Using dotnet CLI

Working with .NET using VS-Code, you use the dotnet command line interface quite extensively, with many commands being repeated over and over again.

All the commands start with dotnet. After dotnet, we can supply a command (also known as verb) to perform a specific action, sometimes followed by arguments and option. Below is a list of the more common commands you will both encounter and use.

If you are unsure what will happen when you run a command, the flag –dry-run will show the result of what a command will do, instead of executing it.

Basic commands

Command	Result
dotnet run	Run a .NET project
dotnet test	Run the tests for a .NET project
dotnet restore	Restor dependencies for the project or solution in current folder
dotnet build	Build (and restore) dependencies for the project or solution in current folder
dotnet clean	Remove unnecessary files from the build output

dotnet sdk options

Command	Result
dotnet -h	Show help
dotnet -info	Show detailed information about the .NET installation and the machine environment
dotnet --list-sdks	Display the current installed SDKs
dotnet --version	Display the .NET SDK version in use

dotnet new - creating new files

Command	Result
dotnet new sln	New solution placed in the current directory with the name of the current directory
dotnet new sln -n <solution-name> -o <output-directory>	New solution with name <solution-name> placed inside the <output-directory>, if one argument/flag is missing (-o or -n), the one missing defaults to the supplied argument
dotnet new <project-template>	New <project-template> project
dotnet new <project-template> -n <project-name> -o <output-directory>	New project with name <project-name> in folder <output-directory>
dotnet new -l	Lists installed templates
dotnet new -h	Show help
dotnet new <search-string> --search	Search for available template packages
dotnet new --install <PACKAGE_ID>	Install a new template package
dotnet new gitignore	New .gitignore for .NET adapted to - projects

Example	Result
dotnet new classlib -n TestClass -o newDir	Class library project named TestClass in new folder named newDir
dotnet new xUnit -o TestClass.Tests	xUnit test library named TestClass.Tests in new folder
dotnet new web	Empty web application named after —and placed in— the current active folder
dotnet new webapi -n WebProject	New project named WebProject
dotnet new webapi -n WebProject --dry-run	Show what would happen if the above command would run
dotnet new webapi -n WebProject --force	same as above, but overwrites the existing WebProject

dotnet add - adding resources to files

Command	Result
dotnet sln add <project>	Add a project to a solution
dotnet add <project> reference <otherProject>	Add a reference to <otherProject> from <project so that <project> can access <otherProject>’s types
dotnet add <project> package <nuget-package>	Add a NuGet package to <project>

Example	Result
dotnet sln add ./MyProject	Add a project MyProject to the solution in the current folder
dotnet add ./MyProject reference ./SeparateProject	Add a reference to SeparateProject in MyProject
dotnet add ./MyProject package Fluent.Assist.Dynamic	Add a reference to the NuGet package named Fluent.Assist.Dynamic

dotnet run - running .NET applications

Command	Result
dotnet run	Run the found project inside either the current folder or solution
dotnet run -p ./<directory>/<project>	Run the <project> found in the subfolder <directory>
dotnet run -c Debug	Run given a specific configuration, default is Debug

dotnet test - testing .NET applications

Command	Result
dotnet test	Run the testproject the found inside either the current folder or solution
dotnet test --nologo -v:q	Remove logo from output and have minimal test output
dotnet test -p <testProject>	Run tests in <testProject>
dotnet test --filter namespace.class.method	Run the specific test namespace.class.method
dotnet test -h	Show the commands, there are a LOT of flags

An additional command is the watch command that starts a file watcher running the selected command on file change.

Example	Result
dotnet watch run	Rerun the run command on file update
dotnet watch test	Rerun all the tests on file update
dotnet watch run -p <project>	Rerun <project> on file update

You can read more about the dotnet CLI on docs.microsoft.com