Why $(SolutionDir) is undefined in dotnet CLI?

Question

I'm trying to build my project from dotnet CLI.

I'm using dotnet build and it fails.

How to reproduct:

Create a simple console application using Visual Studio template
Add a file named Colors.txt to the solution directory
Add a file named Names.txt to the project directory

Modify csproj file to include a post-build event

<PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>netcoreapp3.1</TargetFramework>
</PropertyGroup>

<Target Name="CopySettingsToOutput" AfterTargets="PostBuildEvent">
    <Exec Command="copy $(ProjectDir)\Names.txt $(TargetDir)\Names.txt" />
    <Exec Command="copy $(SolutionDir)\Colors.txt $(TargetDir)\Colors.txt" />
</Target>

Now build using Visual Studio (it gets built)
Now build using dotnet build command and it fails. It says:

error MSB3073: The command "copy Undefined\Colors.txt C:\---path---\Colors.txt" exited with code 1.

Why $(SolutionDir) is undefined when using dotnet build?

I have the same issue. I'm guessing it's a context thing where dotnet build is only building the project and anything it references. Because it does not reference the solution (it's the other way around), it doesn't resolve a value. Visual Studio maintains a different context. — Ristogod, Jan 11 '22 at 06:39

score 5 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 22 '22 at 05:40

5

the walkaround is provide that property in dotnet command like:

$slnPath = 'directory where is solution'
dotnet build -property:SolutionDir=$slnPath

That can be usefull when you use dotnet in any build pipelines like Azure DevOps

answered Apr 22 '22 at 05:40

KondzioSSJ4

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Why $(SolutionDir) is undefined in dotnet CLI?

1 Answers1