Our projects in TFS are organized like this:
$\DefaultCollection\ProjectName\Source <-- source code goes here
$\DefaultCollection\ProjectName\SharedAssemblies <-- 3rd party binaries go here
Now that NuGet is on the scene, is there any reason to change our approach and use NuGet's packages folder for dlls that come from NuGet-aware projects? I'm leaning against this because
1) it creates two places one must look for dependencies
2) it leaves us open to one developer updating a package and breaking some dependency
That said, if anyone can report a good reason to start using NuGet in a TFS environment, I will happily present your ideas to my team as if they were my own (joke).
Nuget 1.6 now allows for packages not present to be downloaded dynamically upon build. So you can now check in to source control without the .dlls, but the build itself will pull the correct package.
http://docs.nuget.org/docs/workflows/using-nuget-without-committing-packages
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I have a small solution containing three Visual Studio projects. I'm working in Visual Studio 2015 using TFS 2015.
I have implemented a gated check in, but for some reason the solution will not build on the TFS server. I'm referencing only 1 nuget package - Entity Framework. I am not checking my package folder into TFS, but my packages.config files are being included.
I have previously set up a different project on the same server using the same build definition and it works fine.
In order to restore packages prior to build, you will need to run the following command as part of your build process.
nuget.exe restore path\to\solution.sln
One way to do that is to add another project that is responsible for building your solutions and making sure that the packages get restored prior to your solutions being built.
Following write-up walks you through getting that set up: nuget docs
I managed to get it working, but I tripped into the fix and don't know what exactly solved the problem. This is the first time I've really had to handle TFS builds.
I know I only had one build definition defined and it was intended for a different solution - of which this code was also a part. I think when I was checking in this solution it was actually trying to build the other.
Apparently, I can't have my nuget packages set up different ways for code that is in two different solutions. Anyway, that's my best guess.
I recently upgraded an old ASP.Net MVC3 project that was storing all our COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) .DLL files in source control to use NuGet Restore Packages instead.
Now whenever someone gets the source afresh from TFS (Team Foundation Server), the references I updated to NuGet Packages all have the warning icon on them. Neither building nor cleaning and rebuilding fix the references.
If I click any NuGet reference in a project, the references all appear to update. The warning icons disappear and the references seem to be fine. The project builds without sissue.
This has to be done for each project in the solution, though once done once it is fine and doesn't reoccur. But this is slowing down new employees and is cumbersome.
Does anyone know of something I might have missed?
The .ddl files are for packages like MVC, StructureMap, Log4Net ect
I have searched (via Google) and the only related question is one showing NuGet packages having a different icon.
You can use the Restore Nuget Packages option from the Solution Explorer by right clicking on the solution:
You can also configure Nuget Restore to run on build from the Nuget Manager Settings windows:
I have set up a TeamCity partly. Now it downloads the code from TFS and try to build it using MSBuild which was not successful. I know that I am doing something wrong. I have some library added to my code(An ASP.NET website). I know that it is not a good idea to add dll files to Version Control(TFS), but if I don't check them in, when TeamCity downloads the code, it does not have that libraries so MSBuild cannot successfully build it. I was wondering what would be the best practice to solve that issue?
For dependency management in .net I would recommend that you take a look at the TeamCity built in nuget feeds. You have a possibility to utilize a feed directly from within TeamCity, acting as a server. As you state, commiting dependencies in (any) VCS should really be avoided...
It depends on what type of dlls you're dealing with.
If they are available on NuGet.org, use NuGet and the Package Manager Console to add the references to your solution. Then just put NuGet.exe on your Build Server, and run
NuGet.exe restore YourSolution.sln
As your first build step.
If they are in-house dlls, then you have a few options. The first being, as TeNGiL mentioned, setting up a private NuGet repository, and publishing the in-house dlls, to that feed, and pulling from it within your build server.
The other option is just to create a 'References' directory in source control, which holds dlls, reference them in your solution from the source controlled directory, and then pull them down as part of your Build Configuration. This really isn't as bad as it sounds, within reason, and is a perfectly acceptable interim solution to incorporate until everyone is on board with using a private NuGet feed, or something of that nature.
Open the code in the checkoutdirectory of TeamCIty in visual studio and try and build.I am pretty sure that visual studio will give you the exact error message of what's going wrong.
Missing packages have to be restores. Use a Nuget Installer build step to restore your packages as given in image below.
At my work we are just starting to use TFS with our team of 4 developers, and are at the same time transitioning from single developer projects to team projects. We are mostly using the default settings in TFS
I was the first to push up a simple Silverlight MVVM project consisting of a solution with a Silverlight and a web project.
When my team-mate pulled down my code and tried to compile, he was faced with many missing references (.dlls), Expression blend SDK, Ria Services toolkit, Telerik controls, simple mvvm toolkit, silverlight toolkit, etc.
What do we need to do, to add projects to TFS that have everything needed to be compile it when the next developer pulls it down?
There isn't a really good way to do this all automatically. What you'd generally do this this:
in your branch create a bin folder next to your src folder.
in the bin folder create folders for each component you're relying on
in each folder place the setup or a link to the setup
in each folder place the binary files you're using in your solution
in each folder place a readme with any manual steps that must be completed
if wanted you can create a powershell script or batch file which installs all required components. It isn't too hard to detect whether or not an application is already installed using powershell and wmi
Now you'll have to fix a few things in your solution:
make sure your references don't point to the GAC, but that they point to the assemblies inside the bin folder of your branch
make sure all the paths are relative to the solution. Any c:... paths will not carry over from one system to another
I found that the easiest way to do this is to unload the project in Visual Studio and then edit it. You can then quickly add hintpath="..\..\..\bin\component attributes to each reference. There are a few blog on this subject which provide different solutions which all solve this same issue.
This setup allows you to at least get the latest version of any solution and build it without having to install any tools. If some of your components rely on visual studio add-ins, then the designers for these tools usually won't work, but at least you're able to build them.
An often used alternative is to create a Virtual Machine base image for your project and install all the required components onto it. Then copy the image to each developers workstation and sysprep it to ensure they all have a unique name and identifiers. When the project needs to update its dependencies, let one developer create a new clean machine and re-distribute that to all team members.
If you're using Windows Server Virtualization or VMWare, it's quite easy to create differencing disks and allow developers to access these images remotely.
Another approach would be to use NuGet and script NuGet using a powershell script for your solution. This will work for most cases, but products like Expression Blend still need to be installed separately.
I have created an VS Addin that creates a new project conform my specs and file structure.
It does all the heavy lifting as cloning repos from mercurial, adds the needed references to assemblies and projects in the solution.
Now I want to bring it one step beyond.
Is there a way to invoke Nuget from my add-in.
If so then I can install my "standard" packages right after the new solution is created without my personal intervention.
In Nuget there is a reference TO the DTE, but is there a way to use it FROM the DTE.
Use NuGet.CommandLine. You can read how to use it here.
Also make note that NuGet 1.5 brings some new features, though I'm not sure how relevant they are for you.