Do not include dependencies from package.config when creating a NuGet package

Question

I use Nuget to create packages. I would like to create a package that does not contain any dependencies (in the .nuspec file) for any other NuGet packages. My project has NuGet dependencies defined in the packages.config file.

First I create a .nuspec file ...

 C:\code\MySolution>.nuget\nuget.exe spec MyProject\MyProject.csproj 

I am editing the generated .nuspec file minimal, without dependencies.

 <?xml version="1.0"?> <package > <metadata> <id>MyProject</id> <version>1.2.3</version> <title>MyProject</title> <authors>Example</authors> <owners>Example</owners> <requireLicenseAcceptance>false</requireLicenseAcceptance> <description>Example</description> <copyright>Copyright 2013 Example</copyright> <tags>example</tags> <dependencies /> </metadata> </package> 

Then I create a solution and create a NuGet package ...

 C:\code\MySolution>.nuget\nuget.exe pack MyProject\MyProject.csproj -Verbosity detailed 

Here is the result of this command ...

 Attempting to build package from 'MyProject.csproj'. Packing files from 'C:\code\MySolution\MyProject\bin\Debug'. Using 'MyProject.nuspec' for metadata. Found packages.config. Using packages listed as dependencies Id: MyProject Version: 1.2.3 Authors: Example Description: Example Tags: example Dependencies: Google.ProtocolBuffers (= 2.4.1.473) Added file 'lib\net40\MyProject.dll'. Successfully created package 'C:\code\MySolution\MyProject.1.2.3.nupkg'. 

The created .nupkg package contains the .nupkg file contained in it, but includes a dependency section that I did not have in the source .nuspec file ...

 <dependencies> <dependency id="Google.ProtocolBuffers" version="2.4.1.473" /> </dependencies> 

I believe this is due to this ... (from the above)

 Found packages.config. Using packages listed as dependencies 

How can I make NuGet not automatically resolve dependencies and embed them in the .nuspec file generated by the pack command?

I am currently using NuGet 2.2. Also, I don't think that this behavior occurred in an older version of NuGet; is this a new "feature"? I could not find the documentation describing this "function" or when it was implemented.

Answer 1

In version 2.7 there is an option called developmentDependency, which can be set in package.config to avoid dependencies.

Exclude development dependencies when creating packages

Answer 2

Prevent your package from hanging from other packages

In NuGet 2.7 there is a new developmentdependency attribute that can be added to the package node in your packages.config project file . Therefore, if your project includes a NuGet package that you do not need to include your NuGet package as a dependency, you can use this attribute as follows:

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <packages> <package id="CreateNewNuGetPackageFromProjectAfterEachBuild" version="1.8.1-Prerelease1" targetFramework="net45" developmentDependency="true" /> </packages> 

The important bit you need to add is developmentDependency="true" .

Prevent your development package from freezing with other packages

If you are creating a NuGet development package for others to consume, you know that they will not want to depend on their packages, then you can prevent users from manually adding this attribute to their packages.config file using the NuGet 2.8 developmentDependency attribute in the metadata section of your .nuspec file . This will automatically add the developmentDependency attribute to the package.config file when your package is installed by others. The catch here is that this requires the user to install at least NuGet 2.8. Fortunately, we can use the NuGet 2.5 minClientVersion attribute to make sure users have at least v2.8 installed; otherwise, they will be notified that they need to upgrade their NuGet client before they can install the package.

I have a NuGet development package for which it was perfect. Here's what my .nuspec file looks like, showing how to use the minClientVersion and developmentDependency attributes (lines 3 and 20, respectively):

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <package xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/packaging/2011/08/nuspec.xsd"> <metadata minClientVersion="2.8"> <id>CreateNewNuGetPackageFromProjectAfterEachBuild</id> <version>1.8.1-Prerelease1</version> <title>Create New NuGet Package From Project After Each Build</title> <authors>Daniel Schroeder,iQmetrix</authors> <owners>Daniel Schroeder,iQmetrix</owners> <licenseUrl>https://newnugetpackage.codeplex.com/license</licenseUrl> <projectUrl>https://newnugetpackage.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=NuGet%20Package%20To%20Create%20A%20NuGet%20Package%20From%20Your%20Project%20After%20Every%20Build</projectUrl> <requireLicenseAcceptance>false</requireLicenseAcceptance> <description>Automatically creates a NuGet package from your project each time it builds. The NuGet package is placed in the project output directory. If you want to use a .nuspec file, place it in the same directory as the project project file (eg .csproj, .vbproj, .fsproj). This adds a PostBuildScripts folder to your project to house the PowerShell script that is called from the project Post-Build event to create the NuGet package. If it does not seem to be working, check the Output window for any errors that may have occurred.</description> <summary>Automatically creates a NuGet package from your project each time it builds.</summary> <releaseNotes>- Changed to use new NuGet built-in method of marking this package as a developmentDependency (now requires NuGet client 2.8 or higher to download this package).</releaseNotes> <copyright>Daniel Schroeder 2013</copyright> <tags>Auto Automatic Automatically Build Pack Create New NuGet Package From Project After Each Build On PowerShell Power Shell .nupkg new nuget package NewNuGetPackage New-NuGetPackage</tags> <developmentDependency>true</developmentDependency> </metadata> <files> <file src="..\New-NuGetPackage.ps1" target="content\PostBuildScripts\New-NuGetPackage.ps1" /> <file src="Content\NuGet.exe" target="content\PostBuildScripts\NuGet.exe" /> <file src="Content\BuildNewPackage-RanAutomatically.ps1" target="content\PostBuildScripts\BuildNewPackage-RanAutomatically.ps1" /> <file src="Content\UploadPackage-RunManually.ps1" target="content\PostBuildScripts\UploadPackage-RunManually.ps1" /> <file src="Content\UploadPackage-RunManually.bat" target="content\PostBuildScripts\UploadPackage-RunManually.bat" /> <file src="tools\Install.ps1" target="tools\Install.ps1" /> <file src="tools\Uninstall.ps1" target="tools\Uninstall.ps1" /> </files> </package> 

If you do not want your users to have at least NuGet v2.8 before they can use your package, you can use the solution I came up with and blogged about before the nuGet 2.8 developmentdependency attribute appeared.

Answer 3

You can explicitly specify which files to include, and then run the pack command in the nuspec file itself.

 <?xml version="1.0"?> <package > <metadata> <id>MyProject</id> <version>1.2.3</version> <title>MyProject</title> <authors>Example</authors> <owners>Example</owners> <requireLicenseAcceptance>false</requireLicenseAcceptance> <description>Example</description> <copyright>Copyright 2013 Example</copyright> <tags>example</tags> <dependencies /> </metadata> <files> <file src="bin\Release\MyProject.dll" target="lib" /> </files> </package> 

You must set the src attribute using the path that is here relative to the nuspec file. Then you can run the pack command.

 nuget.exe pack MyProject\MyProject.nuspec 

Answer 4

According to issue No. 1956 ( https://nuget.codeplex.com/workitem/1956 ) and pull out the request 3998 ( https://nuget.codeplex.com/SourceControl/network/forks/adamralph/nuget/contribution/3998 ) this feature was included in release 2.4 release 2.7.

However, I cannot find the documentation for this function, and I still have not figured out how to use it. Please update this answer if anyone knows.

Update: Issue No. 1956 has been updated by the developer. This feature was not included in release 2.4, but was delayed until the upcoming version 2.7. That is why it is not yet documented.

Answer 5

If you use PackageReference instead of package.config file, here is the solution:

 <PackageReference Include="Nerdbank.GitVersioning" Version="1.5.28-rc" PrivateAssets="All" /> 

or

 <PackageReference Include="Nerdbank.GitVersioning" Version="1.5.28-rc"> <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets> </PackageReference> 

Related GitHub discussion

Answer 6

I'm not sure why you want to ignore the dependencies your NuGet package must fulfill, but have you thought about using the NuGet Package Explorer instead to create your own package?