.NET Local Tools

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

Setting up consistent tooling across a development team
Ensuring CI/CD pipelines use the same tool versions as local development
Managing project-specific CLI tools (docfx, incrementalist, dotnet-ef, etc.)
Avoiding global tool version conflicts between projects

What Are Local Tools?

Local tools are .NET CLI tools that are installed and versioned per-repository rather than globally. They're defined in .config/dotnet-tools.json and restored with dotnet tool restore.

Local vs Global Tools

Aspect	Global Tools	Local Tools
Installation	`dotnet tool install -g`	`dotnet tool restore`
Scope	Machine-wide	Per-repository
Version control	Manual	In `.config/dotnet-tools.json`
CI/CD	Must install each tool	Single restore command
Conflicts	Can have version conflicts	Isolated per project

Setting Up Local Tools

Initialize the Manifest

# Create .config/dotnet-tools.json
dotnet new tool-manifest

This creates:

.config/
└── dotnet-tools.json

Install Tools Locally

# Install a tool locally
dotnet tool install docfx

# Install specific version
dotnet tool install docfx --version 2.78.3

# Install from a specific source
dotnet tool install MyTool --add-source https://mycompany.pkgs.visualstudio.com/_packaging/feed/nuget/v3/index.json

Restore Tools

# Restore all tools from manifest
dotnet tool restore

dotnet-tools.json Format

{
  "version": 1,
  "isRoot": true,
  "tools": {
    "docfx": {
      "version": "2.78.3",
      "commands": [
        "docfx"
      ],
      "rollForward": false
    },
    "dotnet-ef": {
      "version": "9.0.0",
      "commands": [
        "dotnet-ef"
      ],
      "rollForward": false
    },
    "incrementalist.cmd": {
      "version": "1.2.0",
      "commands": [
        "incrementalist"
      ],
      "rollForward": false
    },
    "dotnet-reportgenerator-globaltool": {
      "version": "5.4.1",
      "commands": [
        "reportgenerator"
      ],
      "rollForward": false
    }
  }
}

Fields

Field	Description
`version`	Manifest schema version (always 1)
`isRoot`	Marks this as the root manifest (prevents searching parent directories)
`tools`	Dictionary of tool configurations
`tools.<name>.version`	Exact version to install
`tools.<name>.commands`	CLI commands the tool provides
`tools.<name>.rollForward`	Allow newer versions (usually false for reproducibility)

Common Tools

Documentation

# DocFX - API documentation generator
dotnet tool install docfx

"docfx": {
  "version": "2.78.3",
  "commands": ["docfx"],
  "rollForward": false
}

Usage:

dotnet docfx docfx.json
dotnet docfx serve _site

Entity Framework Core

# EF Core CLI for migrations
dotnet tool install dotnet-ef

"dotnet-ef": {
  "version": "9.0.0",
  "commands": ["dotnet-ef"],
  "rollForward": false
}

Usage:

dotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate
dotnet ef database update

Code Coverage

# ReportGenerator for coverage reports
dotnet tool install dotnet-reportgenerator-globaltool

"dotnet-reportgenerator-globaltool": {
  "version": "5.4.1",
  "commands": ["reportgenerator"],
  "rollForward": false
}

Usage:

dotnet reportgenerator -reports:coverage.cobertura.xml -targetdir:coveragereport -reporttypes:Html

Incremental Builds

# Incrementalist - build only changed projects
dotnet tool install incrementalist.cmd

"incrementalist.cmd": {
  "version": "1.2.0",
  "commands": ["incrementalist"],
  "rollForward": false
}

Usage:

# Get projects affected by changes since main branch
incrementalist --branch main

Code Formatting

# CSharpier - opinionated C# formatter
dotnet tool install csharpier

"csharpier": {
  "version": "0.30.3",
  "commands": ["dotnet-csharpier"],
  "rollForward": false
}

Usage:

dotnet csharpier .
dotnet csharpier --check .  # CI mode - fails if changes needed

Code Analysis

# JB dotnet-inspect (requires license)
dotnet tool install jb

"jb": {
  "version": "2024.3.4",
  "commands": ["jb"],
  "rollForward": false
}

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup .NET
        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
        with:
          global-json-file: global.json

      - name: Restore tools
        run: dotnet tool restore

      - name: Build
        run: dotnet build

      - name: Test with coverage
        run: dotnet test --collect:"XPlat Code Coverage"

      - name: Generate coverage report
        run: dotnet reportgenerator -reports:**/coverage.cobertura.xml -targetdir:coveragereport

      - name: Build documentation
        run: dotnet docfx docs/docfx.json

Azure Pipelines

steps:
  - task: UseDotNet@2
    inputs:
      useGlobalJson: true

  - script: dotnet tool restore
    displayName: 'Restore .NET tools'

  - script: dotnet build -c Release
    displayName: 'Build'

  - script: dotnet test -c Release --collect:"XPlat Code Coverage"
    displayName: 'Test'

  - script: dotnet reportgenerator -reports:**/coverage.cobertura.xml -targetdir:$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/coverage
    displayName: 'Generate coverage report'

Managing Tool Versions

Update a Tool

# Update to latest version
dotnet tool update docfx

# Update to specific version
dotnet tool update docfx --version 2.79.0

List Installed Tools

# List local tools
dotnet tool list

# List with outdated check
dotnet tool list --outdated

Remove a Tool

dotnet tool uninstall docfx

Best Practices

1. Always Set `isRoot: true`

Prevents MSBuild from searching parent directories for tool manifests:

{
  "version": 1,
  "isRoot": true,
  ...
}

2. Pin Exact Versions

Use "rollForward": false for reproducible builds:

"docfx": {
  "version": "2.78.3",
  "rollForward": false
}

3. Restore in CI Before Use

Always run dotnet tool restore before using any local tool:

- run: dotnet tool restore
- run: dotnet docfx docs/docfx.json

4. Document Tool Requirements

Add a comment or section in README:

## Development Setup

1. Restore tools: `dotnet tool restore`
2. Build: `dotnet build`
3. Test: `dotnet test`

5. Use Dependabot for Updates

# .github/dependabot.yml
version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "nuget"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    # Includes local tools in .config/dotnet-tools.json

Troubleshooting

Tool Not Found After Restore

Ensure you're running from the repository root:

# Wrong - running from subdirectory
cd src/MyApp
dotnet docfx  # Error: tool not found

# Correct - run from solution root
cd ../..
dotnet docfx docs/docfx.json

Version Conflicts

If you see version conflicts, check for:

Global tool with different version: dotnet tool list -g
Multiple tool manifests: Look for .config/dotnet-tools.json in parent directories

Clearing Tool Cache

# Clear NuGet tool cache
dotnet nuget locals all --clear

# Re-restore tools
dotnet tool restore

Example: Complete Development Setup

{
  "version": 1,
  "isRoot": true,
  "tools": {
    "docfx": {
      "version": "2.78.3",
      "commands": ["docfx"],
      "rollForward": false
    },
    "dotnet-ef": {
      "version": "9.0.0",
      "commands": ["dotnet-ef"],
      "rollForward": false
    },
    "dotnet-reportgenerator-globaltool": {
      "version": "5.4.1",
      "commands": ["reportgenerator"],
      "rollForward": false
    },
    "csharpier": {
      "version": "0.30.3",
      "commands": ["dotnet-csharpier"],
      "rollForward": false
    },
    "incrementalist.cmd": {
      "version": "1.2.0",
      "commands": ["incrementalist"],
      "rollForward": false
    }
  }
}

Development workflow:

# Initial setup
dotnet tool restore

# Format code before commit
dotnet csharpier .

# Run tests with coverage
dotnet test --collect:"XPlat Code Coverage"
dotnet reportgenerator -reports:**/coverage.cobertura.xml -targetdir:coverage

# Build documentation
dotnet docfx docs/docfx.json

# Check which projects changed (for large repos)
incrementalist --branch main

dotnet-local-tools

.NET Local Tools

When to Use This Skill

What Are Local Tools?

Local vs Global Tools

Setting Up Local Tools

Initialize the Manifest

Install Tools Locally

Restore Tools

dotnet-tools.json Format

Fields

Common Tools

Documentation

Entity Framework Core

Code Coverage

Incremental Builds

Code Formatting

Code Analysis

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

Azure Pipelines

Managing Tool Versions

Update a Tool

List Installed Tools

Remove a Tool

Best Practices

1. Always Set `isRoot: true`

2. Pin Exact Versions

3. Restore in CI Before Use

4. Document Tool Requirements

5. Use Dependabot for Updates

Troubleshooting

Tool Not Found After Restore

Version Conflicts

Clearing Tool Cache

Example: Complete Development Setup

Is this your skill?

dotnet-local-tools

.NET Local Tools

When to Use This Skill

What Are Local Tools?

Local vs Global Tools

Setting Up Local Tools

Initialize the Manifest

Install Tools Locally

Restore Tools

dotnet-tools.json Format

Fields

Common Tools

Documentation

Entity Framework Core

Code Coverage

Incremental Builds

Code Formatting

Code Analysis

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

Azure Pipelines

Managing Tool Versions

Update a Tool

List Installed Tools

Remove a Tool

Best Practices

1. Always Set isRoot: true

2. Pin Exact Versions

3. Restore in CI Before Use

4. Document Tool Requirements

5. Use Dependabot for Updates

Troubleshooting

Tool Not Found After Restore

Version Conflicts

Clearing Tool Cache

Example: Complete Development Setup

Is this your skill?

1. Always Set `isRoot: true`