How to: Install an Assembly into the Global Assembly Cache

Updated: June 2010

There are three ways to install an assembly into the global assembly cache:

• Using the Global Assembly Cache tool (Gacutil.exe).

  You can use Gacutil.exe to add strong-named assemblies to the global assembly cache and to view the contents of the global assembly cache.

  Note
  Gacutil.exe is only for development purposes and should not be used to install production assemblies into the global assembly cache.

• Using Microsoft Windows Installer 2.0.

  This is the recommended and most common way to add assemblies to the global assembly cache. The installer provides reference counting of assemblies in the global assembly cache, plus other benefits.

• Using the Mscorcfg.msc (.NET Framework Configuration Tool).

  The Mscorcfg.msc (.NET Framework Configuration Tool) allows you to view the global assembly cache and add new assemblies to the cache.

Note
In earlier versions of the .NET Framework, the Shfusion.dll Windows shell extension enabled you to install assemblies by dragging them in Windows Explorer. Beginning with the .NET Framework version 4, Shfusion.dll is obsolete.

To install a strong-named assembly into the global assembly cache using the Global Assembly Cache tool (Gacutil.exe)

• At the command prompt, type the following command:

  gacutil –I <assembly name>

  In this command, assembly name is the name of the assembly to install in the global assembly cache.

The following example installs an assembly with the file name hello.dll into the global assembly cache.

gacutil -i hello.dll

See Also

Reference

Gacutil.exe (Global Assembly Cache Tool)

Other Resources

Working with Assemblies and the Global Assembly Cache

Change History

Date	History	Reason
June 2010	Documented that Shfusion.dll is now obsolete.	Content bug fix.