Get NuGet package folder in MSBuild

Question

I want to call executable tools like NUnit which I manage via NuGet in MSBuild:

<Target Name="Test">
  <CreateItem Include="$(BuildCompileDirectory)\*.Tests.*dll">
    <Output TaskParameter="Include" ItemName="TestAssemblies" />
  </CreateItem>
  <NUnit
    Assemblies="@(TestAssemblies)"
    ToolPath="$(PackagesDirectory)\NUnit.2.5.10.11092\tools"
    WorkingDirectory="$(BuildCompileDirectory)"
    OutputXmlFile="$(BuildDirectory)\$(SolutionName).Tests.xml" />
</Target>

The problem is that the folder of a NuGet packages is containing the version number of the package. For instance nunit-console.exe is in the folder packages\NUnit.2.5.10.11092\tools. If I update the NUnit package this path will change and I have to update my MSBuild script. That isn't acceptable.

MSBuild doesn't allow Wildcards in directories, so this isn't working:

ToolPath="$(PackagesDirectory)\NUnit.*\tools"

How can I call tools in MSBuild without having to update my build script whenever I update a NuGet package?

In MsBuild 15 you can use `PackageReference` with `GeneratePathProperty="true"`. See https://www.patriksvensson.se/2019/09/how-to-find-a-nuget-package-path-from-msbuild . — Mike Rosoft, May 14 '20 at 15:57

score 13 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 16 '20 at 12:53

13

You can use MSBuild Transforms to get the relative directory of a specific tool:

<ItemGroup>
  <NunitPackage Include="$(PackagesDirectory)\NUnit.*\tools\nunit-console.exe"/>
</ItemGroup>

<Target Name="Test">
  <CreateItem Include="$(BuildCompileDirectory)\*.Tests.*dll">
    <Output TaskParameter="Include" ItemName="TestAssemblies" />
  </CreateItem>
  <NUnit
    Assemblies="@(TestAssemblies)"
    ToolPath="@(NunitPackage->'%(relativedir)')"
    WorkingDirectory="$(BuildCompileDirectory)"
    OutputXmlFile="$(BuildDirectory)\$(SolutionName).Tests.xml" />
</Target>

edited Apr 16 '20 at 12:53

Matt Lacey

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answered Jul 29 '12 at 00:04

Martin Buberl

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5

Is "$(PackagesDirectory)" an item you've defined yourself? – David Tchepak Aug 05 '15 at 02:54
@DavidTchepak Yes, it is. – Martin Buberl Aug 05 '15 at 13:12
What if solution is big and contains multiple versions of the same package (used by different projects)? In that case you may reference the wrong version (i.e. not the one which is specified in your project's "packages.config" file. – johnnyjob Sep 26 '16 at 08:21
You can also use the `$(NuGetPackageRoot)` macro. https://stackoverflow.com/a/57048513/1885735 – ofthelit Aug 22 '22 at 14:39

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 22 '22 at 14:58

The comment of Mike Rosoft links to Patrik Svensson his blog post and it helped me as follows:

Add GeneratePathProperty="true" to PackageReference of the NuGet package you want to have the location of.
Use it as $(PkgPackage_Name) whereby the dots are replaced by an underscore. Note the Pkg prefix.

This example forces Nswag to use the 32 bit dotnet.exe by overwriting the existing NSwagExe_Net60 property. This was necessary on an x86 project.

  <PropertyGroup>
    <NSwagExe_Net60>"$(MSBuildProgramFiles32)\dotnet\dotnet.exe" "$(PkgNSwag_MSBuild)\tools\Net60\dotnet-nswag.dll"</NSwagExe_Net60>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="NSwag.MSBuild" Version="13.16.1" GeneratePathProperty="true">
  </ItemGroup>

Get NuGet package folder in MSBuild

2 Answers2

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