An MSBuild SDK package that redirects to props and targets that comes inbox with .NET Framework. This SDK package is mostly used for testing and for compiling exclusively with the Full Framework MSBuild.
Visual Studio v15.6+ includes support for SDK's resolved from NuGet. That makes using the custom SDKs much easier.
See Using MSBuild project SDKs guide on Microsoft Docs for more information on how project SDKs work and how project SDKs are resolved.
-
Open your existing MSBuild v4 legacy project (in your code editor of your choice).
-
Remove the top
Import
element that importsMicrosoft.Common.props
, probably located just below the root<Project>
element. -
Remove the bottom
Import
element that importsMicrosoft.{Common/CSharp/FSharp/VisualBasic}.targets
, probably located just above the root</Project>
element. -
You can add the SDK import in four ways…
First, Remove unnecessary attributes like
xmlns
,DefaultTargets
(if onlyBuild
) andToolsVersion
(if only v15+). Keep any the other attributes if you have specified. Then add the SDK reference as per the following diffs.Using the
Sdk
attribute in theProject
element:-<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003"> +<Project Sdk="MSBuild.NET.Inbox.Sdk"> - <Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props" Condition="Exists('$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props')"/> <!-- Properties/Items/Targets --> - <Import Project="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets"/> </Project>
Using the
Sdk
element under theProject
element:-<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003"> +<Project> - <Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props" Condition="Exists('$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props')"/> + <Sdk Name="MSBuild.NET.Inbox.Sdk"> <!-- Properties/Items/Targets --> - <Import Project="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets"/> </Project>
Using explicit top and bottom imports with auto targets resolution:
-<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" DefaultTargets="Build" InitialTargets="DoWork" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003"> +<Project InitialTargets="DoWork"> - <Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props" Condition="Exists('$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props')"/> + <Import Sdk="MSBuild.NET.Inbox.Sdk" Project="Sdk.props"/> <!-- Properties/Items/Targets --> - <Import Project="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets"/> + <Import Sdk="MSBuild.NET.Inbox.Sdk" Project="Sdk.targets"/> <Target Name="DoWork"> <!-- Custom target logic --> </Target> </Project>
Using explicit top and bottom imports with named targets:
-<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" DefaultTargets="Build" InitialTargets="DoWork" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003"> +<Project InitialTargets="DoWork"> - <Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props" Condition="Exists('$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props')"/> + <Import Sdk="MSBuild.NET.Inbox.Sdk" Project="Microsoft.Common.props"/> <!-- Properties/Items/Targets --> - <Import Project="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets"/> + <Import Sdk="MSBuild.NET.Inbox.Sdk" Project="Microsoft.CSharp.targets"/> <Target Name="DoWork"> <!-- Custom target logic --> </Target> </Project>
-
Finally, You have to tell MSBuild that the
Sdk
should resolve from NuGet by- Adding a
global.json
containing the SDK name and version. - Appending a version info to the
Sdk
attribute value.
You can put the SDK version in the
global.json
file next to your solution:{ "msbuild-sdks": { "MSBuild.NET.Inbox.Sdk": "1.0.0" } }
Then, all of your project files, from that directory forward, uses the version from the
global.json
file. This would be a preferred solution for all the projects in your solution.Then again, you might want to override the version for just one project OR if you have only one project in your solution (without adding
global.json
), you can do so like this:<Project Sdk="MSBuild.NET.Inbox.Sdk/1.0.0"> <!-- Properties/Items/Targets --> </Project>
- Adding a
That's it! After that, you can use the Build
target to build the projects: e.g., msbuild -t:Build ...
.
- It will only work with Visual Studio IDE (Windows/Mac) as it requires the desktop
msbuild
and the target Platform SDKs which are not cross-platform. - It might work in Visual Studio Code, but you have to configure build tasks in
launch.json
to use desktopmsbuild
to build.