EF Tools Open Source

EF & Open SourceAs we began the EF6 release we moved to an open source development model, you can read more about this in our open source announcement post.

The move to open source proved very beneficial for the EF6 release. We got a lot of great feedback, bug reports on nightly builds and accepted a number of bug fixes and features from our external contributors.

 

EF Tools Now Open Source

Up until now, our open source repository has just included the EF runtime. We have now moved the EF Tooling code into the same open source repository. You can find instructions on how to work with the EF Tools code on our CodePlex site.

 

Nightly Builds

We don’t have nightly builds available just yet, but we’re working on it. Shortly, you’ll be able to download and install signed nightly builds of the tooling (you can already get signed nightly builds of the EF Runtime).

 

Contributions

Yes. We’re accepting contributions for the tooling as well – just like we do for the runtime. Any contributions will be held to the same stringent quality bar we use for the runtime. You can find more information about contributing on our CodePlex site.

Same Support, Same Developers, More Investment

We often get asked if moving to open source was about reducing our investment in EF, or if it impacts the support agreement from Microsoft. The short answer is no. Microsoft continues to ship official builds of Entity Framework as a fully supported Microsoft product both standalone as well as part of Visual Studio (the same as we always have). It continues to be staffed by the same Microsoft developers, and is supported through the same Microsoft support mechanisms. Our goal with open source has been to increase the development feedback loop, allowing us to deliver an even better product.