Ubuntu Manpage: This article applies to: ✔️ .NET Core 3.1 SDK and later versions

dotnet command
name
synopsis
description
options
examples
see also

Provided by: dotnet-host-9.0_9.0.1-0ubuntu1~24.10.1_amd64

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

       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 exec myapp.dll

              dotnet myapp.dll