Software Construction

How to Use MSBuild

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1. Build  a .NET project.
  • Download Build Tools for Visual Studio 2022.  (Scroll down to the bottom of the page.)
  • Install .NET SDKs for Visual Studio.
  • Select a MSBuild.exe location: 
    C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\MSBuild\Current\Bin
or 
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Professional\Msbuild\Current\Bin
  • Execute the command below to build a solution. 
    "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Professional\Msbuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" "../MySolution.sln" -restore -p:RestorePackagesConfig=true
2. Log build errors to a file.
  • Execute the command below to export errors to the Build.log file. 
    "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" /property:Configuration=Release "YourSolution.sln" -restore -p:RestorePackagesConfig=true > Build.log
  • Open the Build.log file and search for “errors” text.
3. Hide build warnings.
  • Execute the command below to hide warnings and normal messages, but still show the final build result summary, including “Build succeeded” or “Build FAILED.” 
    "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Professional\Msbuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" "./MySolution.sln" -restore -p:RestorePackagesConfig=true -p:StopOnFirstFailure=true /clp:Summary;ErrorsOnly
4. Fixing “Microsoft.WebApplication.targets was not found” issue.
  • Download vs_BuildTools.exe.
  • Open Command Prompt.
  • Execute the command below. 
    vs_BuildTools.exe --add Microsoft.VisualStudio. Workload.WebBuildTools --passive
  • Open .csproj or .vbproj file using Notepad.
  • Find Project element and set ToolsVersion to 17.0. 
    <Project DefaultTargets="Build" ToolsVersion="17.0">
  • Find VisualStudioVersion element and set its value to 17.0. 
    <VisualStudioVersion Condition="'$(VisualStudioVersion)' == ''">17.0</VisualStudioVersion>
  • Find Import Project=”$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32) … Microsoft.WebApplication.targets text and set Condition to false. 
    <Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v17.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" Condition="false" />
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