I have a TFS 2013 build xaml workflow, that eventually calls the Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Build.Workflow.Activities.MSBuild activity once for each solution that I want to build. When msbuild.exe is called, it's working directory is the working directory of the current solution being built. I can see this through the 'MSBuildStartupDirectory' property when running msbuild with a 'diagnostic' verbosity.
Unfortunately, I need the working of msbuild.exe to be somewhere else when msbuild.exe starts. This is because I use the MSBuild SonarQube runner that imposes constraints on the directory from which msbuild is called.
I have looked at the 'msbuild' activity and there is no way to control the working directory. Is there another way to control the working directory of this activity?
Its been a while since I edited a build process template but I believe you could use an activity that just executes a command in CMD and provide the full MSBuild command. I'm sure there are tons of variables you will need to setup for this to work.
Instead of editing the build process template have you considered using a PowerShell script in the Post-build script to execute SonarQube?
I still haven't found any way to control the working directory of msbuild. But since I know that the working directory will be the directory of the project being built by msbuild, I created a new proj file at the root of my workspace (where my working directory has to be) and only build this new proj file from my workflow. This new proj file then builds all my other solutions. That way, my working directory is the same for all the solutions being built.
Here is an example of my top level proj file:
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" DefaultTargets="Build">
<ItemGroup>
<Solutions Include="**\*.sln"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="Build">
<MSBuild Projects="#(Solutions)" Targets="Build"/>
</Target>
</Project>
But beware that doing this may affect the output directory (OutDir) given to each solution. So you may want to do something like this:
<MSBuild Projects="#(Solutions)" Targets="Build" Properties="OutDir=$(OutDir)..\%(Solutions.Filename)"/>
Related
I have more than hundred projects in two solution folders.
How can I build a specific solution folder with the msbuild command in CLI, like the same thing in Visual Studio with right click on a specific solution folder and click on Build?
I use Visual Studio 2019 16.8.3
Update:
I found the Build a solution folder with MSBuild Stack Overflow question, but as you can see in this question, anyone does not provide a built-in solution for restore or build or any other target run in a specific solution folder. I hope to find a way to run the target on a specific solution folder with a built-in way using MSBuild.
Just open Developer Command Prompt for Visual Studio and then type these to build the specific .sln file like this:
msbuild xxx\xxx.sln -t:build -p:Configuration=Debug
The solution folder from Solution Explorer is a virtual folder for the Visual Studio IDE. If you want to use an MSBuild command line, you have to create such a real folder. Otherwise, there isn't any such way.
1) Open Solution Explorer → Switch View, create a real folder (on my side, it is called test), and then drag the related projects into the folder.
2) create a file called test.proj on the solution folder. And then add these on that file:
<Project>
<ItemGroup>
<File Include="test\**\*.csproj"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="Build">
<MSBuild Projects="#(File)" Targets="Build"/>
</Target>
</Project>
3) use command line msbuild test.proj to get what you want.
I'm in the process of creating a web deployment package through an automatic build trigger on the server.
The package should take care of everything (including creation of a specific website, apppool, and the latest code) on any server desired.
I extracted manually a deploy package from a configured local IIS site, containing all information needed by MsDeploy to create the site, apppool, etc...
They are present in following files
archive.xml
parameters.xml
systeminfo.xml
The idea is now that I would create automatic a deploy package on the build server, that contains the new compiled code, but with the above xml files in the .zip package.
Right now, I'm building the application, after which I execute a PowerShell script that will manually overwrite the files in the .zip with the ones I have.
However, I know you can extend the Target file (with a .wpp.targets file in your project) to plug into the pipeline and modify things along the way.
Unfortunately I'm getting a little lost with the information I found.
I'd like to:
1) configure the creation of the deployment package to use my existing .xml files.
2) if that's not possible, overwrite the files with my own files after the package creation.
My goal is to have a full executable deploy package after the build is finished, so I won't need to PowerShell script anymore.
Any information that will point me closer to a solution or helps me to understand more clearly msbuild targets and/or webdeploy is very appreciated.
I managed doing this by extending the Package MsBuild target.
Adding a .wpp.targets file in the root of the web project with following content.
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<Import Project="..\packages\MSBuild.ExtensionPack.4.0\MSBuild.ExtensionPack.tasks"/>
<PropertyGroup>
<DeployFilesDirectory>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\Deploy\</DeployFilesDirectory>
</PropertyGroup>
<PropertyGroup>
<OnAfterPackageUsingManifest>
$(OnAfterPackageUsingManifest);
CopyDeployFiles;
ReplaceSetParametersFile;
<!--ZipDeploymentFiles;-->
</OnAfterPackageUsingManifest>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="CopyDeployFiles">
<Message Text="Copy Deploy Files"></Message>
<ItemGroup>
<Files Include="$(DeployFilesDirectory)*.xml" Exclude="$(DeployFilesDirectory)setParameters.xml"></Files>
</ItemGroup>
<MSBuild.ExtensionPack.Compression.Zip TaskAction="AddFiles"
CompressFiles="#(Files)"
ZipFileName="$(PackageFileName)"
RemoveRoot="$(DeployFilesDirectory)"/>
</Target>
<Target Name="ReplaceSetParametersFile" DependsOnTargets="GenerateSampleDeployScript">
<Message Text="Replace Default SetParameters File"></Message>
<Copy DestinationFiles="$(GenerateSampleParametersValueLocationDefault)"
SourceFiles="$(DeployFilesDirectory)setParameters.xml"></Copy>
</Target>
</Project>
The first target is executed after MsDeploy has created the package and will replace the .xml files within the .zip file. I'm using the MsBuild.ExtensionPack Zip support.
The second target is executed after the build has created the sample .cmd and setParameters files and will overwrite the setParameters.xml with my own as well.
It takes a while to understand the concepts of MsBuild targets etc, but once you understand it becomes indeed very powerful.
Creating the package is now as simple as just launching the MsBuild
msbuild "D:\Projects\MyWebProject.csproj" /T:Package /P:Configuration=Release;Platform="AnyCPU";PackageLocation="D:\DeployPackage\package.zip";PublishProfile=MyProfile
And deploying is the same as before
package.deploy.cmd /Y –setParamFile :myParameterFile.xml
Assuming your paths stay the same, you can achieve this by specifying the existing zip as your -dest:package=package.zip. MSDeploy will automatically overwrite the files inside the zip.
I am facing an issue with MSBuild I can't overcome it by myself. As a result I rely on community's wisdom.
The real situation I'm having troubles with
I have a soluiton file containing several projects with dependencies to other projects in same solution. I'd like to append a custom target to one of the project's csproj file and build it from the command line. It will allow me to make all the necessary output binaries for this project for further processing during the building of the custom target. But the main thing is that I can't figure out how to do it, googling doesn't help either.
Simplification
To make thing simplier I decided to make a new C# console project, add a simple custom target to the project's file and try to make it build. Still no success! Here what I've done so far:
Created a solution app with a default console project coreapp. This gaves me at least two files:
app.sln
coreapp\coreapp.csproj
Modified coreapp.csproj with addition of my custom target inside of the Project tag
<Target Name="SampleTarget">
<Message Text="This is a SampleTarget" />
</Target>
Run on the command line the following command
%windir%\Microsoft.NET\framework\v3.5\msbuild.exe app.sln /t:coreapp:SampleTarget
or even
%windir%\Microsoft.NET\framework\v3.5\msbuild.exe app.sln /t:coreapp.csproj:SampleTarget
Results
No luck, facing the error
MSB4057: The target "coreapp.csproj:SampleTarget" does not exist in the project.
I suspect that MSBuild thinks somehting fundamentally different from what I want it to think...
BEsides that, I also tried to set on the same command line the environment variable MSBuildEmitSolution=1 to force msbuild dump a temporary solution file it creates while processing the solution. In this file, indeed, no such target. However I guess it isn't the reason because I asked msbuild to build coreapp.proj where target SampleTarget really resides.
The question is how to build SampleTarget in this simplified scenario using solution file since potencially it can contain dependencies for the project containing this SampleTarget target?
I'd be greatful for any sort of help or firection for further investigation!
Instead of inserting a custom target in your project file, you could try creating a new standalone msbuild file, which would:
build the solution file (which builds projects)
defines your extra target
Call it app-custom-Debug.msbuild , for example.
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<PropertyGroup>
<WorkingFolder>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)</WorkingFolder>
<Configuration>Debug</Configuration>
<SolutionFile>app.sln</SolutionFile>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="Build" DependsOnTargets="Compile" />
<Target Name="Compile">
<Message Text="=== COMPILING $(Configuration) configuration ===" />
<MSBuild Projects="$(SolutionFile)"
Properties="Configuration=$(Configuration)" />
</Target>
<Target Name="SampleTarget">
<Message Text="This is a SampleTarget" />
</Target>
</Project>
Then you execute:
msbuild.exe app-custom-Debug.msbuild /t:SampleTarget
One option is to tie your SampleTarget to the standard Build targets via overriding the appropriate DependsOn property. In this case you could tell BeforeBuild that it DependsOn SampleTarget or you do the same thing with AfterBuild. This will ensure that MSBuild processes your target prior to the standard target indicated.
This is already cross-posted at MS Connect:
https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/details/560451
I am attempting to override the property $(MSBuildExtensionsPath) when building a solution containing a C# web application project via msbuild. I am doing this because a web application csproj file imports the file "$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v9.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets". This file is installed by Visual Studio to the standard $(MSBuildExtensionsPath) location (C:\Program Files\MSBuild). I would like to eliminate the dependency on this file being installed on the machine (I would like to keep my build servers as "clean" as possible). In order to do this, I would like to include the Microsoft.WebApplication.targets in source control with my project, and then override $(MSBuildExtensionsPath) so that the csproj will import this included version of Microsoft.WebApplication.targets. This approach allows me to remove the dependency without requiring me to manually modify the web application csproj file.
This scheme works fine when I build my solution file from the command line, supplying the custom value of $(MSBuildExtensionsPath) at the command line to msbuild via the /p flag. However, if I attempt to build the solution using the MSBuild task in a custom msbuild project file (overriding MSBuildExtensionsPath using the "Properties" attribute), it fails because the web app csproj file is attempting to import the Microsoft.WebApplication.targets from the "standard" Microsoft.WebApplication.targets location (C:\Program Files\MSBuild). Notably, if I run msbuild using the "Exec" task in my custom project file, it works. Even more notably, the FIRST time I run the build using the "MSBuild" task AFTER I have run the build using the "EXEC" task (or directly from the command line), the build works.
Has anyone seen behavior like this before? Am I crazy? Is anyone aware of the root cause of this problem, a possible workaround, or whether this is a legitimate bug in MSBuild?
Steps to Reproduce:
1) Create a new empty solution in MSVS 2008 (Fake.sln)
2) Add a new C# web application to the solution (WebApplication1.csproj)
3) Close MSVS
4) Copy the contents of "C:\Program Files\MSBuild\" to a directory called "MSBuildExtensions" in the directory containing your solution.
5) rename the directory "C:\Program Files\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v9.0\WebApplications" so that WebApplication1.csproj will not be able to import Microsoft.WebApplication.targets from that location.
6) Create a custom MSBuild project file called "TestBuild.proj" in the same directory as the solution. It should have the following content:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" DefaultTargets="BuildMSBuild">
<PropertyGroup>
<MSBuildExtensionsPath>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\MSBuildExtensions\</MSBuildExtensionsPath>
<BuildThis>Fake.sln</BuildThis>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="BuildMSBuild">
<MSBuild Projects="$(BuildThis)" Properties="MSBuildExtensionsPath=$(MSBuildExtensionsPath);" Targets="Clean" />
<MSBuild Projects="$(BuildThis)" Properties="MSBuildExtensionsPath=$(MSBuildExtensionsPath);"/>
</Target>
</Project>
7) execute "msbuild TestBuild.proj" from a MSVS command prompt (note: the build may succeed the first time, but will fail if you run more than once)
Did you try setting the environment variable MSBuildExtensionPath in the CMD prompt and then running your build?
For example:
C:\> SET MSBuildExtensionsPath=C:\My\MSBuild\Extensons
Then on this project file:
<Project DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<Target Name="Build">
<Message Text='MSBuildExtensionsPath="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)"' />
</Target>
</Project>
you will get the following output:
c:\Users\chuckeng\Desktop\ConsoleApplication1>"C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5\MSBuild.exe" my.proj
Microsoft (R) Build Engine Version 3.5.30729.4926
[Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 2.0.50727.4927]
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 2007. All rights reserved.
Build started 6/25/2010 1:04:05 PM.
Project "c:\my.proj" on node 0 (default targets).
MSBuildExtensionsPath="C:\My\MSBuild\Extensons"
Done Building Project "c:\my.proj" (default targets).
Build succeeded.
0 Warning(s)
0 Error(s)
Time Elapsed 00:00:00.03
This works from v4.0 as well. Although, support is generally better in v4.0 for things like this. And, v4.0 is 100% backward compatible (bugs not withstanding). So, you can build your v3.5 and prior projects with v4.0. Just select ToolsVersion 3.5.
msbuild my.proj /tv:3.5
Hope this helps...
Chuck England
Visual Studio
Program Manager - MSBuild
This is a bug in MSBuild 3.5 but it is fixed in MSBuild 4.
If you can, switch to MSBuild 4 (you still can compile your 3.5 projects), otherwise you'll have to override the property in the project file.
It works fine if you override MSBuildExtensionsPath directly in the web app .csproj file.
<PropertyGroup>
<MSBuildExtensionsPath>C:\Users\madgnome\Desktop\msbuild</MSBuildExtensionsPath>
<!-- It works too with relative path -->
<!--<MSBuildExtensionsPath>..\msbuild</MSBuildExtensionsPath>-->
</PropertyGroup>
<Import Project="$(MSBuildBinPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v10.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" />
Don't know if this might help anyone in the future, but I was able to use the following at the top of my file and it works as I would expect in both 32 and 64 bit build environments.
<PropertyGroup>
<MSBuildExtensionsPath Condition=" '$(MSBuildExtensionsPath64)' != '' ">$(MSBuildExtensionsPath64)</MSBuildExtensionsPath>
</PropertyGroup>
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\ExtensionPack\4.0\MSBuild.ExtensionPack.tasks"/>
Does anyone know how to add a an MSBuild .proj file to my solution?
I was just given existing code from a vendor with a solution that references an MSBuild .proj file as one of its projects. When I open the solution, the project shows as (unavailable). It appears that I need to install some sort of project template to get this project to open correctly. I installed the Codeplex MSBuild Template, but this doesn't appear to be it.
Any ideas?
If you don't need IDE support, it's possible to do this using MSBuild solution extension targets.
Create a file named "before.SolutionName.sln.targets" with the following code:
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<ItemGroup>
<ProjectReference Include="CustomProject\CustomProject.proj">
<AdditionalProperties>Configuration=$(Configuration); Platform=AnyCPU</AdditionalProperties>
<Configuration>$(Configuration)</Configuration>
<Platform>AnyCPU</Platform>
</ProjectReference>
</ItemGroup>
</Project>
When your solution is built at command line by MSBuild (ie/ build server) the custom MSBuild project will be pulled into the temporary in-memory project file that MSBuild converts the solution into.
I actually got it to work! I re-started Visual Studio and still saw that the projects were unavailable after installing the MSBuild Template mentioned above. I had to manually reload the projects. That fixed the issue.