How to fix CS5001 error in Tests project when "IsTestProject" property is moved to Directory.Build.Props

Question

I have Directory.Build.Prop with the following common properties.

<Project>
    <PropertyGroup>
        <Deterministic>true</Deterministic>
        <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
        <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
        <AnalysisLevel>latest-all</AnalysisLevel>
        <EnforceCodeStyleInBuild>true</EnforceCodeStyleInBuild>
        <TreatWarningsAsErrors>true</TreatWarningsAsErrors>
    </PropertyGroup>
	
	<PropertyGroup>
		<CoverletCollectorVersion>6.0.1</CoverletCollectorVersion>
		<MicrosoftNetTestSdkVersion>17.9.0</MicrosoftNetTestSdkVersion>
		<MicrosoftAspCoreMvcTesting>8.0.2</MicrosoftAspCoreMvcTesting>
		<MoqVersion>4.20.70</MoqVersion>
		<NUnit3TestAdapterVersion>4.5.0</NUnit3TestAdapterVersion>
		<NUnitAnalyzersVersion>4.0.1</NUnitAnalyzersVersion>
		<NUnitVersion>4.1.0</NUnitVersion>
        <JunitXmlTestLoggerVersion>3.1.12</JunitXmlTestLoggerVersion>
		<GenerateDocumentationFile>true</GenerateDocumentationFile>
	</PropertyGroup>
	
	<PropertyGroup Condition="$([System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex]::IsMatch($(MSBuildProjectFile), 'Tests.csproj$'))">
        <IsTestProject>true</IsTestProject>
    </PropertyGroup>
    
    <PropertyGroup Condition="'$(IsTestProject)' == 'true'">
        <SonarQubeExclude>true</SonarQubeExclude>
        <IsPackable>false</IsPackable>
        <GenerateProgramFile>false</GenerateProgramFile>
    </PropertyGroup>
    <ItemGroup Condition="'$(IsTestProject)' == 'true'">
        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk" Version="$(MicrosoftNetTestSdkVersion)" />
        <PackageReference Include="NUnit" Version="$(NUnitVersion)" />
        <PackageReference Include="NUnit3TestAdapter" Version="$(NUnit3TestAdapterVersion)" />
        <PackageReference Include="NUnit.Analyzers" Version="$(NUnitAnalyzersVersion)" />
        <PackageReference Include="Moq" Version="$(MoqVersion)" />
        <PackageReference Include="coverlet.collector" Version="$(CoverletCollectorVersion)">
            <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers; buildtransitive</IncludeAssets>
            <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
        </PackageReference>        
        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Testing" Version="$(MicrosoftAspCoreMvcTesting)" />
        <PackageReference Include="JunitXml.TestLogger" Version="$(JunitXmlTestLoggerVersion)" />
    </ItemGroup>
    <ItemGroup>
        <PackageReference Include="StyleCop.Analyzers" Version="1.2.0-beta.556">
            <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers; buildtransitive</IncludeAssets>
            <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
        </PackageReference>
    </ItemGroup>
</Project>

Most of my Tests.csproj looks as follow, for e.g. UnitTests for MSQuestion.CS5001 is MSQuestion.CS5001.UnitTests.csproj which has following contents:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
      <Configurations>Debug;Release</Configurations>
      <RootNamespace>MSQuestions.CS5001</RootNamespace>
  </PropertyGroup>

With above build configs, I get following error.

Program does not contain a static 'Main' method suitable for an entry point

in MSQuestion.CS5001.UnitTests.

I've tried adding OutputType to Library which did not resolve above issue. I wonder if any one knows how to fix CS5001 in above case?

Answer 1

Hi @Archana Elrod , Welcome to Microsoft Q&A,

The error CS5001: Program does not contain a static 'Main' method suitable for an entry point occurs because by default, the .NET SDK expects a Main method in the project unless explicitly configured otherwise. This issue arises because test projects typically do not need an entry point (a Main method).

In your case, the problem seems to be related to the <GenerateProgramFile> property set to false for test projects. By disabling this, the implicit Program.cs file that serves as the entry point for test projects is not generated, resulting in the CS5001 error.

Set the <OutputType> property to Library in your test project files, ensuring they are treated as libraries and do not require an entry point.

Update your Directory.Build.Props file to include the following:

<PropertyGroup Condition="'$(IsTestProject)' == 'true'">

    <SonarQubeExclude>true</SonarQubeExclude>

    <IsPackable>false</IsPackable>

    <GenerateProgramFile>false</GenerateProgramFile>

    <OutputType>Library</OutputType> <!-- Add this line -->

</PropertyGroup>

This explicitly sets test projects to output as libraries, avoiding the need for a Main method.

Best Regards,

Jiale

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