After five years without a stable branch, Framework Mono (previously known as Mono Project), an open-source, cross-platform implementation of Microsoft’s .NET Framework, has just rolled out its 6.14 release—now from its new home at WineHQ. As you probably know, in August 2024, Microsoft transferred stewardship of the Mono Project to the WineHQ organization.
One of the biggest highlights in this release is the newly integrated native ARM64 compatibility on macOS. Users can also look forward to resource leak fixes in System.Windows.Forms, a redesigned Clipboard and Drag and Drop implementation, and overall stability improvements—especially when running on X11.
Furthermore, there have been significant advancements in COM interface generation and fixes for process-hang issues on exit. In addition, the 6.14 build is now more robust on Linux amd64, with warning fixes enforced through GitLab CI.
Platform support continues to be a central topic of discussion. The current roster of tested platforms includes Linux (x86, amd64, arm64), macOS (amd64, arm64), and Windows (x86, amd64), although testing coverage varies: Linux amd64 undergoes both automatic and manual checks, while the macOS ARM64 port is tested manually only.
Meanwhile, certain less common configurations—such as Linux armv5te—are presently broken. The good news is that a workaround exists by disabling float optimizations, and there are plans to fix it in the near future, especially since someone depends on that architecture.
Another noteworthy update is the simultaneous release of libgdiplus 6.2. This package, which did not receive a separate announcement at launch time, is available as a source tarball from WineHQ. Because neither Framework Mono nor libgdiplus is currently distributed in binary form, curious enthusiasts and developers must head to the WineHQ download pages to grab the source code.
For more information, refer to the announcement or see the release notes.
