Where is the .NET Framework 4.5 directory?

I've installed Windows 8, Visual Studio 2012 but don't have a v4.5 directory in %WINDIR%\Microsoft.NET\Framework.

Have I done something wrong, or is .NET 4.5 different from others?

If it's because I have not installed the tools, is there a set of different tools to download? As far as I can tell, I am able to build .NET 4.5 apps OK.


.NET 4.5 is an in place replacement for 4.0 - you will find the assemblies in the 4.0 directory.

See the blogs by Rick Strahl and Scott Hanselman on this topic.

You can also find the specific versions in:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework

EDIT: This answer was correct until mid-2013, but you may have a more recent version since the big msbuild change. See the answer from Jonny Leeds for more details.

The version under C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319 actually is .NET 4.5. It's a little odd, but certainly mscorlib there contains AsyncTaskMethodBuilder etc which are used for async.

.NET 4.5 effectively overwrites .NET 4.


.NET 4.5 is not a side-by-side version, it replaces the assemblies for 4.0. Much like .NET 3.0, 3.5 and 3.5SP1 replaced the assemblies for 2.0. And added some new ones. The CLR version is still 4.0.30319. You only care about the reference assemblies, they are in c:\program files\reference assemblies.