MSB4025 diagnostic code

This article describes the MSB4025 error code.

Message text

MSB4025: The project file could not be loaded.

Description

This error occurs when MSBuild tries to load and parse a project, but the project file or MSBuild import file can't be loaded. The file must be an XML MSBuild file, such as a validly formatted project file, a .props or .targets file, or a file with any other extension that contains XML intended for interpretation by MSBuild.

The standard output message text is followed by additional information from the operating system. Look to the additional information provided to determine the cause of the problem.

Here are some typical causes:

• The project file is missing, the path to the file is incorrect, or the path or file name is misspelled.
• Unauthorized access issues with the file.
• XML parsing errors in the project file.
• The project file is open and locked by another program.

Resolution

If it's not obvious what imported file caused the problem, rerun the build with full diagnostic logs by using the -verbosity:diag command-line switch, and then check the MSBuild log file. For longer output logs on large projects, consider using the binary log -bl command-line switch with the MSBuild Structured Log Viewer to view the output more easily.

Applies to

All versions of MSBuild