introduce
#if guards to swap EF6 for EF Core.
- Assessment reports: List EF6 usage as a post-migration consideration, not as a migration action item.
- SDK-style conversion:
EntityFramework PackageReference should be preserved as-is.
What NOT to Do
- Do not add
Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore packages during any migration phase
- Do not remove or replace
EntityFramework references
- Do not treat EF6 DbContext/model classes as migration blockers
- Do not create EF Core DbContext alternatives during framework migration
