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dotnet command

       This article applies to: ✔️ .NET Core 3.1 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>]
                  [--depsfile <PATH>]
                  [--fx-version <VERSION>]  [--roll-forward <SETTING>]
                  [--runtimeconfig <PATH>]
                  <PATH_TO_APPLICATION> [arguments]

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 example, dotnet myapp.dll runs the myapp application.  See .NET
         application deployment to learn about deployment options.

OPTIONS

Different options are available for:

• Displaying information about the environment.

• Running a command.

• Running an application.

Options for displaying environment information and available commands
The following options are available when dotnet is used by itself, without specifying a
command or an application to run. For example, dotnet --info or dotnet --version. They
print out information about the environment.

• --info

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

• --version

Prints out the version of the .NET SDK used by dotnet commands, which may be affected by a
global.json file. Available only when the SDK is installed.

• --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.

Options for running a command
The following options are for dotnet with a command. For example, dotnet build --help or
dotnet build --verbosity diagnostic.

• -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 option is available.

• -?|-h|--help

Prints out documentation for a given command. For example, dotnet build --help displays
help for the build command.

• command options

Each command defines options specific to that command. See specific command page for a
list of available options.

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

• --additionalprobingpath <PATH>

Path containing probing policy and assemblies to probe. Repeat the option to specify
multiple paths.

• --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-configuration-
file.md) on GitHub.

• --roll-forward <SETTING>

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. Intended 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 only 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.

• --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
.runtimeconfig.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.

Options for running an application with the exec command
The following options are available only when dotnet runs an application by using the exec
command. For example, dotnet exec --runtimeconfig myapp.runtimeconfig.json myapp.dll.

• --depsfile <PATH>

Path to a 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>

Path to a runtimeconfig.json file. A runtimeconfig.json file contains run-time settings
and is typically named <applicationname>.runtimeconfig.json. For more information, see
.NET runtime configuration settings.

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 exec Runs a .NET application.

dotnet help Shows more detailed
documentation online 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
command 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 packages
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
available 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.

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 machine.
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
The following additional tools are available as part of the .NET SDK:

Tool Function
────────────────────────────────────────────────
dev-certs Creates and manages development
certificates.
ef Entity Framework Core command-
line tools.
user-secrets Manages development user
secrets.
watch A file watcher that restarts or
hot reloads an application when
it detects changes in the source
code.

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

EXAMPLES