Nuget Package without Package.Config?

Question

I encountered a solution (.Net Full framework) Where there are no package.config in the solution and Feeds coming from In house Nuget servers.

Where list of packages are maintained, if not in Package.Config?

Answer 1

Where is the list of packages are maintained, if not in Package.Config?

First, you should make sure you have that solution have already installed the nuget package, once you install a package, NuGet will add Package.Config file to your project to record the dependency in either your project file or a packages.config file.

If you confirm that your solution has a nuget package installed, but there is no Package.Config file, your nuget package should use another management method: PackageReference

Edit your project, you will find following PackageReference list:

<ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="Contoso.Utility.UsefulStuff" Version="3.6.0" />
</ItemGroup>

See NuGet is now fully integrated into MSBuild for more details:

In the past, NuGet packages were managed in two different ways - packages.config and project.json - each with their own sets of advantages and limitations. With Visual Studio 2017 and .NET Core, we have improved the NuGet package management experience by introducing the PackageReference feature in MSBuild. PackageReference brings new and improved capabilities such as deep MSBuild integration, improved performance for everyday tasks such as install and restore, multi-targeting and more.

Answer 2

The packages.config file could be somewhere else? In that case look in your msbuild project file (ie *.csproj, *.vbproj, *.vcxproj) and see where the references to that nuget assembly are coming from. Then look in that directory for the packages.config file. It might be more complicated than that, in which case, it's useful to do a global search for packages.config in your repo, to see where they reside (If they do exist at all).

This is a common practice: To have one project specify the nuget package, and all the other projects borrow it. As Jon said, this is really dependent on how the folks at your company and department set up your builds and dependencies.