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# Discover the open source trio you didn’t expect: .NET and PostgreSQL on Linux

Once confined to Windows, .NET now thrives natively on Linux. Paired with PostgreSQL, it delivers a robust, highly optimized open-source stack for cloud-native microservices.

- **Speakers:** [Silvano Coriani](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@silvano-coriani)
- **Event:** World Congress 2026 Europe - Virtual Stage
- **Published:** July 2, 2026
- **Duration:** 50:35
- **URL:** https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2042-discover-the-open-source-trio-you-didn-t-expect-net-and-postgresql-on-linux

## Summary

The modern software development landscape has embraced a powerful, cross-platform open-source trio: .NET, PostgreSQL, and Linux. Once confined exclusively to Windows ecosystems, .NET is now a versatile framework that natively thrives on Linux distributions. By pairing it with PostgreSQL—one of the most popular and extensible relational databases—developers gain access to a highly robust stack for building and running cloud-native applications. This architectural shift empowers engineering teams to build natively on MacOS or Linux, utilize remote development extensions, and execute consistent local inner loops using standard code editors before deploying to diverse data center environments.

Containerization lies at the heart of this workflow, fundamentally streamlining how .NET and PostgreSQL applications are packaged and distributed. Developers can compile and generate container images directly from the .NET CLI using the publish container option, eliminating the friction of managing complex Dockerfiles. Leveraging advanced optimization techniques, such as chiseled or distroless images, strips away unnecessary operating system packages and shells. This strategic approach cuts the container size in half for significantly faster boot times while simultaneously minimizing the attack surface. Combined with Docker Compose, teams can stand up an entire localized microservices architecture—including the database and web APIs—in seconds.

Managing database schemas and transitioning applications to the cloud is further automated through purpose-built libraries and orchestration tools. Integrations like the npgsql data provider, Entity Framework Core, and DbUp handle everything from object-relational mapping to automated schema seeding and migrations without requiring complex raw SQL handling. To push these distributed applications to production environments, developers can adopt .NET Aspire. Acting as the application's "connecting tissue," this orchestration tool wires up components, eliminates hardcoded connection strings, and provides deep observability through OpenTelemetry integration. Whether testing local containers or scaling out to Azure Container Apps via automated GitHub Actions pipelines, this cohesive toolchain provides a frictionless, fully traceable path from initial code to enterprise deployment.

**Keywords:** cross-platform .net development, postgresql database containerization, linux application deployment, distroless container security, chiseled image optimization, entity framework core migrations, dbup schema management, npgsql data provider, docker compose microservices, .net aspire orchestration, opentelemetry distributed tracing, azure container app deployment, github actions ci/cd pipelines, object-relational mapping, cloud-native application architecture

## Chapters

1. **Evolution of .NET portability and the open source ecosystem** (00:00) — The original common language runtime evolved to dominate modern open source data center environments.
1. **Options for installing .NET on Linux distributions** (04:24) — Various package feeds and automated scripts enable targeting multiple processor architectures for development environments.
1. **Demonstrating .NET installation on Debian and Azure Linux** (07:23) — Downloading raw packages and utilizing installation scripts configures the developer environment locally.
1. **Containerizing .NET applications with cross-platform build tools** (11:19) — Local command-line tools can easily publish applications into portable container images.
1. **Pushing and hosting containerized applications in Azure** (14:52) — Locally compiled container images can be seamlessly deployed to remote registries and hosting platforms.
1. **Optimizing container sizes with distroless and chiseled images** (17:34) — Stripping away unused package management tools reduces image attack surfaces and boot times.
1. **Automating database setup with Docker Compose and dbup** (20:30) — Wiring an application to a local database container automates schema migrations.
1. **Extensibility and programmability features of the PostgreSQL database** (25:37) — Multi-version concurrency control and advanced indexing make the database highly popular among developers.
1. **Managing PostgreSQL schemas using Entity Framework Core** (31:14) — Object-oriented code simplifies database interactions while tracking raw generated queries.
1. **Connecting .NET to PostgreSQL with the Npgsql provider** (35:19) — The open source data provider executes wire protocol database commands efficiently.
1. **Deploying distributed applications to the cloud using Aspire** (38:58) — Wiring up configuration and hosting environments seamlessly transitions applications from local to remote.
1. **Structuring reference architectures for open source applications** (46:49) — Consolidating frameworks into a reproducible template supports modern scalable services.

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- [Options for deploying .NET applications onto OpenShift clusters](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/967-this-is-not-your-father-s-net) (from "This Is Not Your Father's .NET")
- [Cloning and deploying the modernized application architecture locally](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/120-application-modernization-and-rabbits) (from "Application Modernization and Rabbits")

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