Installation - Intent Architect .NET Modules

This guide walks you through installing Intent Architect and setting up your development environment for working with .NET modules.

System Requirements

Before installing Intent Architect, ensure your system meets the following requirements.

Windows

OS: Windows 10 or later (64-bit)
RAM: 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended
.NET SDK: .NET 6.0 or later
IDE: Visual Studio 2022 or JetBrains Rider (recommended for .NET development)

macOS

OS: macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later
RAM: 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended
.NET SDK: .NET 6.0 or later
IDE: JetBrains Rider or Visual Studio Code

Linux

OS: Modern Linux distribution (Ubuntu 20.04+, Fedora 35+, etc.)
RAM: 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended
.NET SDK: .NET 6.0 or later
IDE: JetBrains Rider or Visual Studio Code

Install .NET SDK

Download .NET SDK

Visit the .NET download page and download the latest .NET SDK (6.0 or later).

Install the SDK

Run the installer and follow the installation wizard.

Verify Installation

Open a terminal/command prompt and verify the installation:

dotnet --version

You should see output like:

8.0.100

Install Intent Architect

Download Intent Architect

Visit the Intent Architect website and download the installer for your operating system.

Run the Installer

Windows:

Run the .exe installer
Follow the installation wizard
Choose installation directory
Complete the installation

macOS:

Open the .dmg file
Drag Intent Architect to Applications
Launch from Applications folder

Linux:

Extract the downloaded archive
Run the installation script

chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

Launch Intent Architect

Start Intent Architect from your applications menu or desktop shortcut.

Complete First-Time Setup

On first launch, Intent Architect will:

Check for required dependencies
Download the module repository index
Configure default settings

Install Development IDE

Choose one of the following IDEs for .NET development:

Visual Studio 2022
JetBrains Rider
VS Code

Visual Studio 2022 (Windows)

Download Visual Studio 2022
Run the installer
Select the ASP.NET and web development workload
Select the .NET desktop development workload (optional)
Complete installation

Recommended Extensions:

ReSharper (optional, for enhanced productivity)
GitHub Copilot (optional, for AI assistance)

Visual Studio Code (Cross-Platform)

Download Visual Studio Code
Install VS Code for your platform
Install required extensions:

code --install-extension ms-dotnettools.csharp
code --install-extension ms-dotnettools.csdevkit

Recommended Extensions:

C# Dev Kit
C# (powered by OmniSharp)
NuGet Package Manager
REST Client (for testing APIs)

Install Database Tools (Optional)

For working with Entity Framework Core and databases:

SQL Server

SQL Server (Windows)
LocalDB (Windows)
Docker (Cross-Platform)
PostgreSQL

Download and install SQL Server Developer Edition (free).Also install SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).

SQL Server LocalDB is included with Visual Studio 2022. If not installed:

# Using Chocolatey
choco install sqllocaldb

# Or download from Microsoft
# https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/database-engine/configure-windows/sql-server-express-localdb

Run SQL Server in Docker (works on Windows, macOS, Linux):

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "SA_PASSWORD=YourStrong@Passw0rd" \
  -p 1433:1433 --name sqlserver \
  -d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

Download and install PostgreSQL.Or using Docker:

docker run --name postgres \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=yourpassword \
  -p 5432:5432 \
  -d postgres:15

Install EF Core Tools

Install Entity Framework Core CLI tools globally:

dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef

Verify installation:

dotnet ef --version

Verify Installation

Let’s verify everything is installed correctly:

Check .NET SDK

dotnet --list-sdks

Should show installed SDK versions:

6.0.420 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk]
8.0.100 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk]

Check EF Core Tools

dotnet ef --version

Should show EF Core tools version:

Entity Framework Core .NET Command-line Tools
8.0.0

Launch Intent Architect

Open Intent Architect and verify it launches without errors.

Check Module Repository

In Intent Architect:

Click on Module Manager (or use Ctrl+M)
Browse available modules
Search for “Intent.AspNetCore”

If you can see available modules, your installation is complete!

Update Intent Architect

Intent Architect notifies you when updates are available.

It’s recommended to keep Intent Architect up-to-date to receive the latest module improvements and bug fixes.

Automatic Updates

When an update is available, you’ll see a notification
Click Update Now
Intent Architect will download and install the update
Restart Intent Architect

Manual Update Check

Open Intent Architect
Go to Help → Check for Updates
Follow the update prompts if available

Configure Git Integration

Intent Architect works seamlessly with Git. Configure Git if you haven’t already:

# Set your identity
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

# Verify configuration
git config --list

Intent Architect can track changes to both your models and generated code in Git, making it easy to collaborate with your team.

Install Additional Tools (Optional)

API Testing

Postman

Download Postman for API testing and documentation.

REST Client (VS Code)

Install the REST Client extension for VS Code to test APIs directly in the editor.

Database Management

Azure Data Studio

Cross-platform tool for SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and more. Download here

DBeaver

Universal database tool supporting multiple databases. Download here

Container Tools

# Install Docker Desktop (Windows/macOS)
# Download from https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop

# Verify Docker installation
docker --version
docker-compose --version

Troubleshooting

Intent Architect Won’t Start

Check system requirements are met
Ensure .NET SDK is installed
Try running as Administrator (Windows)
Check antivirus isn’t blocking the application
Review logs in %AppData%\Intent Architect\logs (Windows) or ~/.intentarchitect/logs (macOS/Linux)

Module Repository Not Loading

Check internet connection
Verify firewall isn’t blocking Intent Architect
Try Help → Clear Cache → Reload Modules
Restart Intent Architect

.NET SDK Not Found

# List installed SDKs
dotnet --list-sdks

# If empty, reinstall .NET SDK
# Download from https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download

EF Core Tools Issues

# Uninstall existing tools
dotnet tool uninstall --global dotnet-ef

# Reinstall latest version
dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef

# Verify
dotnet ef --version

If you encounter issues, check the Intent Architect Support Repository for known issues and solutions.

Next Steps

Now that you have Intent Architect installed, you’re ready to build your first application!

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Architecture Patterns

Module Development

Contributing

​System Requirements

​Windows

​macOS

​Linux

​Install .NET SDK

​Install Intent Architect

​Install Development IDE

​Visual Studio 2022 (Windows)

​JetBrains Rider (Cross-Platform)

​Visual Studio Code (Cross-Platform)

​Install Database Tools (Optional)

​SQL Server

​Install EF Core Tools

​Verify Installation

​Update Intent Architect

​Automatic Updates

​Manual Update Check

​Configure Git Integration

​Install Additional Tools (Optional)

​API Testing

Postman

REST Client (VS Code)

​Database Management

Azure Data Studio

DBeaver

​Container Tools

​Troubleshooting

​Intent Architect Won’t Start

​Module Repository Not Loading

​.NET SDK Not Found

​EF Core Tools Issues

​Next Steps

Quickstart Guide

Explore Modules

​Additional Resources

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

System Requirements

Windows

macOS

Linux

Install .NET SDK

Install Intent Architect

Install Development IDE

Visual Studio 2022 (Windows)

JetBrains Rider (Cross-Platform)

Visual Studio Code (Cross-Platform)

Install Database Tools (Optional)

SQL Server

Install EF Core Tools

Verify Installation

Update Intent Architect

Automatic Updates

Manual Update Check

Configure Git Integration

Install Additional Tools (Optional)

API Testing

Database Management

Container Tools

Troubleshooting

Intent Architect Won’t Start

Module Repository Not Loading

.NET SDK Not Found

EF Core Tools Issues

Next Steps

Additional Resources