Visual Studio $(Variable) for nuget root path?

Question

I use a third-party nuget package that contains a content file that appears in my project which I'd like to copy to my output folder. Said and done.

Unfortunately what the project file then does is this:

<Content Update="C:\Users\djdoe\.nuget\packages\thirdpartynuget\1.0.2\contentFiles\any\net472\thefile.txt">
  <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
</Content>

I tried

<Content Update="%userprofile%\.nuget

but then it won't copy the file. Is there a way to configure the reference with a $ variable that Visual Studio will understand?

Edit: Thanks to Marnix I found two variables pointing to the nuget folder:

$(NuGetPackageFolders)

$(NuGetPackageRoot)

Both of them work for me

Would this list help you out? stackoverflow.com/questions/830271/… — Marnix
– Marnix, Commented Sep 15, 2023 at 6:52
@Marnix Actually it does. There seem to be two of them $(NuGetPackageFolders) and $(NuGetPackageRoot) both of which work for me. Thanks — Dee J. Doena
– Dee J. Doena, Commented Sep 15, 2023 at 7:10

Martin Ullrich · Accepted Answer · 2023-09-15 13:32:38Z

11

What you probably want is a feature in NuGet called GeneratePathProperty. It lets you opt into generating MSBuild Properties you can use for your own scripts.

Do note however that the source NuGet package could also specify that the file is supposed to be copied to the output directory. See this blog post for an explanation.

To use the generated MSBuild property, you can do the following:

<Project>
  ...
  <ItemGroup>
    <!-- specify GeneratePathProperty on the package reference -->
    <PackageReference Include="Third.Party.Package"
      Version="1.0.2"
      GeneratePathProperty="True" />
  </ItemGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <!-- Use the generated property ("Pkg" + msbuild-friendly package name) -->
    <Content Update="$(PkgThird_Party_Package)\contentFiles\any\net472\thefile.txt"
      CopyToOutputDirectory="PreserveNewest" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

answered Sep 15, 2023 at 13:32

Martin Ullrich

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1 Comment

BrutalDev Over a year ago

This GeneratePathProperty attribute technique is absolute gold and if you are reading this, then you better be upvoting this answer right now!

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