dotnet commands

The dotnet command-line interface (CLI) is a powerful tool for managing .NET applications and projects. It allows you to perform various tasks such as creating projects, restoring dependencies, building applications, running tests, and more. Here's an overview of commonly used dotnet commands with examples:

1. Create a New Project

Use dotnet new to create a new .NET project.

dotnet new console -n MyConsoleApp

• Example: Creates a new console application named MyConsoleApp.

2. Restore Dependencies

Use dotnet restore to restore dependencies specified in the project file (*.csproj).

dotnet restore

• Example: Restores NuGet packages for the project.

3. Build the Project

Use dotnet build to build a .NET project.

dotnet build

• Example: Compiles the project and generates binaries.

4. Run the Project

Use dotnet run to build and run the project.

dotnet run

• Example: Builds and executes the project.

5. Add NuGet Packages

Use dotnet add package to add NuGet packages to the project.

dotnet add package Newtonsoft.Json

• Example: Adds the Newtonsoft.Json package to the project.

6. List Installed SDKs

Use dotnet --list-sdks to list installed .NET SDKs.

dotnet --list-sdks

• Example: Displays the installed .NET SDK versions.

7. List Installed Runtimes

Use dotnet --list-runtimes to list installed .NET runtimes.

dotnet --list-runtimes

• Example: Displays the installed .NET runtime versions.

8. Publish the Project

Use dotnet publish to publish the project for deployment.

dotnet publish -c Release -o ./publish

• Example: Publishes the project in Release configuration to the ./publish directory.

9. Clean the Project

Use dotnet clean to clean the build output of the project.

dotnet clean

• Example: Removes all build artifacts and binaries.

10. Run Tests

Use dotnet test to run tests in the project.

dotnet test

• Example: Executes all unit tests in the project.

11. Manage EF Core Migrations

Use dotnet ef to manage Entity Framework Core migrations.

dotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate
dotnet ef database update

• Example: Creates a new migration named InitialCreate and updates the database schema.

12. Manage Global Tools

Use dotnet tool install to install global tools.

dotnet tool install -g dotnet-ef

• Example: Installs the dotnet-ef tool globally.

13. Generate Documentation

Use dotnet doc to generate documentation for the project.

dotnet doc

• Example: Creates XML documentation files for the project.

14. Advanced Commands

• dotnet pack: Creates a NuGet package.
• dotnet nuget: Manages NuGet package sources.
• dotnet new: Lists available project templates (dotnet new --list).