.NET Core CLI (Command-Line Interface)

The .NET Core Command-Line Interface (CLI) is a cross-platform toolchain that enables you to develop, build, run, and publish .NET Core applications from the command line.

Introduction

The .NET Core CLI provides a consistent and powerful way to interact with your .NET Core projects and solutions. It is built into the .NET Core SDK, so if you have the SDK installed, you already have the CLI.

Key benefits of using the .NET Core CLI:

• Cross-platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• Fast and Efficient: Designed for speed and performance.
• Extensible: Supports custom commands and global tools.
• Integrated: Seamlessly works with project files (e.g., .csproj).

Common Commands

Here are some of the most frequently used .NET Core CLI commands:

Project and Solution Management

dotnet new <template> [-o <output-dir>] [-n <name>]

Creates a new project or solution from a specified template (e.g., console, webapi, classlib).

dotnet new sln [-n <name>]

Creates a new solution file.

dotnet add <project-path> reference <project-to-add-path>

Adds a project reference to another project.

dotnet add <project-path> package <package-name> [--version <version>]

Adds a NuGet package reference to a project.

dotnet remove <project-path> reference <project-to-remove-path>

Removes a project reference.

dotnet remove <project-path> package <package-name>

Removes a NuGet package reference.

Building and Running

dotnet build [<project-path>] [--configuration <config>]

Builds a project or solution. Common configurations are Debug and Release.

dotnet run [<project-path>] [--configuration <config>] [--no-build]

Builds and runs a project. The --no-build flag skips the build step if the project is already built.

dotnet clean [<project-path>] [--configuration <config>]

Cleans the output directory of a project.

Publishing

dotnet publish [<project-path>] [--configuration <config>] [--output <output-dir>] [--runtime <runtime-id>] [--no-build]

Publishes a .NET Core application for deployment. You can publish self-contained or framework-dependent applications.

Testing

dotnet test [<project-path>] [--filter <expression>] [--list-tests]

Runs unit tests in a project.

Other Useful Commands

dotnet restore [<project-path>]

Restores the dependencies of a project.

dotnet pack [<project-path>] [--configuration <config>] [--output <output-dir>]

Creates a NuGet package from a project.

dotnet migrate [<project-path>]

Migrates projects from project.json to .csproj format.

dotnet --info

Displays information about the .NET installation.

dotnet --version

Displays the .NET CLI version.

Basic Usage

Most .NET Core CLI commands are executed from the directory containing your project file (e.g., .csproj) or solution file (e.g., .sln). If you are not in the correct directory, you can specify the project or solution path as an argument.

Global Tools

Global tools are NuGet packages that contain executable commands. They are installed globally and can be run from any directory.

To install a global tool:

dotnet tool install --global <tool-name>

To update a global tool:

dotnet tool update --global <tool-name>

To list installed global tools:

dotnet tool list --global

Common global tools include:

• dotnet-ef: Entity Framework Core command-line tools.
• dotnet-gcdiag: Global CA Diagnostics tool.

Project.json vs. .csproj

Historically, .NET Core used project.json for project configuration. However, this has been replaced by the MSBuild-based .csproj file format, which provides more flexibility and better integration with the .NET ecosystem.

The dotnet migrate command can help convert older project.json files to the modern .csproj format.