SharePoint solutions can't be build with buildtool v18 because of an SDK version error.

Question

SharePoint solutions can't be build with buildtool v18 because of an SDK version error.

Michael Kriese 106

SharePoint solutions can't be build because of an SDK version error.

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\18\Professional\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v18.0\SharePointTools\Microsoft.VisualStudio.SharePoint.targets(235,5): error : Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.VisualStudio.Modeling.Sdk, Version=17.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a' or one of its dependencies.

The file C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\18\Professional\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v18.0\SharePointTools\Microsoft.VisualStudio.SharePoint.Tasks.dll links to Microsoft.VisualStudio.Modeling.Sdk, Version=17.0.0.0 instead of Microsoft.VisualStudio.Modeling.Sdk, Version=18.0.0.0.

To reproduce:

open VS 2026 Developer Shell
run msbuild solution.csproj /t:package /m /v:m /nodeReuse:false
See the error

1 answer

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Answer 1

Surya Amrutha Vaishnavi Lanka (INFOSYS LIMITED) 1,115 Microsoft External Staff

Thanks for reaching out! The SDK when trying to build SharePoint solutions in Visual Studio. The error indicates that the project is trying to load a specific version of the Microsoft.VisualStudio.Modeling.Sdk assembly (Version 17.0.0.0) which may not be compatible with your current setup in Visual Studio 2026.
Check the below steps which are helpful
Check SDK Compatibility: Confirm that you have the correct version of the SharePoint SDK installed. For Visual Studio 2026, ensure that all components are up-to-date and compatible.

Modify Project Configuration: Open your project file (.csproj) and see if you can manually change the references to use Version 18.0.0.0 instead of 17.0.0.0. This might resolve the referencing issue.

Repair Visual Studio: Sometimes, repairing the Visual Studio installation can fix underlying issues with assemblies not being recognized or loading properly. You can do this through the Visual Studio Installer.

Check Dependencies: Make sure all dependencies and components your project relies on are installed and properly configured in your environment.

Update NuGet Packages: If your project utilizes NuGet packages, check to ensure they are also updated to be compatible with your current SDK version.

Michael Kriese 106 Reputation points

2025-12-01T13:52:11.1866667+00:00

This isn't an issue of my project, i simply include the sharepoint sdk which is done by the project wizzard. so i don't have any influence on the assembly loading.

the Microsoft.VisualStudio.SharePoint.Tasks.dll from the SharePoint SDK is referencing / loading the Microsoft.VisualStudio.Modeling.Sdk v17.
Surya Amrutha Vaishnavi Lanka (INFOSYS LIMITED) 1,115 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-12-03T08:43:53.7633333+00:00
Thank you for the clarification.

Since the issue is coming directly from the SharePoint SDK installed through the Visual Studio project wizard, and not from your project configuration, the problem is indeed caused by a version mismatch inside the SharePoint SDK itself. This causes the build failure because the SDK dependencies were not updated for BuildTools v18.

Ensure all Visual Studio components and SharePoint Developer Tools are updated.

Open Visual Studio Installer and modify next update SharePoint development tools + MSBuild tools v18 components. Microsoft may push an updated SDK version resolving the dependency mismatch.

Temporarily build using MSBuild v17 (if available)

Until Microsoft updates the SharePoint SDK to reference Modeling SDK v18, building with MSBuild 17.x avoids the mismatch.

Report this as a compatibility issue to Microsoft Developer Community

Since the mismatch is within the SDK package, Microsoft needs to update the package to reference the correct Modeling SDK version (18.0.0.0).

This is a SharePoint SDK compatibility issue with Visual Studio 2026 build tools, and not a problem in your project configuration. Updating VS components or temporarily using MSBuild v17 are the only available workarounds until Microsoft updates the SDK.
Surya Amrutha Vaishnavi Lanka (INFOSYS LIMITED) 1,115 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-12-05T06:21:39.6966667+00:00

Hope you’re doing well! Please let us know if the issue persists or resolved. If the answer is helpful, please click “Accept Answer” and kindly approve it. If we didn’t get any response from your side. we will proceed to close the thread by 9th December

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SharePoint solutions can't be build with buildtool v18 because of an SDK version error.

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