Why is Newtonsoft.Json still first?

Because the figure is cumulative. For most of .NET's history it was the only reasonable JSON library, so it accumulated an enormous lead that System.Text.Json has not yet closed even though new projects increasingly use the built-in one.

Does this show current popularity?

Not exactly. It shows lifetime installs, which favours packages that have been around a long time. A package published last year would need extraordinary adoption to appear here at all.

Yes. It comes from The public NuGet search service at azuresearch-usnc.nuget.org. Nothing is invented or simulated, and if the source cannot be reached the saver reports that instead of drawing something plausible.

Does it cost anything or need an account?

No. Every screensaver here is free, runs in the browser and needs no sign-up. This one uses a public API that requires no key.

What .NET Installs Screensaver

The What .NET Installs screensaver ranks NuGet packages by total downloads since publication, live from the official NuGet search service with no key. Because the count is cumulative rather than recent, it reads as an archaeology of the .NET ecosystem: Newtonsoft.Json still leads by billions, long after Microsoft shipped a built-in JSON library. It runs in the browser with nothing to install; press ESC to exit.

How the What .NET Installs screensaver works

The saver reads The public NuGet search service at azuresearch-usnc.nuget.org.

No account and no key: the request goes straight from your browser, or from this site's own refreshed copy of the feed where the source does not allow browser access.

Values are drawn on a canvas that resizes with the window, so it works on a laptop or a wall display.

If the source is unreachable the saver says so on screen rather than showing stale numbers as though they were current.

A worked example

Sixteen bars, longest at the top, each labelled with the package id and its total install count in billions or millions. Newtonsoft.Json sits at the top; below it the Microsoft.Extensions.* family — dependency injection, logging, configuration — which is the modern stack that most new .NET projects pull in without thinking about it.

Settings & tips

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Frequently asked questions

Why is Newtonsoft.Json still first?: Because the figure is cumulative. For most of .NET's history it was the only reasonable JSON library, so it accumulated an enormous lead that System.Text.Json has not yet closed even though new projects increasingly use the built-in one.
Does this show current popularity?: Not exactly. It shows lifetime installs, which favours packages that have been around a long time. A package published last year would need extraordinary adoption to appear here at all.
Is this real data?: Yes. It comes from The public NuGet search service at azuresearch-usnc.nuget.org. Nothing is invented or simulated, and if the source cannot be reached the saver reports that instead of drawing something plausible.
Does it cost anything or need an account?: No. Every screensaver here is free, runs in the browser and needs no sign-up. This one uses a public API that requires no key.

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