I'm using the config file replacement feature of Visual Studio 2010's "Publish" functionality, as described in this article. I want to automate this using MSBuild/Hudson. Does anybody know how to do this?
I like how it works but if I cannot automate it I'll have to switch to XmlMassUpdate or similar.
Explanation
To transform your config file you'll have to execute the TransformWebConfig target.
This target takes two files Web.config and Web.$(Configuration).config and generates a Web.config. The generated file is the transformed version of the original one for the current configuration.
This file is generated in folder : obj\$(Configuration)\TransformWebConfig
Usage
You don't really explain what you want to achieve, so here a basic usage, a job that generates a transformed config file in a given folder.
Add the following piece in the end of your project file *.csproj after the import of Microsoft.WebApplication.targets
<PropertyGroup>
<!-- Directory where your web.config will be copied -->
<TransformedWebConfigDestination>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)</TransformedWebConfigDestination>
</PropertyGroup>
<!--
This target transforms the web.config based on current configuration and
put the transformed files in $(TransformedWebConfigDestination) folder
-->
<Target Name="ConfigSubstitution">
<CallTarget Targets="TransformWebConfig"/>
<ItemGroup>
<TransformedWebConfig Include="obj\$(Configuration)\TransformWebConfig\Web.config"/>
</ItemGroup>
<!-- Copy the transformed web.config to the configured destination -->
<Copy SourceFiles="#(TransformedWebConfig)"
DestinationFolder="$(TransformedWebConfigDestination)"/>
</Target>
In Hudson you could add a Build step in your build, or create a dedicated job configured as follow:
MsBuild Build File : Your csproj file.
Command Line Arguments : /t:ConfigSubstitution /p:Platform=AnyCpu;Configuration=Test;TransformedWebConfigDestination=DestinationFolder
Edit your web project.csproj
under
<PropertyGroup Condition=" '$(Configuration)|$(Platform)' == 'Debug|AnyCPU' ">
Add -
<UseMsDeployExe>True</UseMsDeployExe>
Look at the Build output (make sure VS Tools - Options - Project & Solutions -Build & Run - MSBuild Output Verbosity - Detailed)
You should be able to see the msdeploy commands VS uses to produce the package. It's my understanding that VS actually uses Web Platform Pipeline API's and .target files to actually produce the deploy packages when building using MSBuild, and this command changes to use MsDeploy instead.
This stuff is so in need of documentation, its very frustrating.
I am using this in Hudson to target Release:
/Property:Configuration=Release
The exact settings are:
Build
MSBuild Version: msbuild-4 (configured to point to v4 msbuild)
MsBuild Build File: project_name.sln
Command Line Arguments: /Property:Configuration=Release
You can test this in your project directory by running something similar (as your .NET framework version may differ) to this:
%SYSTEMROOT%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\msbuild project.sln /Property:Configuration=Release
Related
I'm using Visual Studio 2017 and have a solution with several web projects and webjob projects.
There are some files that I want to include when running locally in the development environment that I want to exclude from being deployed as part of a web publishing package.
I'm attempting to use the process described here http://sedodream.com/2010/05/01/WebDeploymentToolMSDeployBuildPackageIncludingExtraFilesOrExcludingSpecificFiles.aspx and elsewhere, which is:
<ItemGroup>
<ExcludeFromPackageFiles Include="connectionstrings.config">
<FromTarget>Project</FromTarget>
<CopyToOutputDirectory>Always</CopyToOutputDirectory>
</ExcludeFromPackageFiles>
</ItemGroup>
This works perfectly for my web projects - meaning that when building the connectionstrings.config file is copied to my bin\ directory and not included as part of the web deployment package - whereas when implemented in my webjob projects the file is copied to my bin\ directory but also included in the deployment package.
In the msbuild output I see:
Copying file from "C:\Users\me\Documents\Projects\myapp\myapp\webjob1\connectionstrings.config" to "bin\ProdBuildCfg\connectionstrings.config".
which is what I want because it allows me to run/debug locally, and also:
Copying C:\Users\me\Documents\Projects\myapp\myapp\webjob1\bin\ProdBuildCfg\connectionstrings.config to obj\ProdBuildCfg\Package\PackageTmp\app_data\jobs\continuous\webjob1\connectionstrings.config.
which demonstrates the problem - connectionstrings.config is still being copied to the package directory for subsequent publishing/deployment.
The process described in the above article and others applies to web projects, and they indicate you should place the <ItemGroup> under the
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v10.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" />
line of the project file. Webjob projects don't include that line but rather have something resembling:
<Import Project="..\packages\Microsoft.Web.WebJobs.Publish.1.0.13\tools\webjobs.targets" Condition="Exists('..\packages\Microsoft.Web.WebJobs.Publish.1.0.13\tools\webjobs.targets')" />
I suspect the problem relates to targets - either my project file doesn't include the proper <Import Project="...*.targets')" /> line or I'm not at the right spot in the file.
Next I tried the method mentioned here How do I include webjob files while debugging locally but exclude when publishing a web package?:
<PropertyGroup Condition=" '$(Configuration)|$(Platform)' == 'Debug|AnyCPU' ">
<ExcludeFilesFromDeployment>connectionstrings.config</ExcludeFilesFromDeployment>
</PropertyGroup>
I have the connectionstrings.config Build Action set to None and Copy to output directory set to Always (my understanding is that action that results from the Copy to output directory setting is distinctly different from the actions associated with packaging/deployment). Same result. (I've ensured I'm in the right <PropertyGroup> for my build configuration.
Note: I'm deploying either by right-clicking the project in VS and selecting "Publish as Azure webjob" or using an msbuild command to publish like msbuild myproj.csproj /p:DeployOnBuild=true /p:Configuration=Release /p:PublishProfile="Prod" /p:VisualStudioVersion=15.0 /p:Password=
How do I include webjob files while debugging locally but exclude when publishing a web package?
To my knowledge, if you do not want to publish any file, you just need to set the file property to "copy to output directory as DO NOT COPY". This way when you will package the application that particular file will not be part of package and will never be on Azure.
Update:
Unfortunately that setting prevents the file from being copied to the
output directory which means I can’t run or debug locally.
When you debugging the project, you can set the "copy to output directory" as "Copy always". When you want to deploy the project, you can manually clean the build and change the value to DO NOT COPY.
If you do not want to do all those manually, I would like provide you a workaround, hope this can help you.
To accomplish this, unload your project. Then at the very end of the project , just before the end-tag, place below scripts:
<Target Name="ExcludeFileFromPackage" BeforeTargets="PipelineCopyAllFilesToOneFolderForMsdeploy">
<Message Text="Delete the connectionstrings.config from Obj folder to exculde this file in the package directory" />
<Delete Files="$(ProjectDir)obj\Release\Package\PackageTmp\connectionstrings.config" />
</Target>
With this target, VS/MSBuild will delete the connectionstrings.config from the obj folder before publish the project as package.
I have a Visual Studio solution that contains four projects:
1 Desktop app;
1 Windows Service;
2 Web API projects.
These projects have been migrated from VS2010 -> 2013 -> 2017. I've removed/edited as much legacy stuff as I recognise.
The solution builds fine in 2017.
I wish to only build one of the Web API projects, generate a deployment package, and publish the package as an artifact. A release definition is going to use WinRM to deploy the package on a Windows Server 2012 system running IIS.
In my build definition I have a MSBuild task.
The parameters of this task are as follows:
Project is set to the path of my webAPI .csproj in TFS source control
Platform is set to "AnyCPU" - ("Any CPU" doesn't work.. its a known (old) issue)
Configuration is "Release"
MSBuild arguments are:
/p:DeployOnBuild=true /p:WebPublishMethod=Package
/p:PackageAsSingleFile=true /p:SkipInvalidConfigurations=true /p:PackageLocation=$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)\webapi.zip
Clean is set to true
The build completes successfully, however the webapi.zip package that is produced contains a massive folder structure:
C:\agent2_work\27\a\webapi.zip\Content\C_C\agent2_work\27\s\MyProduct.WebApi\obj\release\Package\PackageTmp
Questions:
Why is it packing this full path? (c:\agent2_work is my build agent's directory)
How do I change it?
It's the expected behavior, it's based on your Package Location. If you publish the project in VS, you will find the similar folder structure. See Create a Web Deployment Package in Visual Studio for details. And this thread for your reference.
However you can change the folder structure with publish profile used in MSBuild Arguments. Following below steps to do that:
1, Create a publish profile.
To create a web deploy package in VS you
will first create a publish profile for that. When you do this, a
.pubxml file will be created for you under
Properties\PublishProfiles. This is your publish profile file, its an MSBuild file. You can customize your publish process by editing
this file. We will modify this file in order to update these paths
in the package.
2, Edit the .pubxml file for the profile and add the following before
the closing </Project> tag. (Create the target AddReplaceRuleForAppPath, and inject that into the package process by adding it to PackageDependsOn property. Once this target is executed it will add a replace rule into the MSDeployReplaceRules item group.)
<PropertyGroup>
<PackagePath Condition=" '$(PackagePath)'=='' ">WebApi</PackagePath>
<EnableAddReplaceToUpdatePacakgePath Condition=" '$(EnableAddReplaceToUpdatePacakgePath)'=='' ">true</EnableAddReplaceToUpdatePacakgePath>
<PackageDependsOn>
$(PackageDependsOn);
AddReplaceRuleForAppPath;
</PackageDependsOn>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="AddReplaceRuleForAppPath" Condition=" '$(EnableAddReplaceToUpdatePacakgePath)'=='true' ">
<PropertyGroup>
<_PkgPathFull>$([System.IO.Path]::GetFullPath($(WPPAllFilesInSingleFolder)))</_PkgPathFull>
</PropertyGroup>
<!-- escape the text into a regex -->
<EscapeTextForRegularExpressions Text="$(_PkgPathFull)">
<Output TaskParameter="Result" PropertyName="_PkgPathRegex" />
</EscapeTextForRegularExpressions>
<!-- add the replace rule to update the path -->
<ItemGroup>
<MsDeployReplaceRules Include="replaceFullPath">
<Match>$(_PkgPathRegex)</Match>
<Replace>$(PackagePath)</Replace>
</MsDeployReplaceRules>
</ItemGroup>
</Target>
3, Save the Publish Profile file and check in the changes
4, Enter below MSBuild arguments: (In this example my publish profile name is 1011DP.pubxml)
/p:DeployOnBuild=true /p:WebPublishMethod=Package /p:PackageAsSingleFile=true /p:PublishProfile=1011DP /p:SkipInvalidConfigurations=true /p:PackageLocation=$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)
5, Run the build, then check the folder structure.
To make things a bit easier I just created a nuget package that performs these steps automatically for you. See https://www.nuget.org/packages/SharpSvn.ShortMSDeployWebContentPath
Just installing this in your web application project from Visual Studio will change the long path below 'Contents' with just the single word 'web'
I'm looking for a command to run against the MSBuild.exe that just takes a MVC 4 project and publishes it to a given directory.
For example,
MSBuild <solution>/<project>.csproj -publish -output=c:/folder
This is obviously incorrect syntax. I'm trying to simplify my question.
This question talks of a build XML, but I'm not trying to do anything with that much detail.
I'm simply trying to do a deploy.
Further down in that question, someone speaks of "MSDeploy". I can look into that, but is it the only option? I do not have the ability to install web deploy on the server. In which case, all I really need to do is "Publish" and send the contents of the published project to a given directory on the server/file-system.
Does anyone have a one liner I can use?
Do I have to use MSDeploy?
Does MSDeploy require web deploy to be installed on the server?
Doesn't setting up web deploy on the server require setting up some ports, permissions, and installing some IIS add-ons?
I'd love to just execute something simple.
In VS 2012 (as well as the publish updates available in the Azure SDK for VS 2010) we have simplified command line publishing for web projects. We have done that by using Publish Profiles.
In VS for a web project you can create a publish profile using the publish dialog. When you create that profile it is automatically stored in your project under Properties\PublishProfiles. You can use the created profile to publish from the command line with a command line the following.
msbuild mysln.sln /p:DeployOnBuild=true /p:PublishProfile=<profile-name>
If you want to store the publish profile (.pubxml file) in some other location you can pass in the path to the PublishProfile.
Publish profiles are MSBuild files. If you need to customize the publish process you can do so directly inside of the .pubxml file.
If your end goal is to pass in properties from the command line. I would recommend the following. Create a sample publish profile in VS. Inspect that publish profile to determine what MSBuild properties you need to pass in on the command line. FYI not all publish method support command line publishing (i.e. FTP/FPSE).
FYI if you are building the .csproj/.vbproj instead of the .sln and you are using VS 2012 you should also pass in /p:VisualStudioVersion=11.0. For more details as to why see http://sedodream.com/2012/08/19/VisualStudioProjectCompatabilityAndVisualStudioVersion.aspx.
Create a build.xml file thats look like below
Start Visual Studio command prompt
Run msbuild build.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" ToolsVersion="4.0" DefaultTargets="Build">
<PropertyGroup>
<Build>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\Build</Build>
<ProjectFile>MyProject.csproj</ProjectFile>
<ProjectName>MyProjectNameInVisualStudio</ProjectName>
<CopyTo>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\CopyTo</CopyTo>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="Build">
<RemoveDir Directories="$(Build)"/>
<MSBuild Projects="$(ProjectFile)" Properties="Configuration=Release;OutputPath=$(Build);OutDir=$(Build)/"></MSBuild>
<Exec Command="robocopy.exe $(Build)\_PublishedWebsites\$(ProjectName) $(CopyTo) /e /is
if %errorlevel% leq 4 exit 0 else exit %errorlevel%"/>
</Target>
</Project>
The command below works perfect:
msbuild Myproject.sln /t:Rebuild /p:outdir="c:\outproject\\" /p:Configuration=Release /p:Platform="Any CPU"
I found Sayed's answer was deploying the default configuration i.e. Debug. The configuration selected in the Publishing Profile seems to get ignored by MSBuild. Accordingly I changed the command to specify the correct configuration for the deployment...
msbuild mysln.sln /p:Configuration=[config-name] /p:DeployOnBuild=true /p:PublishProfile=[profile-name]
where config-name = Release or some other build configuration you've created
With web projects you need to build, as per above, but then you also need to package/copy. We use a file copy, rather than the "publish"...
Also; we use DEBUG/RELEASE to build the website; but then actual environments, ie "QA" or "PROD" to handle the web.config transforms.
So we build it initially with RELEASE, and then package it with QA - in the example below.
<PropertyGroup>
<SolutionName>XXX.Website</SolutionName>
<ProjectName>XXX.Website</ProjectName>
<IisFolderName>XXX</IisFolderName>
<SolutionConfiguration>QA</SolutionConfiguration> <!--Configuration will be set based on user selection-->
<SolutionDir>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..</SolutionDir>
<OutputLocation>$(SolutionDir)\bin\</OutputLocation>
<WebServer>mywebserver.com</WebServer>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="BuildPackage">
<MSBuild Projects="$(SolutionDir)\$(SolutionName).sln" ContinueOnError="false" Targets="Clean;Rebuild" Properties="Configuration=Release" />
<MSBuild Projects="$(SolutionDir)\$(ProjectName)\$(ProjectName).csproj" ContinueOnError="false" Targets="Package" Properties="Configuration=$(SolutionConfiguration);AutoParameterizationWebConfigConnectionStrings=False" />
</Target>
<Target Name="CopyOutput">
<ItemGroup>
<PackagedFiles Include="$(SolutionDir)\$(ProjectName)\obj\$(SolutionConfiguration)\Package\PackageTmp\**\*.*"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Copy SourceFiles="#(PackagedFiles)" DestinationFiles="#(PackagedFiles->'\\$(WebServer)\$(IisFolderName)\$(SolutionConfiguration)\%(RecursiveDir)%(Filename)%(Extension)')"/>
</Target>
So;
Setup your properties
Call the BuildPackage target
Call the CopyOutput target
And voila!
Is it possible to use different pre-build events for different build configurations in Visual Studio?
For example, I'd like both a release configuration for a beta & live system and have the relevant app.[type].config get copied to app.config before it is compiled.
At the moment the configuration settings are baked into the .settings file, using the settings from the default app.config file.
Or just put the Condition on your target ... eg.,
Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Debug'"
.. or on your task.
If you're using Visual Studio VB/C# simple post build events, you can hand-edit the project file to put such conditions on the PreBuildEvent/PostBuildEvent property tags; and repeat the tags for Release.
Dan (msbuild dev)
You can do this in a couple of ways, depending on your exact situation:
Option 1: Check the $(ConfigurationName) variable in your pre-build script, like so:
IF EXISTS $(ProjectDir)app.$(ConfigurationName).config
COPY $(ProjectDir)app.$(ConfigurationName).config $(ProjectDir)app.config
Option 2: Add a "BeforeCompile" MSBuild target to your project file:
<Target Name="BeforeBuild">
<!-- MSBuild Script here -->
</Target>
Option 3: Use configuration file transformations; this VSIX plug-in adds the web.config transform features to non-web projects. These are XSLT files that let you rewrite your config files on build (unlike web projects, where it happens on publish.)
To use different build events for different configuration in visual studio, open the cs proj file of the project. in the pre build section
<Target Name="PreBuild" BeforeTargets="PreBuildEvent">
<Exec Condition="'$(Configuration)'=='Release'" Command="echo Release" />
<Exec Condition="'$(Configuration)'=='Debug'" Command="echo Debug" />
</Target>
The command in "Command" parameter will only execute if this condition is met.
Folks,
In a nutshell, I want to replicate this dialog:
It's a Visual Studio 2010 ASP.Net MVC project. If I execute this command, I get all the files I want, including the transformed web.configs in the "C:\ToDeploy" directory.
I want to replicate this on the command line so I can use it for a QA environment build.
I've seen various articles on how to do this on the command line for Remote Deploys, but I just want to do it for File System deploys.
I know I could replicate this functionality using nAnt tasks or rake scripts, but I want to do it using this mechanism so I'm not repeating myself.
I've investigated this some more, and I've found these links, but none of them solve it cleanly:
VS 2008 version, but no Web.Config transforms
Creates package, but doesn't deploy it..do I need to use MSDeploy on this package?
Deploys package after creating it above...does the UI really do this 2 step tango?
Thanks in advance!
Ok, finally figured this out.
The command line you need is:
msbuild path/to/your/webdirectory/YourWeb.csproj /p:Configuration=Debug;DeployOnBuild=True;PackageAsSingleFile=False
You can change where the project outputs to by adding a property of outdir=c:\wherever\ in the /p: section.
This will create the output at:
path/to/your/webdirectory/obj/Debug/Package/PackageTmp/
You can then copy those files from the above directory using whatever method you'd like.
I've got this all working as a ruby rake task using Albacore. I am trying to get it all done so I can actually put it as a contribution to the project. But if anyone wants the code before that, let me know.
Another wrinkle I found was that it was putting in Tokenized Parameters into the Web.config. If you don't need that feature, make sure you add:
/p:AutoParameterizationWebConfigConnectionStrings=false
I thought I'd post a another solution that I found, I've updated this solution to include a log file.
This is similar to Publish a Web Application from the Command Line, but just cleaned up and added log file. also check out original source http://www.digitallycreated.net/Blog/59/locally-publishing-a-vs2010-asp.net-web-application-using-msbuild
Create an MSBuild_publish_site.bat (name it whatever) in the root of your web application project
set msBuildDir=%WINDIR%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319
set destPath=C:\Publish\MyWebBasedApp\
:: clear existing publish folder
RD /S /Q "%destPath%"
call %msBuildDir%\msbuild.exe MyWebBasedApp.csproj "/p:Configuration=Debug;PublishDestination=%destPath%;AutoParameterizationWebConfigConnectionStrings=False" /t:PublishToFileSystem /l:FileLogger,Microsoft.Build.Engine;logfile=Manual_MSBuild_Publish_LOG.log
set msBuildDir=
set destPath=
Update your Web Application project file MyWebBasedApp.csproj by adding the following xml under the <Import Project= tag
<Target Name="PublishToFileSystem" DependsOnTargets="PipelinePreDeployCopyAllFilesToOneFolder">
<Error Condition="'$(PublishDestination)'==''" Text="The PublishDestination property must be set to the intended publishing destination." />
<MakeDir Condition="!Exists($(PublishDestination))" Directories="$(PublishDestination)" />
<ItemGroup>
<PublishFiles Include="$(_PackageTempDir)\**\*.*" />
</ItemGroup>
<Copy SourceFiles="#(PublishFiles)" DestinationFiles="#(PublishFiles->'$(PublishDestination)\%(RecursiveDir)%(Filename)%(Extension)')" SkipUnchangedFiles="True" />
</Target>
this works better for me than other solutions.
Check out the following for more info:
1) http://www.digitallycreated.net/Blog/59/locally-publishing-a-vs2010-asp.net-web-application-using-msbuild
2) Publish a Web Application from the Command Line
3) Build Visual Studio project through the command line
My solution for CCNET with the Web.config transformation:
<tasks>
<msbuild>
<executable>C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\MSBuild.exe</executable>
<workingDirectory>E:\VersionesCC\Trunk_4\SBatz\Gertakariak_Orokorrak\GertakariakMS\Web</workingDirectory>
<projectFile>GertakariakMSWeb2.vbproj</projectFile>
<targets>Build</targets>
<timeout>600</timeout>
<logger>C:\Program Files\CruiseControl.NET\server\ThoughtWorks.CruiseControl.MSBuild.dll</logger>
<buildArgs>
/noconsolelogger /p:Configuration=Release /v:diag
/p:DeployOnBuild=true
/p:AutoParameterizationWebConfigConnectionStrings=false
/p:DeployTarget=Package
/p:_PackageTempDir=E:\Aplicaciones\GertakariakMS2\Web
</buildArgs>
</msbuild>
</tasks>
On VS2012 and above, you can refer to existing publish profiles on your project with msbuild 12.0, this would be equivalent to right-click and publish... selecting a publish profile ("MyProfile" on this example):
msbuild C:\myproject\myproject.csproj "/P:DeployOnBuild=True;PublishProfile=MyProfile"
I've got a solution for Visual Studio 2012: https://stackoverflow.com/a/15387814/2164198
However, it works with no Visual Studio installed at all! (see UPDATE).
I didn't checked yet whether one can get all needed stuff from Visual Studio Express 2012 for Web installation.
A complete msbuild file with inspiration from CubanX
<Project ToolsVersion="3.5" DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<Target Name="Publish">
<RemoveDir Directories="..\build\Release\Web\"
ContinueOnError="true" />
<MSBuild Projects="TheWebSite.csproj"
Targets="ResolveReferences;_CopyWebApplication"
Properties="Configuration=Release;WebProjectOutputDir=..\build\Release\Web;OutDir=..\build\Release\Web\bin\"
/>
</Target>
<Target
Name="Build"
DependsOnTargets="Publish;">
</Target>
</Project>
This places the published website in the Web..\build\Release folder