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Tutorial: Install and use a .NET global tool using the .NET CLI

This article applies to: ✔️ .NET 8 SDK and later versions

This tutorial shows you how to install and use a global tool. The tool you use is the one you create in the first tutorial of this series.

Prerequisites

Starting with .NET 10.0.100, you can run .NET tools without permanent installation using dnx:

  1. Run the tool directly using dnx (simplified syntax):

    dnx dotnet-env --add-source ./nupkg

    The --add-source parameter tells the .NET CLI to use the ./nupkg directory as an additional source feed for NuGet packages when the tool isn't available on NuGet.org.

Use the tool as a global tool (traditional installation)

If you prefer permanent installation for frequent use:

  1. Install the tool from the package by running the dotnet tool install command in the dotnet-env project folder:

    dotnet tool install --global --add-source ./nupkg dotnet-env

    The --global parameter tells the .NET CLI to install the tool binaries in a default location that's automatically added to the PATH environment variable.

    The --add-source parameter tells the .NET CLI to temporarily use the ./nupkg directory as an additional source feed for NuGet packages. You gave your package a unique name to make sure it's only found in the ./nupkg directory, not on NuGet.org.

    The output shows the command used to call the tool and the version installed:

    You can invoke the tool using the following command: dotnet-env
Tool 'dotnet-env' (version '1.0.0') was successfully installed.

    Note

    By default the architecture of the .NET binaries to install represents the currently running OS architecture. To specify a different OS architecture, see dotnet tool install, --arch option.

  2. Invoke the tool:

    dotnet-env

    Note

    If the command fails, open a new terminal to refresh the PATH environment variable.

  3. Remove the tool by running the dotnet tool uninstall command:

    dotnet tool uninstall -g dotnet-env

Use the tool as a global tool installed in a custom location

  1. Install the tool from the package.

    On Windows:

    dotnet tool install --tool-path c:\dotnet-tools --add-source ./nupkg dotnet-env

    On Linux or macOS:

    dotnet tool install --tool-path ~/bin --add-source ./nupkg dotnet-env

    The --tool-path parameter tells the .NET CLI to install the tool binaries in the specified location. If the directory doesn't exist, it's created. The directory isn't automatically added to the PATH environment variable.

    The output shows the command used to call the tool and the version installed:

    You can invoke the tool using the following command: dotnet-env
Tool 'dotnet-env' (version '1.0.0') was successfully installed.

  2. Invoke the tool:

    On Windows:

    c:\dotnet-tools\dotnet-env

    On Linux or macOS:

    ~/bin/dotnet-env

  3. Remove the tool by running the dotnet tool uninstall command:

    On Windows:

    dotnet tool uninstall --tool-path c:\dotnet-tools dotnet-env

    On Linux or macOS:

    dotnet tool uninstall --tool-path ~/bin dotnet-env

Troubleshoot

If you get an error message while following the tutorial, see Troubleshoot .NET tool usage issues.

Next steps

In this tutorial, you installed and used a tool as a global tool. For more information on installing and using global tools, see Managing global tools. To install and use the same tool as a local tool, advance to the next tutorial.

Install and use local tools

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