DotnetToolInspector

English | 日本語

DotnetToolInspector is a PowerShell module that retrieves the contents of the runtimeconfig.json for dotnet tools.

# Example of retrieving the runtimeconfig.json for the t4 command of dotnet-t4 v3.0.0
$ Get-DotnetToolRuntimeConfig -packageID "dotnet-t4" -commandName "t4"
{
  "runtimeOptions": {
    "tfm": "net6.0",
    "rollForward": "LatestMajor",
    "framework": {
      "name": "Microsoft.NETCore.App",
      "version": "6.0.0"
    },
    "configProperties": {
      "System.Reflection.Metadata.MetadataUpdater.IsSupported": false
    }
  }
}

For example, it helps to check the required .NET SDK version to run the installed dotnet tool. This is particularly useful for determining which .NET SDK to install when using dotnet tools in GitHub Actions.

DotnetToolInspector has the following features:

• Supports global tools (--global and --tool-path) and local tools (--local)
• Works on Ubuntu, Windows, and macOS
• Provides action.yml for CI/CD usage

Table of Contents

• Requirements
• Installation
• Usage
  • Basic Usage
    • Global Tools
    • Local Tools
  • CI/CD
  • Environment Variables

Requirements

• PowerShell 6 or newer

Installation

Run the following command in PowerShell:

$ Install-Module -Name DotnetToolInspector

PowerShell Gallery: DotnetToolInspector

Usage

Basic Usage

Use Get-DotnetToolRuntimeConfig to retrieve the RuntimeConfig of a dotnet tool.

Get-DotnetToolRuntimeConfig [-packageID] <string> [-commandName] <string> [[-toolPath] <string>] [-global] [-local] [<CommonParameters>]

Note that the dotnet tool executable binary must be installed on the machine for it to work. For local tools, dotnet tool restore must be done beforehand.

Below is an example with dotnet-t4. Sample code is also available here.

Global Tools

# for 'dotnet tool install dotnet-t4 --global'
$ Get-DotnetToolRuntimeConfig -packageID "dotnet-t4" -commandName "t4" -global
{
  "runtimeOptions": {
    "tfm": "net6.0",
    "rollForward": "LatestMajor",
    "framework": {
      "name": "Microsoft.NETCore.App",
      "version": "6.0.0"
    },
    "configProperties": {
      "System.Reflection.Metadata.MetadataUpdater.IsSupported": false
    }
  }
}

# for 'dotnet tool install dotnet-t4 --tool-path <path-to-your-tool-path>'
$ Get-DotnetToolRuntimeConfig -packageID "dotnet-t4" -commandName "t4" -toolPath "path\to\your\tool-path"
{
  "runtimeOptions": {
    "tfm": "net6.0",
    "rollForward": "LatestMajor",
    "framework": {
      "name": "Microsoft.NETCore.App",
      "version": "6.0.0"
    },
    "configProperties": {
      "System.Reflection.Metadata.MetadataUpdater.IsSupported": false
    }
  }
}

Local Tools

# for 'dotnet tool install dotnet-t4 --local'
$ Get-DotnetToolRuntimeConfig -packageID "dotnet-t4" -commandName "t4"
{
  "runtimeOptions": {
    "tfm": "net6.0",
    "rollForward": "LatestMajor",
    "framework": {
      "name": "Microsoft.NETCore.App",
      "version": "6.0.0"
    },
    "configProperties": {
      "System.Reflection.Metadata.MetadataUpdater.IsSupported": false
    }
  }
}

CI/CD

Sample code is available here.

name: Sample
on: workflow_dispatch

jobs:
  sample:
    name: Sample
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      # Checkout Sample Data
      - name: check out
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      # Check .NET SDK Version
      - name: Example -toolPath
        id: toolpath
        uses: hanachiru/DotnetToolInspector@main
        with:
          package-id: dotnet-t4
          command-name: t4
          tool-path: ./Tests/Data/tool-path

      # Setup .NET
      - name: Setup Dotnet
        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
        with:
          dotnet-version: ${{ steps.toolpath.outputs.framework-version-major }}

If you want to retrieve information about local tools, make sure to run dotnet tool restore beforehand.

- name: dotnet tool restore
  working-directory: ./Tests/Data/local
  run: |
    dotnet tool restore
- name: Example -local
  uses: hanachiru/DotnetToolInspector@main
  with:
    package-id: dotnet-t4
    command-name: t4
    working-directory: ./Tests/Data/local

Set global: true if you want to use -global.

- name: dotnet tool install
  run: |
    dotnet tool install dotnet-t4 --global
- name: Example -global
  uses: hanachiru/DotnetToolInspector@main
  with:
    package-id: dotnet-t4
    command-name: t4
    global: true

Environment Variables

The following environment variables can modify the behavior. For details, refer to the official documentation.

Environment Variable	Description	Default Value
DOTNET_CLI_HOME	Specifies the location where supporting files for .NET CLI commands should be written.	Default value for each OS
NUGET_PACKAGES	Configures a path to the NuGet global-packages folder.	Default value for each OS

The default values of the DOTNET_CLI_HOME and NUGET_PACKAGES environment variables depend on the operating system used on the runner:

Operating System	DOTNET_CLI_HOME	NUGET_PACKAGES
Windows	%userprofile%\.dotnet\tools	%userprofile%\.nuget\packages
Ubuntu	~/.dotnet/tools	~/.nuget/packages
macOS	~/.dotnet/tools	~/.nuget/packages