Don't include dependencies from packages.config file when creating NuGet package

Question

I am using Nuget to create packages. I would like to create a package which does not contain any dependencies (in the .nuspec) file to any other NuGet packages. My project does have NuGet package dependencies defined in its packages.config file.

First I create the .nuspec file...

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

I edit the generated .nuspec file to be minimal, with no 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 build the solution and create a NuGet package...

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

Here is the output of that 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 .nupkg package that is created has a .nuspec file contained within it but it includes a dependencies section which I did not have in the original .nuspec file...

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

I believe this is happening because of this... (from the output above)

Found packages.config. Using packages listed as dependencies

How can I make NuGet not automatically resolve dependencies and insert them into the .nuspec file which is generated from the pack command?

I am using NuGet 2.2 currently. Also, I don't think that this behaviour happened in older version of NuGet; is this a new "feature"? I couldn't find any documentation describing this "feature" or when it was implemented.

Delete the packages.config file or rename it. The pack operation will then ignore dependencies. This is my temporary workaround until 2.7 is released. — Razor, Jul 30 '13 at 13:28
Has anyone answered this with a working answer. Not having this ability may may be the stupidest thing I have ever come across. — iGanja, Aug 31 '13 at 02:43
I havent been able to get my dependencies included either. For Years. I am starting to think this is one big fib. — StingyJack, May 01 '17 at 01:11
Use the -IncludeReferencedProjects flag on your pack command to auto include dependencies, not much help removing them though. — Vern D., Mar 03 '18 at 00:13

score 58 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 18 '20 at 18:00

58

In version 2.7 there is an option called developmentDependency that can be set into package.config to avoid including dependency.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<packages>
    <package id="jQuery" version="1.5.2" />
    <package id="netfx-Guard" version="1.3.3.2" developmentDependency="true" />
    <package id="microsoft-web-helpers" version="1.15" />
</packages>

edited Sep 18 '20 at 18:00

Josh Noe

2,664
2
35
37

answered Sep 05 '13 at 23:13

David C

678
6
11

7

The out-of-the-box implementation of this feature requires every user of a package to add this attribute to their packages.config file for every project they include it in. Many users don't even know about this attribute. I've blogged about how the package author can have this step be performed automatically during install of their package, taking the responsibility off of the users, at http://blog.danskingdom.com/have-your-nuget-package-install-itself-as-a-development-dependency/ – deadlydog Sep 18 '13 at 23:47
10

@deadlydog In Nuget 2.8 you're now able to declare your package a "development-only dependency" by setting `developmentDependency` to `true` **in the nuspec**. See http://docs.nuget.org/docs/reference/nuspec-reference#Metadata_Section – theDmi Jul 16 '14 at 14:11
1

@theDmi Yeah, I updated my blog post and posted my own answer in this thread with all of the updated info a little while back already. Feel free to up-vote my answer as it provides clear examples and much more info than this one. – deadlydog Jul 16 '14 at 15:59

score 34 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 14 '14 at 05:29

Prevent your package from being dependent on other packages

As of NuGet 2.7 there is a new developmentDependency attribute that can be added to a package node in your project's packages.config file. So if your project includes a NuGet package that you don't want your NuGet package to include as a dependency, you can use this attribute like so:

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

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

Prevent your development package from being depended on by other packages

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

I have a development NuGet package that this was perfect for. Here is 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's output directory.
    If you want to use a .nuspec file, place it in the same directory as the project's project file (e.g. .csproj, .vbproj, .fsproj).
    This adds a PostBuildScripts folder to your project to house the PowerShell script that is called from the project's 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 don't want to force your users to have at least NuGet v2.8 installed before they can use your package, then you can use the solution I came up with and blogged about before the NuGet 2.8 developmentDependency attribute existed.

Didn't work for me. Nuget 2.8 here, and developmentDependency="true" made no difference. When I look at the package via Nuget manager it "still" reports all those external dependencies, and still pulls them into my project. — DiggyJohn, Jun 30 '14 at 16:19
@DiggyJohn Hmmm, I tested it before posting and it worked fine for me. I'm also using v2.8. Are you also using a .nuspec file? Perhaps you have those extra files listed as dependencies in your .nuspec file? — deadlydog, Jul 01 '14 at 17:08
@DiggyJohn, if you already have the reference to your package then it will not update it. I had to remove the reference in my package config then reinstall the package and it showed up as expected — workabyte, Aug 06 '14 at 14:42
Using nuget 4.7, neither options work in preventing dependencies from being downloaded. — munchrall, Jul 31 '18 at 19:28

Philippe · Answer 3 · 2017-07-14T12:05:08.990

13

If you are using the PackageReference element 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

edited Jul 14 '17 at 12:05

answered Jul 06 '17 at 07:06

Philippe

3,945
3
38
56

1

If this doesn't work, try deleting the `bin` and `obj` folders. – Tereza Tomcova Oct 01 '18 at 17:47

score 4 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 21 '13 at 22:14

4

You can explicitly specify which files to include then run the pack command on 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 should set the src attribute with the path that is relative to the nuspec file here. Then you can run the pack command.

nuget.exe pack MyProject\MyProject.nuspec

answered Feb 21 '13 at 22:14

Ufuk Hacıoğulları

37,978
12
114
156

This is an interesting approach I hadn't considered; I will try this solution later when I have time. I was under the impression that it was not a good idea to use `.nuspec` files to generate the packages; using `.csproj` files was prefered. Is there any consequence to building packages this way? – Jesse Webb Feb 22 '13 at 14:44
1

@JesseWebb I guess you can't fill some fields like version using variables but other than that it should be fine. I think there's nothing wrong with using nuspec file. Do you have any source that says otherwise? – Ufuk Hacıoğulları Mar 01 '13 at 09:51
2

I guess it is not advised against specifically; the NuGet doc simply says to use the `csproj` file in the pack command and "the nuspec will in fact get picked up". http://docs.nuget.org/docs/creating-packages/creating-and-publishing-a-package#From_a_project Still, this solution seems promising, I will try it out ASAP... I've just been really swamped for the past couple weeks. – Jesse Webb Mar 01 '13 at 20:02
@DiggyJohn Specification may have changed in the later version. http://docs.nuget.org/docs/reference/nuspec-reference – Ufuk Hacıoğulları Jun 30 '14 at 17:40
Referencing .nuspec instead of .csproj will work (i.e. not include dependencies you haven't explicitly specified). The downside is that the standard replacement tokens won't get resolved, e.g. $version$ won't be set to the value in the project's AssemblyInfo.cs. Refer https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/schema/nuspec#replacement-tokens – stoj Sep 22 '17 at 00:07

Eivind Gussiås Løkseth · Answer 5 · 2013-05-13T19:47:40.057

4

According to issue #1956 (https://nuget.codeplex.com/workitem/1956) and pull request 3998 (https://nuget.codeplex.com/SourceControl/network/forks/adamralph/nuget/contribution/3998) this feature has been included in the ~~2.4 release~~ 2.7 release.

However I'm not able to find documentation about the feature, and I still haven't figured how to use it. Please update this answer if anyone knows.

Update: Issue #1956 has been updated by the developer. The feature was not included in the 2.4 release, but delayed to the upcoming 2.7 release. That's why it's not documented yet.

edited May 13 '13 at 19:47

answered May 13 '13 at 13:59

Eivind Gussiås Løkseth

1,862
2
21
35

1

The issue has been updated recently. The feature seems to have been tested and a few issues are found. http://nuget.codeplex.com/workitem/1956 – Eivind Gussiås Løkseth Jul 17 '13 at 19:43

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Feb 21 '13 at 22:08

1

I'm not sure why you would want to ignore the dependencies that your NuGet package requires to run, but have you thought about using the NuGet Package Explorer tool instead to create your package?

answered Feb 21 '13 at 22:08

devdigital

34,151
9
98
120

1

Our build process is automated by our CI server, TeamCity, so we haven't considering using a GUI tool in the process. I don't think this tool will help us automate this. – Jesse Webb Feb 22 '13 at 14:40
3

The reason we don't need the dependency included in the `.nuspec` is because we are only using GoogleProtocolBuffers to generate the appropriate C# source files; it isn't a runtime dependency. – Jesse Webb Feb 22 '13 at 14:41
1

You can use the tool to create and maintain the .nuspec file, and then generate the package from the .nuspec file directly on your build server, rather than from the .csproj – devdigital Feb 22 '13 at 14:43
1

I see... you are suggesting using the tool to maintain a `.nuspec` file similar to what @UfukHacıoğulları suggested in his answer. I will try it out when experimenting with his solution. – Jesse Webb Feb 22 '13 at 14:46
1

In our case it's because we're using ILMerge on a number of assemblies. We don't need Nuget pulling in all of the dependent assemblies because they're already a part of the primary assembly and it's no longer actually "dependent" on them. – DiggyJohn Jun 30 '14 at 16:16

Don't include dependencies from packages.config file when creating NuGet package

6 Answers6

Prevent your package from being dependent on other packages

Prevent your development package from being depended on by other packages

Linked