NuGet Manager

Overview

This skill ensures consistent and safe management of NuGet packages across .NET projects. It prioritizes using the

dotnet

CLI to maintain project integrity and enforces a strict verification and restoration workflow for version updates.

Prerequisites

• .NET SDK installed (typically .NET 8.0 SDK or later, or a version compatible with the target solution).

• dotnet

  CLI available on your

  PATH

  .

• jq

  (JSON processor) OR PowerShell (for version verification using

  dotnet package search

  ).

Core Rules

1. NEVER directly edit

   .csproj

   ,

   .props

   , or

   Directory.Packages.props

   files to add or remove packages. Always use

   dotnet add package

   and

   dotnet remove package

   commands.
2. DIRECT EDITING is ONLY permitted for changing versions of existing packages.
3. VERSION UPDATES must follow the mandatory workflow:
   • Verify the target version exists on NuGet.
   • Determine if versions are managed per-project (

     .csproj

     ) or centrally (

     Directory.Packages.props

     ).
   • Update the version string in the appropriate file.
   • Immediately run

     dotnet restore

     to verify compatibility.

Workflows

Adding a Package

Use

dotnet add [<PROJECT>] package <PACKAGE_NAME> [--version <VERSION>]

. Example:

dotnet add src/MyProject/MyProject.csproj package Newtonsoft.Json

Removing a Package

Use

dotnet remove [<PROJECT>] package <PACKAGE_NAME>

. Example:

dotnet remove src/MyProject/MyProject.csproj package Newtonsoft.Json

Updating Package Versions

When updating a version, follow these steps:

1. Verify Version Existence: Check if the version exists using the

   dotnet package search

   command with exact match and JSON formatting. Using

   jq

   :

   dotnet package search <PACKAGE_NAME> --exact-match --format json | jq -e '.searchResult[].packages[] | select(.version == "<VERSION>")'

   Using PowerShell:

   (dotnet package search <PACKAGE_NAME> --exact-match --format json | ConvertFrom-Json).searchResult.packages | Where-Object { $_.version -eq "<VERSION>" }

2. Determine Version Management:

   • Search for

     Directory.Packages.props

     in the solution root. If present, versions should be managed there via

     <PackageVersion Include="Package.Name" Version="1.2.3" />

     .
   • If absent, check individual

     .csproj

     files for

     <PackageReference Include="Package.Name" Version="1.2.3" />

     .

3. Apply Changes: Modify the identified file with the new version string.

4. Verify Stability: Run

   dotnet restore

   on the project or solution. If errors occur, revert the change and investigate.

Examples

User: "Add Serilog to the WebApi project"

Action: Execute

dotnet add src/WebApi/WebApi.csproj package Serilog

.

User: "Update Newtonsoft.Json to 13.0.3 in the whole solution"

Action:

1. Verify 13.0.3 exists:

   dotnet package search Newtonsoft.Json --exact-match --format json

   (and parse output to confirm "13.0.3" is present).
2. Find where it's defined (e.g.,

   Directory.Packages.props

   ).
3. Edit the file to update the version.
4. Run

   dotnet restore

   .