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dotnet command

       This article applies to: ✔️ .NET Core 2.1 SDK and later versions

NAME

       dotnet - The generic driver for the .NET CLI.

SYNOPSIS

       To get information about the available commands and the environment:

              dotnet [--version] [--info] [--list-runtimes] [--list-sdks]

              dotnet -h|--help

       To run a command (requires SDK installation):

              dotnet <COMMAND> [-d|--diagnostics] [-h|--help] [--verbosity <LEVEL>]
                  [command-options] [arguments]

       To run an application:

              dotnet [--additionalprobingpath <PATH>] [--additional-deps <PATH>]
                  [--fx-version <VERSION>]  [--roll-forward <SETTING>]
                  <PATH_TO_APPLICATION> [arguments]

              dotnet exec [--additionalprobingpath] [--additional-deps <PATH>]
                  [--fx-version <VERSION>]  [--roll-forward <SETTING>]
                  <PATH_TO_APPLICATION> [arguments]

       --roll-forward  is  available  since  .NET Core 3.x.  Use --roll-forward-on-no-candidate-fx for .NET Core
       2.x.

DESCRIPTION

       The dotnet command has two functions:

       • It provides commands for working with .NET projects.

         For example, dotnet build builds a project.  Each command defines its own options and  arguments.   All
         commands support the --help option for printing out brief documentation about how to use the command.

       • It runs .NET applications.

         You  specify the path to an application .dll file to run the application.  To run the application means
         to find and execute the entry point, which in the case of console apps is the Main method.   For  exam‐
         ple,  dotnet  myapp.dll runs the myapp application.  See .NET application deployment to learn about de‐
         ployment options.

OPTIONS

Different options are available for dotnet by itself, for running a command, and for running an applica‐
tion.

Options for dotnet by itself
The following options are for dotnet by itself. For example, dotnet --info. They print out information
about the environment.

• --info

Prints out detailed information about a .NET installation and the machine environment, such as the cur‐
rent operating system, and commit SHA of the .NET version.

• --version

Prints out the version of the .NET SDK used by dotnet commands. Includes the effects of any global.json

• --list-runtimes

Prints out a list of the installed .NET runtimes. An x86 version of the SDK lists only x86 runtimes,
and an x64 version of the SDK lists only x64 runtimes.

• --list-sdks

Prints out a list of the installed .NET SDKs.

• -?|-h|--help

Prints out a list of available commands.

SDK options for running a command
The following options are for dotnet with a command. For example, dotnet build --help.

• -d|--diagnostics

Enables diagnostic output.

• -v|--verbosity <LEVEL>

Sets the verbosity level of the command. Allowed values are q[uiet], m[inimal], n[ormal], d[etailed],
and diag[nostic]. Not supported in every command. See specific command page to determine if this op‐
tion is available.

• -?|-h|--help

Prints out documentation for a given command, such as dotnet build --help.

• command options

Each command defines options specific to that command. See specific command page for a list of avail‐
able options.

Runtime options
The following options are available when dotnet runs an application. For example, dotnet myapp.dll
--roll-forward Major.

• --additionalprobingpath <PATH>

Path containing probing policy and assemblies to probe.

• --additional-deps <PATH>

Path to an additional .deps.json file. A deps.json file contains a list of dependencies, compilation
dependencies, and version information used to address assembly conflicts. For more information, see
Runtime Configuration Files (https://github.com/dotnet/sdk/blob/main/documentation/specs/runtime-con‐
figuration-file.md) on GitHub.

• --depsfile <PATH_TO_DEPSFILE>

Path to the deps.json file. A deps.json file is a configuration file that contains information about
dependencies necessary to run the application. This file is generated by the .NET SDK.

• --runtimeconfig

Path to a runtimeconfig.json file. A runtimeconfig.json file is a configuration file that contains
run-time settings. For more information, see .NET runtime configuration settings.

• --roll-forward <SETTING> Available starting with .NET Core SDK 3.0.

Controls how roll forward is applied to the app. The SETTING can be one of the following values. If
not specified, Minor is the default.

• LatestPatch - Roll forward to the highest patch version. This disables minor version roll forward.

• Minor - Roll forward to the lowest higher minor version, if requested minor version is missing. If
the requested minor version is present, then the LatestPatch policy is used.

• Major - Roll forward to lowest higher major version, and lowest minor version, if requested major
version is missing. If the requested major version is present, then the Minor policy is used.

• LatestMinor - Roll forward to highest minor version, even if requested minor version is present. In‐
tended for component hosting scenarios.

• LatestMajor - Roll forward to highest major and highest minor version, even if requested major is
present. Intended for component hosting scenarios.

• Disable - Don’t roll forward. Only bind to specified version. This policy isn’t recommended for
general use because it disables the ability to roll forward to the latest patches. This value is on‐
ly recommended for testing.

With the exception of Disable, all settings will use the highest available patch version.

Roll forward behavior can also be configured in a project file property, a runtime configuration file
property, and an environment variable. For more information, see Major-version runtime roll forward.

• --roll-forward-on-no-candidate-fx <N> Available in .NET Core 2.x SDK.

Defines behavior when the required shared framework is not available. N can be:

• 0 - Disable even minor version roll forward.

• 1 - Roll forward on minor version, but not on major version. This is the default behavior.

• 2 - Roll forward on minor and major versions.

For more information, see Roll forward.

Starting with .NET Core 3.0, this option is superseded by --roll-forward, and that option should be
used instead.

• --fx-version <VERSION>

Version of the .NET runtime to use to run the application.

This option overrides the version of the first framework reference in the application’s .runtimecon‐
fig.json file. This means it only works as expected if there’s just one framework reference. If the
application has more than one framework reference, using this option may cause errors.

dotnet commands
General
Command Function
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
dotnet build Builds a .NET application.
dotnet build-server Interacts with servers started by a
build.
dotnet clean Clean build outputs.
dotnet help Shows more detailed documentation on‐
line for the command.
dotnet migrate Migrates a valid Preview 2 project to
a .NET Core SDK 1.0 project.
dotnet msbuild Provides access to the MSBuild com‐
mand line.
dotnet new Initializes a C# or F# project for a
given template.
dotnet pack Creates a NuGet package of your code.
dotnet publish Publishes a .NET framework-dependent
or self-contained application.
dotnet restore Restores the dependencies for a given
application.
dotnet run Runs the application from source.
dotnet sdk check Shows up-to-date status of installed
SDK and Runtime versions.
dotnet sln Options to add, remove, and list
projects in a solution file.
dotnet store Stores assemblies in the runtime
package store.
dotnet test Runs tests using a test runner.

Project references
Command Function
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
dotnet add reference Adds a project reference.
dotnet list reference Lists project references.
dotnet remove reference Removes a project reference.

NuGet packages
Command Function
─────────────────────────────────────────────────
dotnet add package Adds a NuGet package.
dotnet remove package Removes a NuGet package.

NuGet commands
Command Function
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
dotnet nuget delete Deletes or unlists a package from the
server.
dotnet nuget push Pushes a package to the server and
publishes it.
dotnet nuget locals Clears or lists local NuGet resources
such as http-request cache, temporary
cache, or machine-wide global pack‐
ages folder.
dotnet nuget add source Adds a NuGet source.
dotnet nuget disable source Disables a NuGet source.
dotnet nuget enable source Enables a NuGet source.
dotnet nuget list source Lists all configured NuGet sources.
dotnet nuget remove source Removes a NuGet source.
dotnet nuget update source Updates a NuGet source.

Workload commands
Command Function
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
dotnet workload install Installs an optional workload.
dotnet workload list Lists all installed workloads.
dotnet workload repair Repairs all installed workloads.
dotnet workload search List selected workloads or all avail‐
able workloads.
dotnet workload uninstall Uninstalls a workload.
dotnet workload update Reinstalls all installed workloads.

Global, tool-path, and local tools commands
Tools are console applications that are installed from NuGet packages and are invoked from the command
prompt. You can write tools yourself or install tools written by third parties. Tools are also known as
global tools, tool-path tools, and local tools. For more information, see .NET tools overview. Global
and tool-path tools are available starting with .NET Core SDK 2.1. Local tools are available starting
with .NET Core SDK 3.0.

Command Function
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
dotnet tool install Installs a tool on your machine.
dotnet tool list Lists all global, tool-path, or local
tools currently installed on your ma‐
chine.
dotnet tool search Searches NuGet.org for tools that
have the specified search term in
their name or metadata.
dotnet tool uninstall Uninstalls a tool from your machine.
dotnet tool update Updates a tool that is installed on
your machine.

Additional tools
Starting with .NET Core SDK 2.1.300, a number of tools that were available only on a per project basis
using DotnetCliToolReference are now available as part of the .NET SDK. These tools are listed in the
following table:

Tool Function
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
dev-certs Creates and manages development cer‐
tificates.
ef Entity Framework Core command-line
tools.
sql-cache SQL Server cache command-line tools.
user-secrets Manages development user secrets.
watch Starts a file watcher that runs a
command when files change.

For more information about each tool, type dotnet <tool-name> --help.

EXAMPLES

       Create a new .NET console application:

              dotnet new console

       Build a project and its dependencies in a given directory:

              dotnet build

       Run an application:

              dotnet myapp.dll

   See also
       • Environment variables used by .NET SDK, .NET CLI, and .NET runtime

       • Runtime  Configuration  Files (https://github.com/dotnet/sdk/blob/main/documentation/specs/runtime-con‐
         figuration-file.md)

       • .NET runtime configuration settings

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