如何将额外的 dll 添加到 Roslyn 分析仪 NuGet package？

Question

In short : I referenced additional dll in my code-analyzer. All good with unit-tests & while I debugged analyzer by F5. But when this analyzer was installed as NuGet package to real project, it can't find that additional dll & crashes.

#Optional reading - detailed version of question:

I've wrote my code-analyzer (say MyAnalyzer ). It finds some types forbidden to use in client code. And its codeFix replaces these types by allowed replacement-types from my custom dll (say myCustom.dll ). I've added this dll as dependency to MyAnalyzer.CodeFixes project & to MyAnalyzer.Test unit tests project of analyzer solution.

And it works fine when started by F5 (at special opened VisualStudio instance) & successfully passes all unit tests.

But when I:

• built NuGet package of analyzer (by building MyAnalyzer.Package - a special project from VS template to produce analyzer NuGet packege)
• then coppied it to NuGet local feed (local path registered at NuGet manager as packages source)
• & then install this NuGet package from that local feed to real project by NuGet manager,

diagnostics rise fine, but when I try use codefix, which should replace some type by one from that myCustom.dll , my analyzer can't find myCustom.dll & throws an exception :

System.IO.FileNotFoundException : Could not load file or assembly 'myCustom, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.

I probably add reference to my dll at wrong way (not working with analyzers)? Or may be (its only my assumption) any dependency of NuGet package should be NuGet package too?

#Additional info (may be it matters):

Build output looks Ok: folder with build output contains that my referenced dll.

I copied it as is to NuGet local feed folder.

But cache folder of installed package, which appears after installing package, doesn't contain that myCustom.dll . It contains (except for a few small files) only:

C:\Users\user1\.nuget\packages\myanalyzer\0.0.1\MyAnalyzer.0.0.1.nupkg

& 2 dlls:

C:\Users\user1\.nuget\packages\myanalyzer\0.0.1\analyzers\dotnet\cs\MyAnalyzer.dll C:\Users\user1\.nuget\packages\myanalyzer\0.0.1\analyzers\dotnet\cs\MyAnalyzer.CodeFixes.dll

And when I try to manually put my dll there - to package cahe folder, analyzer still throws exception.

Answer 1

And when I try to manually put my dll there - to package cahe folder, analyzer still throws exception.

That is not a right way. The issue describes that you have some wrong old version of the nuget under the global cache. Since you do not change the new release version to another, the old wrong nuget package is the same as the new release one, nuget package manager always install the version under the global cache first and if it does not find the same version of the nuget package by nuget package manager UI , it will then download the specific, different version from the nuget package feed into global cache C:\Users\xxx\.nuget\packages\ , and then install it into your project.

You should try the following steps to make a careful check:

1) check your new packed nuget package myanalyzer under the local feed. And you can use 7zip tool to unpack myanalyzer.0.0.1.nupkg .

Check whether the myCustom.dll is under the folder myanalyzer.0.0.1\analyzers\dotnet\cs\ .

Also , I found the error is

Could not load file or assembly 'MyCustomDll, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null' or one of its dependencies.

I am curious why the dll is not right. And the error is that you have used MyCustomDll.dll rather than MyCustom.dll . You should check your Analyzers file and make sure that use the right named file.

Then , repack the new nuget project, ensure the new release nuget package is right.

2) delete the cache folder under C:\Users\xxx\.nuget\packages\myanalyzer .

If you use packages.config nuget management format, and you should also delete the folder under your solution folder <solution_folder>\packages\myanalyzer.0.0.1 .

3) after that, reinstall the right version under package manager UI .

Update

Sorry for that I ignored the pack steps of your analyzer nuget project.

Actually , if the dlls are referenced by your current nuget project, the pack button has no duty to pack these dlls into the nupkg file automatically.

You have to pack it manually, no matter how you did, you have to modify the csproj file.

Solution

Use your target or another is to add these under myanalyzer.package.csproj file:

<ItemGroup>
        <None Include ="$(TargetDir)mycustom.dll" pack="true" PackagePath="analyzers/dotnet/cs"></None>
</ItemGroup>

Then , repack the project, clean the nuget caches, then install the new one.

I wonder, why all dlls are present twice at installed NuGet package: as separate files at packages\myanalyzer\0.0.1\analyzers\dotnet\cs & as part of archive in.nupkg file. Or all content of installed package folder, except.nupkg file, is just unpacked.nupkg?

The nupkg is the file is the original version of your nuget package. It is generated by your pack nuget project. And the folder which contains the nupkg is a local nuget feed.

The folder is like nuget.org source. And this folder which contains it is the nuget package source(nuget download nuget files from this path and then download the nupkg and unpack it under C:\Users\xxx\.nuget\packages )

Besides , the C:\Users\xxx\.nuget\packages is the global nuget cache folder .

So it restores the download nuget packages from the local feed, and if you installed the old same version of the myanalyzer nuget package before, it will always install the old same version like 1.0.0 from the cache folder no matter you have packed a new release same 1.0.0 version. Because the version is the same, so VS IDE will judge that there is already has a same nuget package under the cache folder, it always install the old one rather than the new one.

So that is why I recommended that you should delete all cache files under that folder. Avoid VS installing older cache packages all the time. Or you should set a new version for the updated nuget package like 2.0.0 .

This is the explanation and the difference between these two Folders.

One is the original local nuget package feed. Another is the storage path and unpacking path of the package downloaded from the local nuget package feed, and it will record the previously downloaded packages. You need to pay attention to this.