MSBuild exec task, exit code empty

Question

I have the following exec task, performing checkin of assemblyinfo.cs files. I\'m trying to return the exit code, but for some reason it is always empty.

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Answer 1

In general it works as you have shown.

For reference, here is a more "selfcontained" example:

<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" ToolsVersion="4.0">
  <Target Name="help">
    <Exec ContinueOnError="True" Command='cmd.exe /c dir'>
       <Output TaskParameter="ExitCode" PropertyName="ErrorCode"/>
    </Exec>
    <Message Importance="high" Text="$(ErrorCode)"/>
  </Target>
</Project>

A couple of things you may want to consider however:

• Make sure your Exec even executes, that is Condition evaluates to True.

• Output the ErrorCode property using the Message-Task, to see if it is actually set (to the value you expect). However, make sure MSBuild will show the output, by either using Importance='high' or by running msbuild.exe /v:d to enable detailed messages.