dotnet pack
This article applies to: ✔️ .NET Core 3.1 SDK and later versions
dotnet pack
- Packs the code into a NuGet package.
dotnet pack [<PROJECT>|<SOLUTION>] [--artifacts-path <ARTIFACTS_DIR>]
[-c|--configuration <CONFIGURATION>] [--force]
[--include-source] [--include-symbols] [--interactive]
[--no-build] [--no-dependencies] [--no-restore] [--nologo]
[-o|--output <OUTPUT_DIRECTORY>] [--runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER>]
[-s|--serviceable] [--tl:[auto|on|off]] [-v|--verbosity <LEVEL>]
[--version-suffix <VERSION_SUFFIX>]
dotnet pack -h|--help
The dotnet pack
command builds the project and creates NuGet packages. The result of this command is a NuGet package (that is, a .nupkg file).
If you want to generate a package that contains the debug symbols, you have two options available:
--include-symbols
- it creates the symbols package.--include-source
- it creates the symbols package with asrc
folder inside containing the source files.
NuGet dependencies of the packed project are added to the .nuspec file, so they're properly resolved when the package is installed. If the packed project has references to other projects, the other projects aren't included in the package. Currently, you must have a package per project if you have project-to-project dependencies.
By default, dotnet pack
builds the project first. If you wish to avoid this behavior, pass the --no-build
option. This option is often useful in Continuous Integration (CI) build scenarios where you know the code was previously built.
Note
In some cases, the implicit build cannot be performed. This can occur when GeneratePackageOnBuild
is set, to avoid a cyclic dependency between build and pack targets. The build can also fail if there is a locked file or other issue.
You can provide MSBuild properties to the dotnet pack
command for the packing process. For more information, see NuGet pack target properties and the MSBuild Command-Line Reference. The Examples section shows how to use the MSBuild -p
switch for a couple of different scenarios.
Note
Web projects aren't packable.
You don't have to run dotnet restore
because it's run implicitly by all commands that require a restore to occur, such as dotnet new
, dotnet build
, dotnet run
, dotnet test
, dotnet publish
, and dotnet pack
. To disable implicit restore, use the --no-restore
option.
The dotnet restore
command is still useful in certain scenarios where explicitly restoring makes sense, such as continuous integration builds in Azure DevOps Services or in build systems that need to explicitly control when the restore occurs.
For information about how to manage NuGet feeds, see the dotnet restore
documentation.
This command supports the dotnet restore
options when passed in the long form (for example, --source
). Short form options, such as -s
, are not supported.
When you run this command, it initiates an asynchronous background download of advertising manifests for workloads. If the download is still running when this command finishes, the download is stopped. For more information, see Advertising manifests.
PROJECT | SOLUTION
The project or solution to pack. It's either a path to a csproj, vbproj, or fsproj file, or to a solution file or directory. If not specified, the command searches the current directory for a project or solution file.
--artifacts-path <ARTIFACTS_DIR>
All build output files from the executed command will go in subfolders under the specified path, separated by project. For more information see Artifacts Output Layout. Available since .NET 8 SDK.
-c|--configuration <CONFIGURATION>
Defines the build configuration. If you're developing with the .NET 8 SDK or a later version, the command uses the
Release
configuration by default for projects whose TargetFramework is set tonet8.0
or a later version. The default build configuration isDebug
for earlier versions of the SDK and for earlier target frameworks. You can override the default in project settings or by using this option. For more information, see 'dotnet publish' uses Release configuration and 'dotnet pack' uses Release configuration.
--force
Forces all dependencies to be resolved even if the last restore was successful. Specifying this flag is the same as deleting the project.assets.json file.
-?|-h|--help
Prints out a description of how to use the command.
--include-source
Includes the debug symbols NuGet packages in addition to the regular NuGet packages in the output directory. The sources files are included in the
src
folder within the symbols package.--include-symbols
Includes the debug symbols NuGet packages in addition to the regular NuGet packages in the output directory.
--interactive
Allows the command to stop and wait for user input or action. For example, to complete authentication. Available since .NET Core 3.0 SDK.
--no-build
Doesn't build the project before packing. It also implicitly sets the
--no-restore
flag.--no-dependencies
Ignores project-to-project references and only restores the root project.
--no-restore
Doesn't execute an implicit restore when running the command.
--nologo
Doesn't display the startup banner or the copyright message.
-o|--output <OUTPUT_DIRECTORY>
Places the built packages in the directory specified.
.NET 7.0.200 SDK
In the 7.0.200 SDK, if you specify the
--output
option when running this command on a solution, the CLI will emit an error. This is a regression and was fixed in 7.0.201 and later versions of the .NET SDK.
--runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER>
Specifies the target runtime to restore packages for. For a list of Runtime Identifiers (RIDs), see the RID catalog.
-s|--serviceable
Sets the serviceable flag in the package. For more information, see .NET Blog: .NET Framework 4.5.1 Supports Microsoft Security Updates for .NET NuGet Libraries.
--tl:[auto|on|off]
Specifies whether the terminal logger should be used for the build output. The default is
auto
, which first verifies the environment before enabling terminal logging. The environment check verifies that the terminal is capable of using modern output features and isn't using a redirected standard output before enabling the new logger.on
skips the environment check and enables terminal logging.off
skips the environment check and uses the default console logger.The terminal logger shows you the restore phase followed by the build phase. During each phase, the currently building projects appear at the bottom of the terminal. Each project that's building outputs both the MSBuild target currently being built and the amount of time spent on that target. You can search this information to learn more about the build. When a project is finished building, a single "build completed" section is written that captures:
- The name of the built project.
- The target framework (if multi-targeted).
- The status of that build.
- The primary output of that build (which is hyperlinked).
- Any diagnostics generated for that project.
This option is available starting in .NET 8.
-v|--verbosity <LEVEL>
Sets the verbosity level of the command. Allowed values are
q[uiet]
,m[inimal]
,n[ormal]
,d[etailed]
, anddiag[nostic]
. For more information, see LoggerVerbosity.
--version-suffix <VERSION_SUFFIX>
Defines the value for the
VersionSuffix
MSBuild property. The effect of this property on the package version depends on the values of theVersion
andVersionPrefix
properties, as shown in the following table:Properties with values Package version None 1.0.0
Version
$(Version)
VersionPrefix
only$(VersionPrefix)
VersionSuffix
only1.0.0-$(VersionSuffix)
VersionPrefix
andVersionSuffix
$(VersionPrefix)-$(VersionSuffix)
If you want to use
--version-suffix
, specifyVersionPrefix
and notVersion
in the project file. For example, ifVersionPrefix
is0.1.2
and you pass--version-suffix rc.1
todotnet pack
, the package version will be0.1.2-rc.1
.If
Version
has a value and you pass--version-suffix
todotnet pack
, the value specified for--version-suffix
is ignored.
Pack the project in the current directory:
.NET CLIdotnet pack
Pack the
app1
project:.NET CLIdotnet pack ~/projects/app1/project.csproj
Pack the project in the current directory and place the resulting packages into the
nupkgs
folder:.NET CLIdotnet pack --output nupkgs
Pack the project in the current directory into the
nupkgs
folder and skip the build step:.NET CLIdotnet pack --no-build --output nupkgs
With the project's version suffix configured as
<VersionSuffix>$(VersionSuffix)</VersionSuffix>
in the .csproj file, pack the current project and update the resulting package version with the given suffix:.NET CLIdotnet pack --version-suffix "ci-1234"
Set the package version to
2.1.0
with thePackageVersion
MSBuild property:.NET CLIdotnet pack -p:PackageVersion=2.1.0
Pack the project for a specific target framework:
.NET CLIdotnet pack -p:TargetFrameworks=net45
Pack the project and use a specific runtime (Windows) for the restore operation:
.NET CLIdotnet pack --runtime win-x64
Pack the project using a .nuspec file:
.NET CLIdotnet pack ~/projects/app1/project.csproj -p:NuspecFile=~/projects/app1/project.nuspec -p:NuspecBasePath=~/projects/app1/nuget
For information about how to use
NuspecFile
,NuspecBasePath
, andNuspecProperties
, see the following resources:
.NET feedback
.NET is an open source project. Select a link to provide feedback: