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msbuildnugetmsbuild-task

Use MSBuild Targets to copy files recursively from NuGet package

I have a .targets file in my NuGet package build folder which is then automatically included in the project that consumes the NuGet package.

I want this .targets file to copy some folders on post-build. The following script shows how that is done, but the output I get is wrong because %(RecursiveDir) starts at the first wild-card which I used for the version number of the package.

My question: How can I specify the version of MyPackage in the .targets file dynamically so that I can remove the first wildcard?

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
  <Target Name="AfterBuild">
    <ItemGroup>
      <!-- MyPackage.* should be replaced by MyPackage.1.0.0.4534. But the version is set by NuGet.exe pack -Version -->
      <FilesToCopy Include="$(SolutionDir)packages\MyPackage.*\myfolder\**\*.*"/>
    </ItemGroup>
    <Copy SourceFiles="@(FilesToCopy)" DestinationFolder="$(SolutionDir)bin\$(Configuration)\myfolder\%(RecursiveDir)"/>
  </Target>
</Project>
Solution

  • To avoid having to the package version you could use the MSBuildThisFileDirectory property instead.

    The MSBuildThisFileDirectory property gives you the directory where the .targets file is so you can change the <FilesToCopy> element to use a path relative to that directory and you do not have to use the version number.

    <FilesToCopy Include="$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)myfolder\**\*.*"/>