Creating one NuGet package from multiple projects in one solution

Question

I have a solution that I'm working on that contains 4 class library projects (A, B, C, D). A and B could be considered the top level projects in the solution. Both A and B reference C, and D stands alone.

These four projects represent a group of services that I have made that handle an automated workflow. They are all closely related, and will only be used in one location (the service manager) so I don't want to split them into different solutions.

My problem is that I want to create a single NuGet package that will contain all 4 libraries, without having to build them all and gather up their DLLs manually. I know that I could technically achieve this by having either A or B reference the remaining projects, but that's not a true relationship and I feel it should be avoided.

I've done a lot of searching on this problem and I can't find a solution other than manually collecting the DLLs and building the package myself. Is there a way to achieve the result that I want using NuGet's features/abilities?

NOTE: In case the tags don't make it clear I'm currently using VS2010 with a TeamCity build server. In case it's relevant I'm also using Git through a Stash server.

EDIT: I just realized this might be important enough to mention. These projects do reference other NuGet packages that I will need to mark as dependencies.

Answer 1

You have to define your own nuspec manifest. You can list containing assemblies in files section:

<file src="A\bin\Release\A.dll" target="lib\net40" />
<file src="B\bin\Release\B.dll" target="lib\net40" />
...

For more details read NuSpec reference.

Then reference that nuspec file in NuPack build step instead of proj.

Answer 2

If you have downloaded NuGet.exe You can run: nuget pack Myproject.csproj -IncludeReferencedProjects and this should include all of your projects. Here's a note from the NuGet docs:

If the project references other projects, you can add the referenced projects as part of the package, or as dependencies with -IncludeReferencedProjects option. This is done recursively. For example, suppose you have project A.csproj, which references B.csproj and C.csproj, while B.csproj references D.csproj & E.csproj, C.csproj references F.csproj & G.csproj. Then, when you run:

nuget pack A.csproj -IncludeReferencedProjects

the generated package will contain files from projects B, C, D, E, F & G, in addition to files from project A.

If a referenced project has a corresponding nuspec file with the same name, then that referenced project is added as a dependency instead. Using the same example, suppose now there is file C.nuspec in the same directory as project file C.csproj. When you run:

nuget pack A.csproj -IncludeReferencedProjects

the generated package will contain files from projects B, D, E, in addition to files from project A, and the package has dependency on C.

Please also see the Command line reference.

Answer 3

2020 UPDATE

I personally prefer to use dotnetcommand wherever it is possible.

The solution I found working out fine is changing the default project reference in the main project <ProjectReference></ProjectReference> as below

  <ItemGroup>
    <ProjectReference Include="..\{ProjectFolder}\{ProjectName}.csproj">
      <ReferenceOutputAssembly>true</ReferenceOutputAssembly>
      <IncludeAssets>{ProjectName}.dll</IncludeAssets>
    </ProjectReference>
  </ItemGroup> 

This solution is confirmed that it works when targeting netstandard2.0and above.

Answer 4

this probably will solve this exact: nuget.exe pack proj.csproj -IncludeReferencedProjects

you can see: Create nuget package for a solution with multiple projects

Answer 5

If you have more than one project in VS and your Pack file is dependant on another project then both need to be packed. Pack the dependency first, then pack your project. When adding the package using NuGet Package manager make sure your source is not nuget.org but instead your testing folder. Unless you have uploaded both to Nuget.org. How do I install a NuGet package .nupkg file locally?