SlnGen

https://microsoft.github.io/slngen/
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SlnGen is a Visual Studio solution file generator that creates solution files on demand based on...
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### Install SlnGen global tool

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen

Install SlnGen as a .NET Core global tool. Requires .NET Core 8.0 or above. After installation, the `slngen` command is added to your PATH.

```bash
dotnet tool install --global Microsoft.VisualStudio.SlnGen.Tool

```

--------------------------------

### SlnGen installation output

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen

Output shown after installing the SlnGen tool, confirming the `slngen` command is available and the tool version.

```text
You can invoke the tool using the following command: slngen
Tool 'microsoft.visualstudio.slngen.tool' (version '11.3.5') was successfully installed.

```

--------------------------------

### Command-line override with custom values

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen/FAQ

You can specify custom values for platforms and configurations. This example uses --platform x64;x86 and --configuration MyCustomConfiguration to generate a solution with those custom values.

```cmd
slgen --platform x64;x86 --configuration MyCustomConfiguration
```

--------------------------------

### SDK-style project Configurations and Platforms properties

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen/FAQ

Newer SDK-style projects declare supported configurations and platforms using the Configurations and Platforms properties. The example shows Platforms set to AnyCPU and Configurations set to Debug;Release.

```xml
<PropertyGroup>
  <Platforms>AnyCPU</Platforms>
  <Configurations>Debug;Release</Configurations>
</PropertyGroup>
```

--------------------------------

### Command-line override with --platform and --configuration

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen/FAQ

Use the --platform and --configuration arguments to override project-declared values and generate a solution with custom combinations. The first example shows specifying platform x64 and configurations Debug;Release, ignoring project values.

```cmd
slgen --platform x64 --configuration Debug;Release
```

--------------------------------

### Legacy project configuration conditions

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen/FAQ

For legacy projects, SlnGen determines supported configurations and platforms by inspecting conditions in PropertyGroups. The example shows conditions for Debug|AnyCPU and Release|AnyCPU, indicating the project supports those configurations and platforms.

```xml
<PropertyGroup Condition=" '$(Configuration)|$(Platform)' == 'Debug|AnyCPU' ">
  ...
</PropertyGroup>
<PropertyGroup Condition=" '$(Configuration)|$(Platform)' == 'Release|AnyCPU' ">
  ...
</PropertyGroup>
```

--------------------------------

### Register custom project types with SlnGenCustomProjectTypeGuid

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen

Use this MSBuild snippet to register custom project type GUIDs for file extensions .myproj and .aproj. The ProjectTypeGuid metadata can be in any GUID format that .NET can parse.

```xml
<ItemGroup>
  <SlnGenCustomProjectTypeGuid Include=".myproj" ProjectTypeGuid="{e05dcbd8-5478-4b75-bbdb-3a3a2e743ff2}" />
  <SlnGenCustomProjectTypeGuid Include=".aproj" ProjectTypeGuid="{bb9d1d44-b292-4016-9ce0-27ea600e8e1c}" />
</ItemGroup>
```

--------------------------------

### Override via SlnGenGlobalProperties in MSBuild

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen/FAQ

When using the MSBuild target, you can override the solution configuration by setting the SlnGenGlobalProperties property in Directory.Build.props or individual projects. The example sets Platform=64.

```xml
<PropertyGroup>
  <SlnGenGlobalProperties>Platform=64</SlnGenGlobalProperties>
</PropertyGroup>
```

--------------------------------

### Override project name with SlnGenProjectName

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen/FAQ

Set the SlnGenProjectName property to override the default project name in the solution file. This example changes the name to match the assembly name.

```xml
<PropertyGroup>
  <SlnGenProjectName Condition="'$(SlnGenProjectName)' == ''">$(AssemblyName)</SlnGenProjectName>
</PropertyGroup>
```

--------------------------------

### slngen command-line reference

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen

Command-line reference for the `slngen` tool, listing the project path argument and all options including `--alwaysbuild`, `--binarylogger`, `--collapsefolders`, `--configuration`, `--consolelogger`, `--devenvfullpath`, and `--exclude`. The binary logger defaults to `slngen.binlog` and supports `ProjectImports` values None, Embed, and ZipFile. The console logger parameters include PerformanceSummary, Summary, NoSummary, ErrorsOnly, WarningsOnly, ShowTimestamp, ShowEventId, ForceNoAlign, DisableConsoleColor, ForceConsoleColor, and Verbosity.

```text
Usage: slngen [options] <project path>

Arguments:
  project path                        An optional path to a project which can include wildcards like **\*.csproj or directories which contain projects files. If not specified, all projects in the current directory will be used.

Options:
  -ab|--alwaysbuild <true>            Always include the project in the build even if it has no matching configuration. Default: true
  -bl|--binarylogger[:<parameters>]   Serializes all build events to a compressed binary file.
                                      By default the file is in the current directory and named "slngen.binlog" and contains the source text of project files, including all imported projects and target files encountered during the build. The optional ProjectImports switch controls this behavior:

                                       ProjectImports=None - Don't collect the project imports.
                                       ProjectImports=Embed - Embed project files in the log file.
                                       ProjectImports=ZipFile - Save project files to output.projectimports.zip where output is the same name as the binary log file name.

                                      NOTE: The binary logger does not collect non-MSBuild source files such as .cs, .cpp etc.

                                      Example: -bl:output.binlog;ProjectImports=ZipFile
  --collapsefolders <true>            Enables folders containing a single item to be collapsed into their parent folder. Default: false
  -c|--configuration <values>         Specifies one or more Configuration values to use when generating the solution.
  -cl|--consolelogger[:<parameters>]  Parameters to console logger. The available parameters are:
                                       PerformanceSummary--Show time spent in tasks, targets and projects.
                                       Summary--Show error and warning summary at the end.
                                       NoSummary--Don't show error and warning summary at the end.
                                       ErrorsOnly--Show only errors.
                                       WarningsOnly--Show only warnings.
                                       ShowTimestamp--Display the Timestamp as a prefix to any message.
                                       ShowEventId--Show eventId for started events, finished events, and messages
                                       ForceNoAlign--Does not align the text to the size of the console buffer
                                       DisableConsoleColor--Use the default console colors for all logging messages.
                                       ForceConsoleColor--Use ANSI console colors even if console does not support it
                                       Verbosity--overrides the -verbosity setting for this logger (see Microsoft.Build.Framework.LoggerVerbosity enum).
                                      Example:
                                       --consolelogger:PerformanceSummary;NoSummary;Verbosity=Minimal
  -vs|--devenvfullpath                Specifies a full path to Visual Studio's devenv.exe to use when opening the solution file. By default, SlnGen will launch the program associated with the .sln file extension.
  -e|--exclude <values>               Specifies one or more paths to exclude when searching for project files.

```

--------------------------------

### Run SlnGen target with MSBuild.exe

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen

Run the SlnGen target with MSBuild.exe. The output shows the generated solution path.

```text
C:\Projects\src\ProjectA.UnitTests>MSBuild.exe /Target:SlnGen /Verbosity:Minimal /NoLogo
  Loading project references...
  Generating Visual Studio solution "C:\Projects\src\ProjectA.UnitTests\ProjectA.UnitTests.sln"...

```

--------------------------------

### Customize solution generation with SlnGen properties and items

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen

Use this MSBuild snippet to customize generated solution files: exclude .sqlproj projects, disable folder hierarchy, set verbosity to Minimal, add AnyCPU platform, and specify Debug;Release configurations. It also adds global.json and README.md as solution items and includes a UnitTests project.

```xml
<PropertyGroup>
  <!-- Exclude .sqlproj projects from generated solution files -->
  <IncludeInSolutionFile Condition="'$(MSBuildProjectExtension)' == '.sqlproj'">false</IncludeInSolutionFile>

  <!-- Disable folder hierarchy in Solution files, projects will be in a flat list instead -->
  <SlnGenFolders>false</SlnGenFolders>

  <SlnGenVerbosity>Minimal</SlnGenVerbosity>
  <SlnGenPlatform>AnyCPU</SlnGenPlatform>
  <SlnGenConfiguration>Debug;Release</SlnGenConfiguration>
</PropertyGroup>

<ItemGroup>
  <SlnGenSolutionItem Include="$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)global.json" />
  <SlnGenSolutionItem Include="$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)README.md" />
  <SlnGenProjects Include="..\..\..\UnitTests\UnitTests.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>
```

--------------------------------

### SlnGen command-line properties

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen

Command-line arguments to disable launching Visual Studio and specify a custom devenv.exe path.

```text
MSBuild.exe /Target:SlnGen /Property:"SlnGenLaunchVisualStudio=false"
                           /Property:"SlnGenDevEnvFullPath=%VSINSTALLDIR%Common7\IDE\devenv.exe"

```

--------------------------------

### Add Microsoft.VisualStudio.SlnGen PackageReference

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen

Add this PackageReference to a common import file like Directory.Build.props to enable SlnGen for all projects.

```xml
<ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.VisualStudio.SlnGen" Version="<Latest Version>" />
</ItemGroup>

```

--------------------------------

### Generate diagnostic log with --binarylogger

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen/FAQ

Generate a diagnostic binary log for troubleshooting SlnGen. The command creates an slngen.binlog file that can be opened with the MSBuild Structured Log Viewer.

```cmd
slngen --binarylogger
```

--------------------------------

### Declare a project reference with <ProjectReference>

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen/FAQ

Use this item to declare a project dependency so SlnGen can recursively discover it. If a project reference is missing, verify that this pattern is present.

```xml
<ProjectReference Include="..\MyLibrary\MyLibrary.csproj" />
```

--------------------------------

### SlnGen MSBuild properties

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen

MSBuild properties to control SlnGen behavior, including launching Visual Studio, solution path, global properties, and inheritance.

```xml
<PropertyGroup>
  <SlnGenLaunchVisualStudio>false</SlnGenLaunchVisualStudio>
  <SlnGenSolutionFileFullPath>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\$(MSBuildProjectName).sln</SlnGenSolutionFileFullPath>
  <SlnGenGlobalProperties>DoNotDoSomethingWhenLoadingProjects=true;TodayIsYesterday=false</SlnGenGlobalProperties>
  <SlnGenInheritGlobalProperties>false</SlnGenInheritGlobalProperties>
  <SlnGenGlobalPropertiesToRemove>Property1;Property2</SlnGenGlobalPropertiesToRemove>
</PropertyGroup>

```

--------------------------------

### Exclude a project from the solution with IncludeInSolutionFile

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen/FAQ

Set the MSBuild property IncludeInSolutionFile to false in an individual project to leave it out of the solution.

```xml
<PropertyGroup>
  <IncludeInSolutionFile>false</IncludeInSolutionFile>
</PropertyGroup>
```

--------------------------------

### Conditionally exclude projects by extension with IncludeInSolutionFile

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen/FAQ

Set IncludeInSolutionFile to false conditionally in a common import like Directory.Build.props. This leaves out any project with the .myproj extension, which Visual Studio cannot load.

```xml
<PropertyGroup>
  <IncludeInSolutionFile Condition="'$(MSBuildProjectExtension)' == '.myproj'">false</IncludeInSolutionFile>
</PropertyGroup>
```

--------------------------------

### Assembly reference that SlnGen cannot map

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen/FAQ

Assembly references cannot be mapped to project references by SlnGen. If you only have an assembly reference, SlnGen will not be able to map it to a project reference.

```xml
<Reference Include="..\MyLibrary\bin\Debug\MyLibrary.dll" />
```

--------------------------------

### Conditionally exclude a ProjectReference with IsSlnGen

Source: https://microsoft.github.io/slngen/FAQ

Use the IsSlnGen global property to conditionally exclude a ProjectReference when SlnGen is loading the project. This prevents the reference from being included in the solution when it would not load correctly in Visual Studio.

```xml
<ItemGroup>
  <ProjectReference Include="..." Condition="'$(IsSlnGen)' != 'true'" />
</ItemGroup>
```
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