Batch script that automates the building of a C# solution

Question

I need to create a batch script that:

1. git checkouts a branch
2. git pulls it
3. build the C# solution
4. store the built C# solution in a location specified by the user

I have done steps 1 and 2 and they work fine. I am having problems with steps 3 and 4. How do I go about doing this? I have the file "Automated_Test_Recorder.sln".

The batch script should create a folder named "Automated_Test_Recorder" with the built solution inside.

I have seen something about using msbuild however I tried it and it does not seem to be recognised. Is there an alternative to this because if another user runs my batch script it will not work if they do not have msbuild.

Answer 1

I am using the following script to rebuild one of my solutions:

::  find Visual Studio installation directory
::  requires vswhere to be on the PATH
::  typical "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\vswhere.exe"
::  cf. https://github.com/microsoft/vswhere
for /f "usebackq tokens=1* delims=: " %%i in (`vswhere -latest -requires Microsoft.Component.MSBuild`) do (
  if /i "%%i"=="installationPath" set InstallDir=%%j
)

::  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/msbuild/msbuild-command-line-reference?view=vs-2019
echo InstallDir=%InstallDir%
if exist "%InstallDir%\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" (
  "%InstallDir%\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" -nologo -verbosity:normal akFortune.sln -property:Configuration=Release
) else (
echo.
echo MSBuild not found!
echo expected in "%InstallDir%\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe"
echo.
goto xit
)