NuGet CLI reference

The NuGet Command Line Interface (CLI), nuget.exe, provides the full extent of NuGet functionality to install, create, publish, and manage packages without making any changes to project files.

To use any command, open a command window or bash shell, then run nuget followed by the command and appropriate options, such as nuget help pack (to view help on the pack command).

This documentation reflects the latest version of the NuGet CLI. For exact details for any given version that you're using, run nuget help for the desired command.

To learn how to use basic commands with the nuget.exe CLI, see Install and use packages using the nuget.exe CLI.

Installing nuget.exe

Windows

Always install the latest version of the tool that supports your configuration.

If the nuget.exe CLI tool is already installed, you can update the tool to the latest version by using the command nuget update -self.

1. Download nuget.exe:

   • To download the latest recommended version, go to https://dist.nuget.org/win-x86-commandline/latest/nuget.exe.
   • To download the deprecated version 2.8.6, to maintain compatibility with older continuous integration systems, go to https://dist.nuget.org/win-x86-commandline/v2.8.6/nuget.exe. Version 2.8.6 isn't compatible with Mono.
   • To select a version to download, go to nuget.org/downloads.
     • Version 5.0 and later require .NET Framework 4.7.2 or later.
     • Version 4.1.0 or later is required to publish packages to nuget.org.

2. When prompted, save the file to a folder of your choice. The nuget.exe file is downloaded directly. The downloaded file isn't an installer, so there's no need to run the file directly from the browser.

3. To use the CLI tool from any folder, add the folder that contains the nuget.exe file to your PATH environment variable.

macOS / Linux

Behaviors can vary slightly based on your operating system distribution.

Note

Visual Studio for Mac was retired on August 31, 2024, in accordance with the Microsoft Modern Lifecycle Policy. You can continue to work with Visual Studio for Mac, but there are several other options for developers on macOS, such as the C# Dev Kit extension for VS Code.

For more information about support timelines and alternatives, see Visual Studio for Mac retired August 31, 2024.

1. Install Mono version 4.4.2 or later.

2. At a shell prompt, run the following command:

   # Download the latest stable version of `nuget.exe` to /usr/local/bin.
   sudo curl -o /usr/local/bin/nuget.exe https://dist.nuget.org/win-x86-commandline/latest/nuget.exe
   

3. Create an alias by adding the following code to the file that your operating system uses to store Bash aliases or configuration information. Typically, the ~/.bash_aliases or ~/.bash_profile file is used for this purpose.

   # Create an alias for `nuget`.
   alias nuget="mono /usr/local/bin/nuget.exe"
   

4. Reload the shell. Test the installation by entering the command nuget with no parameters. The command should print NuGet CLI help information to the screen.

Tip

To make the NuGet CLI available within the Package Manager Console in Visual Studio, see Using the nuget.exe CLI in the console.

Availability

See feature availability for exact details.

• All commands are available on Windows.
• All commands work with nuget.exe running on Mono except where indicated for pack, restore, and update.
• The pack, restore, delete, locals, and push commands are also available on Mac and Linux through the dotnet CLI.

Commands and applicability

Available commands and applicability to package creation, package consumption, and/or publishing a package to a host:

Common Commands	Applicable Roles	NuGet Version	Description
pack	Creation	2.7+	Creates a NuGet package from a .nuspec or project file. When running on Mono, creating a package from a project file is not supported.
push	Publishing	All	Publishes a package to a package source.
config	All	All	Gets or sets NuGet configuration values.
help or ?	All	All	Displays help information or help for a command.
locals	Consumption	3.3+	Lists locations of the global-packages, http-cache, and temp folders and clears the contents of those folders.
restore	Consumption	2.7+	Restores all packages referenced by the package management format in use. When running on Mono, restoring packages using the PackageReference format is not supported.
setapikey	Publishing, Consumption	All	Saves an API key for a given package source when that package source requires a key for access.
spec	Creation	All	Generates a .nuspec file, using tokens if generating the file from a Visual Studio project.

Secondary Commands	Applicable Roles	NuGet Version	Description
add	Publishing	3.3+	Adds a package to a non-HTTP package source using hierarchical layout. For HTTP sources, use push.
delete	Publishing	All	Removes or unlists a package from a package source.
init	Creation	3.3+	Adds packages from a folder to a package source using hierarchical layout.
install	Consumption	All	Installs a package into the current project but does not modify projects or reference files.
list	Consumption, perhaps Publishing	All	Displays packages from a given source.
mirror	Publishing	Deprecated in 3.2+	Mirrors a package and its dependencies from a source to a target repository.
search	Consumption	5.8+	Searches a given source using the query string provided.
sources	Consumption, Publishing	All	Manages package sources in configuration files.
update	Consumption	All	Updates a project's packages to the latest available versions. Not supported when running on Mono.

Different commands make use of various Environment variables.

NuGet CLI commands by applicable roles:

Role	Commands
Consumption	config, help, install, list, locals, restore, search, setapikey, sources, update
Creation	config, help, init, pack, spec
Publishing	add, config, delete, help, list, push, setapikey, sources

Developers concerned only with consuming packages, for example, need only understand that subset of NuGet commands.

Note

Command option names are case-insensitive. Options that are deprecated are not included in this reference, such as NoPrompt (replaced by NonInteractive) and Verbose (replaced by Verbosity).

Localization

NuGet.exe's progress, warning and error messages are translated into the same locales as Visual Studio. NuGet.exe ships as a single exe, and due to size considerations, only the most commonly surfaced messages are translated in all languages.