Differences between nuget-packing a csproj vs. nuspec

Question

Recently, I started to pack nuget packages out of my several projects. First I started with the Package Explorer application. It is a nice tool, but it\'s less useful if you

Answer 1

With .NET Core as of February 2018 you'll need to supply a .nuspec file for any more than the basic spec file properties.

But the dotnet pack command will not use the .nuspec file unless you add relative path to nuspec to the .csproj file.

See https://github.com/dotnet/cli/issues/2170

Most packages can now be made without a .nuspec file. The thing to watch is the dependencies. You may need to add a PrivateAssets element to some that are tools, like msbump and um, SpecFlow maybe.

  all

This stops this package dependency "flowing" to the dependencies of your package.

Also worth reading about specifying versions in the most flexible way.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/consume-packages/dependency-resolution#floating-versions

And range syntax.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/reference/package-versioning#references-in-project-files-packagereference