.NET Build Configuration

Build Commands

Basic Build

# Build solution/project
dotnet build

# Build specific project
dotnet build src/MyApp/MyApp.csproj

# Build with configuration
dotnet build --configuration Release
dotnet build -c Debug

# Clean build (no incremental)
dotnet build --no-incremental

# Build without restoring packages
dotnet build --no-restore

Build Output

# Specify output directory
dotnet build --output ./artifacts

# Build for specific runtime
dotnet build --runtime win-x64
dotnet build --runtime linux-x64

# Build framework-specific
dotnet build --framework net8.0

Build Configurations

Debug vs Release

<!-- Default configurations in .csproj -->
<PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Debug'">
  <DefineConstants>DEBUG;TRACE</DefineConstants>
  <Optimize>false</Optimize>
  <DebugType>full</DebugType>
</PropertyGroup>

<PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Release'">
  <DefineConstants>TRACE</DefineConstants>
  <Optimize>true</Optimize>
  <DebugType>pdbonly</DebugType>
</PropertyGroup>

Warnings as Errors

<!-- Treat all warnings as errors -->
<PropertyGroup>
  <TreatWarningsAsErrors>true</TreatWarningsAsErrors>
</PropertyGroup>

<!-- Treat specific warnings as errors -->
<PropertyGroup>
  <WarningsAsErrors>CS0168;CS0219</WarningsAsErrors>
</PropertyGroup>

<!-- Suppress specific warnings -->
<PropertyGroup>
  <NoWarn>$(NoWarn);CS1591</NoWarn>
</PropertyGroup>

Multi-Project Solutions

Solution Build

# Build entire solution
dotnet build MySolution.sln

# Build specific projects from solution
dotnet build MySolution.sln --project src/Api

# Parallel build (default)
dotnet build --maxcpucount

# Sequential build
dotnet build --maxcpucount:1

Project Dependencies

<!-- ProjectReference in .csproj -->
<ItemGroup>
  <ProjectReference Include="..\Domain\Domain.csproj" />
  <ProjectReference Include="..\Infrastructure\Infrastructure.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>

Build Error Categories

Compilation Errors (CS)

Code	Description	Common Fix
CS0103	Name does not exist	Check spelling, add using statement
CS0246	Type/namespace not found	Add package reference, add using
CS1061	Member does not exist	Check type, update interface
CS0029	Cannot convert type	Add cast, fix type mismatch
CS0120	Object reference required	Make static or instantiate

Project Errors (MSB)

Code	Description	Common Fix
MSB3202	Project file not found	Fix path in ProjectReference
MSB4019	Target file not found	Restore packages
MSB3644	Framework not installed	Install SDK
MSB3245	Reference not resolved	Restore packages, check path

NuGet Errors (NU)

Code	Description	Common Fix
NU1101	Package not found	Check package name/source
NU1103	Version not found	Check available versions
NU1202	Incompatible framework	Update package or framework
NU1605	Downgrade detected	Resolve version conflicts

Package Restoration

# Restore packages
dotnet restore

# Restore with specific source
dotnet restore --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

# Clear NuGet cache
dotnet nuget locals all --clear

# List packages
dotnet list package
dotnet list package --outdated

Build Diagnostics

Verbose Output

# Detailed build output
dotnet build --verbosity detailed
dotnet build -v d

# Diagnostic output (most verbose)
dotnet build --verbosity diagnostic

# Minimal output
dotnet build --verbosity quiet

Binary Log

# Generate binary log for analysis
dotnet build -bl

# View with MSBuild Structured Log Viewer
# Download from: https://msbuildlog.com/

Clean Operations

# Clean build artifacts
dotnet clean

# Clean specific configuration
dotnet clean --configuration Release

# Force clean (delete bin/obj manually)
rm -rf **/bin **/obj

Common Build Issues

Framework Mismatch

<!-- Ensure consistent framework across projects -->
<PropertyGroup>
  <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
</PropertyGroup>

Missing SDK

# Check installed SDKs
dotnet --list-sdks

# Install specific version via global.json
{
  "sdk": {
    "version": "8.0.100"
  }
}

Locked Files

# Kill processes holding files (Windows)
taskkill /F /IM dotnet.exe

# Kill processes (Linux/Mac)
pkill dotnet

See common-errors.md for detailed error resolutions.