# Using Inventor 2027 Built-In Addin Dependency Isolation

Autodesk Inventor, working with .NET Framework, previously allowed add-ins to use NuGet package/assembly versions that differed from those bundled with Inventor. However, with Autodesk Inventor 2025-2026 and the framework upgrade to .NET 8, this no longer worked out of the box and caused version conflicts. Autodesk recently released Inventor 2027, using .NET 10, with built-in assembly isolation to address this.

This article shows how to use that built-in isolation, using `AssemblyLoadContext`, to load an add-in and its dependencies into a separate container and avoid version clashes

A [full sample application](https://github.com/tylerwarner33/autodesk-inventor-assembly-load-context) is available on GitHub. This repo combines the workflows for Inventor 2023-2024 (.NET Framework 4.8), Inventor 2025–2026 (.NET 8), and Inventor 2027 (.NET 10 with built-in isolation)

## What is [AssemblyLoadContext](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/dependency-loading/understanding-assemblyloadcontext)?

> *   It's the runtime's provider for locating and loading dependencies. Whenever a dependency is loaded, an AssemblyLoadContext instance is invoked to locate it.
>     

*   AssemblyLoadContext provides a service of locating, loading, and caching managed assemblies and other dependencies.
    
*   To support dynamic code loading and unloading, it creates an isolated context for loading code and its dependencies in their own AssemblyLoadContext instance.
    

## How to update the add-in?

### Update Addin (.addin) File

*   Add the `<UseInventorAssemblyContext>` property set to `0` (zero).
    

```xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Addin Type="Standard">
	<ClassId>{YOUR-GUID-HERE}</ClassId>
	<ClientId>{YOUR-GUID-HERE}</ClientId>

	<DisplayName>IsolatedInventorAddin</DisplayName>
	<Description>IsolatedInventorAddin</Description>

	<Assembly>IsolatedInventorAddin.dll</Assembly>

	<!--Created for Autodesk Inventor 2027+, version 31.0-->
	<SupportedSoftwareVersionGreaterThan>30..</SupportedSoftwareVersionGreaterThan>
	<LoadOnStartUp>1</LoadOnStartUp>
	<Hidden>0</Hidden>

	<UseInventorAssemblyContext>0</UseInventorAssemblyContext>
</Addin>
```

## Notes

*   The `<UseInventorAssemblyContext>` property is backwards compatible, as it is ignored and does not break when included in earlier Inventor versions.
    
*   With the change to `<Addin Type="Plugin">`, this add-in format is compatible and works as an `AppBundle` with the [Automation API](https://aps.autodesk.com/en/docs/design-automation/v3/developers_guide/overview/).
    

## References

*   TylerWarner.dev Blog - [Isolated Autodesk Addins Series](https://tylerwarner.dev/series/isolated-addins)
    
*   Microsoft Learn - [System.Runtime.Loader.AssemblyLoadContext](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/dependency-loading/understanding-assemblyloadcontext)
    
*   GitHub - dotnet - [AssemblyLoadContext.md](https://github.com/dotnet/coreclr/blob/v2.1.0/Documentation/design-docs/assemblyloadcontext.md)
    
*   Autodesk Inventor Documentation - [Creating An Inventor Add-In](https://help.autodesk.com/view/INVNTOR/2027/ENU/?guid=GUID-52422162-1784-4E8F-B495-CDB7BE9987AB)