Get NuGet package folder in MSBuild

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I want to call executable tools like NUnit which I manage via NuGet in MSBuild:

<Target Name="Test">
  <CreateItem Include="$(BuildCompileDirectory)\*.Tests.*dll">
    <Output TaskParameter="Include" ItemName="TestAssemblies" />
  </CreateItem>
  <NUnit
    Assemblies="@(TestAssemblies)"
    ToolPath="$(PackagesDirectory)\NUnit.2.5.10.11092\tools"
    WorkingDirectory="$(BuildCompileDirectory)"
    OutputXmlFile="$(BuildDirectory)\$(SolutionName).Tests.xml" />
</Target>

The problem is that the folder of a NuGet packages is containing the version number of the package. For instance nunit-console.exe is in the folder packages\NUnit.2.5.10.11092\tools. If I update the NUnit package this path will change and I have to update my MSBuild script. That isn't acceptable.

MSBuild doesn't allow Wildcards in directories, so this isn't working:

ToolPath="$(PackagesDirectory)\NUnit.*\tools"

How can I call tools in MSBuild without having to update my build script whenever I update a NuGet package?

nuget-package nuget build-automation msbuild
2 Answers

The comment of Mike Rosoft links to Patrik Svensson his blog post and it helped me as follows:

  • Add GeneratePathProperty="true" to PackageReference of the NuGet package you want to have the location of.
  • Use it as $(PkgPackage_Name) whereby the dots are replaced by an underscore. Note the Pkg prefix.

This example forces Nswag to use the 32 bit dotnet.exe by overwriting the existing NSwagExe_Net60 property. This was necessary on an x86 project.

  <PropertyGroup>
    <NSwagExe_Net60>"$(MSBuildProgramFiles32)\dotnet\dotnet.exe" "$(PkgNSwag_MSBuild)\tools\Net60\dotnet-nswag.dll"</NSwagExe_Net60>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="NSwag.MSBuild" Version="13.16.1" GeneratePathProperty="true">
  </ItemGroup>
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