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dotnet build
This article applies to: ✔️ .NET Core 3.1 SDK and later versions
NAME
dotnet-build - Builds a project and all of its dependencies.
SYNOPSIS
dotnet build [<PROJECT>|<SOLUTION>] [-a|--arch <ARCHITECTURE>]
[-c|--configuration <CONFIGURATION>] [-f|--framework <FRAMEWORK>]
[--disable-build-servers]
[--force] [--interactive] [--no-dependencies] [--no-incremental]
[--no-restore] [--nologo] [--no-self-contained] [--os <OS>]
[-o|--output <OUTPUT_DIRECTORY>]
[-p|--property:<PROPERTYNAME>=<VALUE>]
[-r|--runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER>]
[--self-contained [true|false]] [--source <SOURCE>]
[--tl [auto|on|off]] [--use-current-runtime, --ucr [true|false]]
[-v|--verbosity <LEVEL>] [--version-suffix <VERSION_SUFFIX>]
dotnet build -h|--help
DESCRIPTION
The dotnet build command builds the project and its dependencies into a set of binaries.
The binaries include the project’s code in Intermediate Language (IL) files with a .dll
extension. Depending on the project type and settings, other files may be included, such
as:
• An executable that can be used to run the application, if the project type is an
executable targeting .NET Core 3.0 or later.
• Symbol files used for debugging with a .pdb extension.
• A .deps.json file, which lists the dependencies of the application or library.
• A .runtimeconfig.json file, which specifies the shared runtime and its version for an
application.
• Other libraries that the project depends on (via project references or NuGet package
references).
For executable projects targeting versions earlier than .NET Core 3.0, library
dependencies from NuGet are typically NOT copied to the output folder. They’re resolved
from the NuGet global packages folder at run time. With that in mind, the product of
dotnet build isn’t ready to be transferred to another machine to run. To create a version
of the application that can be deployed, you need to publish it (for example, with the
dotnet publish command). For more information, see .NET Application Deployment.
For executable projects targeting .NET Core 3.0 and later, library dependencies are copied
to the output folder. This means that if there isn’t any other publish-specific logic
(such as Web projects have), the build output should be deployable.
Implicit restore
Building requires the project.assets.json file, which lists the dependencies of your
application. The file is created when dotnet restore is executed. Without the assets
file in place, the tooling can’t resolve reference assemblies, which results in errors.
You don’t have to run dotnet restore because it’s run implicitly by all commands that
require a restore to occur, such as dotnet new, dotnet build, dotnet run, dotnet test,
dotnet publish, and dotnet pack. To disable implicit restore, use the --no-restore
option.
The dotnet restore command is still useful in certain scenarios where explicitly restoring
makes sense, such as continuous integration builds in Azure DevOps Services or in build
systems that need to explicitly control when the restore occurs.
For information about how to manage NuGet feeds, see the dotnet restore documentation.
This command supports the dotnet restore options when passed in the long form (for
example, --source). Short form options, such as -s, are not supported.
Executable or library output
Whether the project is executable or not is determined by the <OutputType> property in the
project file. The following example shows a project that produces executable code:
<PropertyGroup>
<OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
</PropertyGroup>
To produce a library, omit the <OutputType> property or change its value to Library. The
IL DLL for a library doesn’t contain entry points and can’t be executed.
MSBuild
dotnet build uses MSBuild to build the project, so it supports both parallel and
incremental builds. For more information, see Incremental Builds.
In addition to its options, the dotnet build command accepts MSBuild options, such as -p
for setting properties or -l to define a logger. For more information about these
options, see the MSBuild Command-Line Reference. Or you can also use the dotnet msbuild
command.
When dotnet build is run automatically by dotnet run, arguments like
-property:property=value aren’t respected.
Running dotnet build is equivalent to running dotnet msbuild -restore; however, the
default verbosity of the output is different.
Workload manifest downloads
When you run this command, it initiates an asynchronous background download of advertising
manifests for workloads. If the download is still running when this command finishes, the
download is stopped. For more information, see Advertising manifests.
ARGUMENTS
PROJECT | SOLUTION
The project or solution file to build. If a project or solution file isn’t specified,
MSBuild searches the current working directory for a file that has a file extension that
ends in either proj or sln and uses that file.
OPTIONS
• -a|--arch <ARCHITECTURE>
Specifies the target architecture. This is a shorthand syntax for setting the Runtime
Identifier (RID), where the provided value is combined with the default RID. For
example, on a win-x64 machine, specifying --arch x86 sets the RID to win-x86. If you
use this option, don’t use the -r|--runtime option. Available since .NET 6 Preview 7.
• -c|--configuration <CONFIGURATION>
Defines the build configuration. The default for most projects is Debug, but you can
override the build configuration settings in your project.
• --disable-build-servers
Forces the command to ignore any persistent build servers. This option provides a
consistent way to disable all use of build caching, which forces a build from scratch.
A build that doesn’t rely on caches is useful when the caches might be corrupted or
incorrect for some reason. Available since .NET 7 SDK.
• -f|--framework <FRAMEWORK>
Compiles for a specific framework. The framework must be defined in the project file.
Examples: net7.0, net462.
• --force
Forces all dependencies to be resolved even if the last restore was successful.
Specifying this flag is the same as deleting the project.assets.json file.
• -?|-h|--help
Prints out a description of how to use the command.
• --interactive
Allows the command to stop and wait for user input or action. For example, to complete
authentication. Available since .NET Core 3.0 SDK.
• --no-dependencies
Ignores project-to-project (P2P) references and only builds the specified root project.
• --no-incremental
Marks the build as unsafe for incremental build. This flag turns off incremental
compilation and forces a clean rebuild of the project’s dependency graph.
• --no-restore
Doesn’t execute an implicit restore during build.
• --nologo
Doesn’t display the startup banner or the copyright message.
• --no-self-contained
Publishes the application as a framework dependent application. A compatible .NET
runtime must be installed on the target machine to run the application. Available since
.NET 6 SDK.
• -o|--output <OUTPUT_DIRECTORY>
Directory in which to place the built binaries. If not specified, the default path is
./bin/<configuration>/<framework>/. For projects with multiple target frameworks (via
the TargetFrameworks property), you also need to define --framework when you specify
this option.
• .NET 7.0.200 SDK and later
If you specify the --output option when running this command on a solution, the CLI
will emit a warning (an error in 7.0.200) due to the unclear semantics of the output
path. The --output option is disallowed because all outputs of all built projects
would be copied into the specified directory, which isn’t compatible with multi-
targeted projects, as well as projects that have different versions of direct and
transitive dependencies. For more information, see Solution-level --output option no
longer valid for build-related commands.
• --os <OS>
Specifies the target operating system (OS). This is a shorthand syntax for setting the
Runtime Identifier (RID), where the provided value is combined with the default RID.
For example, on a win-x64 machine, specifying --os linux sets the RID to linux-x64. If
you use this option, don’t use the -r|--runtime option. Available since .NET 6.
• -p|--property:<PROPERTYNAME>=<VALUE>
Sets one or more MSBuild properties. Specify multiple properties delimited by
semicolons or by repeating the option:
--property:<NAME1>=<VALUE1>;<NAME2>=<VALUE2>
--property:<NAME1>=<VALUE1> --property:<NAME2>=<VALUE2>
• -r|--runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER>
Specifies the target runtime. For a list of Runtime Identifiers (RIDs), see the RID
catalog. If you use this option with .NET 6 SDK, use --self-contained or --no-self-
contained also. If not specified, the default is to build for the current OS and
architecture.
• --self-contained [true|false]
Publishes the .NET runtime with the application so the runtime doesn’t need to be
installed on the target machine. The default is true if a runtime identifier is
specified. Available since .NET 6.
• --source <SOURCE>
The URI of the NuGet package source to use during the restore operation.
• --tl [auto|on|off]
Specifies whether the terminal logger should be used for the build output. The default
is auto, which first verifies the environment before enabling terminal logging. The
environment check verifies that the terminal is capable of using modern output features
and isn’t using a redirected standard output before enabling the new logger. on skips
the environment check and enables terminal logging. off skips the environment check and
uses the default console logger.
The terminal logger shows you the restore phase followed by the build phase. During
each phase, the currently building projects appear at the bottom of the terminal. Each
project that’s building outputs both the MSBuild target currently being built and the
amount of time spent on that target. You can search this information to learn more
about the build. When a project is finished building, a single “build completed”
section is written for that captures:
• The name of the built project
• The target framework (if multi-targeted)
• The status of that build
• The primary output of that build (which is hyperlinked)
• Any diagnostics generated for that project
This option is available starting in .NET 8.
• -v|--verbosity <LEVEL>
Sets the verbosity level of the command. Allowed values are q[uiet], m[inimal],
n[ormal], d[etailed], and diag[nostic]. The default is minimal. By default, MSBuild
displays warnings and errors at all verbosity levels. To exclude warnings, use
/property:WarningLevel=0. For more information, see
<xref:Microsoft.Build.Framework.LoggerVerbosity> and WarningLevel.
• --use-current-runtime, --ucr [true|false]
Sets the RuntimeIdentifier to a platform portable RuntimeIdentifier based on the one of
your machine. This happens implicitly with properties that require a RuntimeIdentifier,
such as SelfContained, PublishAot, PublishSelfContained, PublishSingleFile, and
PublishReadyToRun. If the property is set to false, that implicit resolution will no
longer occur.
• --version-suffix <VERSION_SUFFIX>
Sets the value of the $(VersionSuffix) property to use when building the project. This
only works if the $(Version) property isn’t set. Then, $(Version) is set to the
$(VersionPrefix) combined with the $(VersionSuffix), separated by a dash.
EXAMPLES
• Build a project and its dependencies:
dotnet build
• Build a project and its dependencies using Release configuration:
dotnet build --configuration Release
• Build a project and its dependencies for a specific runtime (in this example, Ubuntu
18.04):
dotnet build --runtime ubuntu.18.04-x64
• Build the project and use the specified NuGet package source during the restore
operation:
dotnet build --source c:\packages\mypackages
• Build the project and set version 1.2.3.4 as a build parameter using the -p MSBuild
option:
dotnet build -p:Version=1.2.3.4
2023-10-25 dotnet-build(1)