MSBuild Project Files

Overview

The Krypton Toolkit build system uses MSBuild project files (.proj) to orchestrate multi-project builds, NuGet package creation, and distribution archive generation. Project files are located under Scripts/Build/, Scripts/VS2022/, and Scripts/Current/; GitHub Actions use Scripts/Build/.

Project File Structure

All .proj files follow a similar structure:

Import global properties
Define configuration-specific properties
Define targets for Clean, Restore, Build
Define targets for package creation
Define targets for archive creation

Core Project Files

build.proj - Stable/Release Builds

Purpose: Builds stable production releases

Key Properties:

<Configuration>Release</Configuration>
<ReleaseBuildPath>..\Bin\Release\Zips</ReleaseBuildPath>
<ReleaseZipName>Krypton-Release</ReleaseZipName>

Available Targets:

Clean

Cleans all Krypton component projects for the Release configuration.

msbuild build.proj /t:Clean

Restore

Restores NuGet packages for all Krypton components.

msbuild build.proj /t:Restore

Build (Default)

Builds all Krypton components. Depends on Restore.

msbuild build.proj /t:Build

CleanPackages

Deletes existing NuGet packages from Bin/Packages/Release/.

msbuild build.proj /t:CleanPackages

PackLite

Creates NuGet packages for "lite" target frameworks (net48, net481, net8.0+).

Cleans projects and NuGet assets
Restores with TFMs=lite
Packs with TFMs=lite

msbuild build.proj /t:PackLite

PackAll

Creates NuGet packages for all target frameworks (net472-net10.0-windows).

Cleans projects and NuGet assets
Restores with TFMs=all
Packs with TFMs=all

msbuild build.proj /t:PackAll

Pack

Master packaging target. Depends on CleanPackages, PackLite, and PackAll. Generates both Lite and full packages.

msbuild build.proj /t:Pack

Push

Publishes NuGet packages to NuGet.org using nuget.exe.

msbuild build.proj /t:Push

Note: Requires NUGET_API_KEY environment variable or configured API key.

CreateReleaseZip

Creates ZIP archive of Release binaries.

Uses 7-Zip if available
Falls back to PowerShell Compress-Archive
Output: Bin/Release/Zips/Krypton-Release_<yyyyMMdd>.zip

msbuild build.proj /t:CreateReleaseZip

CreateReleaseTar

Creates TAR.GZ archive of Release binaries.

Tries 7-Zip (recommended)
Falls back to Windows 10/11 tar command
Falls back to Git Bash tar
Output: Bin/Release/Zips/Krypton-Release_<yyyyMMdd>.tar.gz

msbuild build.proj /t:CreateReleaseTar

CreateAllReleaseArchives

Creates both ZIP and TAR.GZ archives.

msbuild build.proj /t:CreateAllReleaseArchives

canary.proj - Beta Pre-Release Builds

Purpose: Builds beta pre-release packages for early adopters

Key Properties:

<Configuration>Canary</Configuration>
<CanaryBuildPath>..\Bin\Canary\Zips</CanaryBuildPath>
<CanaryZipName>Krypton-Canary</CanaryZipName>

Available Targets:

Clean - Clean Canary configuration
Restore - Restore packages
Build - Build Canary configuration
CleanPackages - Delete packages from Bin/Packages/Canary/
PackAll - Create Canary packages (all TFMs, no Lite variant)
Pack - Master packaging target (CleanPackages + PackAll)
Push - Publish Canary packages
CreateCanaryZip - Create Canary ZIP archive
CreateCanaryTar - Create Canary TAR.GZ archive
CreateAllCanaryArchives - Create both archives

Key Differences from Stable:

No PackLite target (Canary always packs all TFMs)
Packages get -beta suffix in NuGet
Outputs to Bin/Canary/ and Bin/Packages/Canary/

nightly.proj - Alpha Nightly Builds

Purpose: Builds bleeding-edge alpha releases for developers and testers

Key Properties:

<Configuration>Nightly</Configuration>
<NightlyBuildPath>..\Bin\Nightly\Zips</NightlyBuildPath>
<NightlyZipName>Krypton-Nightly</NightlyZipName>

Available Targets:

Clean - Clean Nightly configuration
Restore - Restore packages
Build - Build Nightly configuration
Rebuild - Clean + Build
CleanPackages - Delete packages from Bin/Packages/Nightly/
PackAll - Create Nightly packages (all TFMs)
Pack - Master packaging target
Push - Publish Nightly packages
CreateNightlyZip - Create Nightly ZIP archive
CreateNightlyTar - Create Nightly TAR.GZ archive
CreateAllArchives - Create both archives

Key Differences:

Includes Rebuild target
Packages get -alpha suffix in NuGet
Outputs to Bin/Nightly/ and Bin/Packages/Nightly/

debug.proj - Debug Builds

Purpose: Local development debug builds

Key Properties:

<Configuration>Debug</Configuration>

Available Targets:

Clean - Clean Debug configuration
Restore - Restore packages
Build - Build Debug configuration

Key Differences:

No packaging or archive targets
Simplified for local development

installer.proj - Installer Builds

Purpose: Builds packages for demo installers

Key Properties:

<Configuration>Installer</Configuration>

Available Targets:

Clean - Clean Installer configuration
Restore - Restore packages
Build - Build Installer configuration
CleanPackages - Delete packages from Bin/Packages/Installer/
PackAll - Create Installer packages
Pack - Master packaging target
Push - Publish Installer packages
CreateNightlyZip - Create Installer ZIP (reuses Nightly zip logic)

Special Notes:

WiX installers require build numbers ≤ 256
Version uses month number for Build component

Project File Patterns

Project Selection Pattern

All .proj files use this pattern to select Krypton projects:

<ItemGroup>
    <Projects Include="..\Source\Krypton Components\Krypton.*\*.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>

This selects:

Krypton.Toolkit\Krypton.Toolkit 2022.csproj
Krypton.Ribbon\Krypton.Ribbon 2022.csproj
Krypton.Navigator\Krypton.Navigator 2022.csproj
Krypton.Workspace\Krypton.Workspace 2022.csproj
Krypton.Docking\Krypton.Docking 2022.csproj

NuGet Asset Cleanup Pattern

Before packing, intermediate NuGet files are deleted:

<ItemGroup>
    <NugetAssets Include="..\Source\Krypton Components\Krypton.*\obj\*.json" />
    <NugetAssets Include="..\Source\Krypton Components\Krypton.*\obj\*.cache" />
    <NugetAssets Include="..\Source\Krypton Components\Krypton.*\obj\*.g.targets" />
    <NugetAssets Include="..\Source\Krypton Components\Krypton.*\obj\*.g.props" />
</ItemGroup>
<Delete Files="@(NugetAssets)" />

This ensures clean package generation.

MSBuild Invocation Pattern

Projects are built with configuration and TFM control:

<MSBuild Projects="@(Projects)" 
         Properties="Configuration=$(Configuration);TFMs=all" 
         Targets="Build" />

Key properties passed:

Configuration - Debug, Release, Canary, Nightly, Installer
TFMs - lite, all, or empty

Archive Generation

ZIP Archives

Uses multiple fallback methods:

7-Zip (preferred): Fast, best compression
PowerShell Compress-Archive: Built-in Windows

Example:

<!-- 7-Zip method -->
<Exec Command="7z.exe a -tzip &quot;$(ReleaseBuildPath)\$(ReleaseZipName)_$(StringDate).zip&quot; &quot;..\Bin\Release\*&quot; -x!*.json -x!*.pdb"
      Condition="Exists('C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe')" />

<!-- PowerShell fallback -->
<Exec Command="powershell.exe -Command &quot;Get-ChildItem '..\Bin\Release\*' -Recurse | Where-Object {$_.Extension -notin '.json','.pdb'} | Compress-Archive -DestinationPath '$(ReleaseBuildPath)\$(ReleaseZipName)_$(StringDate).zip' -Force&quot;"
      Condition="!Exists('C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe')" />

TAR.GZ Archives

Uses multiple fallback methods:

7-Zip: Creates tar then compresses to tar.gz
Windows tar: Native tar in Windows 10/11
Git Bash tar: Uses Git's bundled tar

Custom Target Execution

Execute Specific Target

msbuild build.proj /t:TargetName

Execute Multiple Targets

msbuild build.proj /t:Clean;Build

Override Configuration

msbuild build.proj /t:Build /p:Configuration=Debug

Override TFMs

msbuild build.proj /t:Build /p:TFMs=lite

Verbose Output

msbuild build.proj /t:Build /v:detailed

Save to Log File

msbuild build.proj /t:Build /fl /flp:logfile=build.log

Binary Log

msbuild build.proj /t:Build /bl:build.binlog

Best Practices

1. Clean Before Major Builds

msbuild build.proj /t:Clean;Build

2. Use Rebuild for Complete Rebuild

msbuild nightly.proj /t:Rebuild

3. Test Packaging Locally Before Push

msbuild build.proj /t:Pack
# Verify packages in Bin/Packages/Release/
msbuild build.proj /t:Push

4. Use Binary Logs for Troubleshooting

msbuild build.proj /t:Build /bl:build.binlog
# View with MSBuild Structured Log Viewer

5. Parallel Builds

MSBuild automatically parallelizes project builds. For explicit control:

msbuild build.proj /t:Build /m:4

Build Scripts - Command-line build scripts
Directory.Build Configuration - Property inheritance
NuGet Packaging - Package configuration
Version Management - Versioning details

MSBuild Project Files

Overview

Project File Structure

Core Project Files

build.proj - Stable/Release Builds

Clean

Restore

Build (Default)

CleanPackages

PackLite

PackAll

Pack

Push

CreateReleaseZip

CreateReleaseTar

CreateAllReleaseArchives

canary.proj - Beta Pre-Release Builds

nightly.proj - Alpha Nightly Builds

debug.proj - Debug Builds

installer.proj - Installer Builds

Project File Patterns

Project Selection Pattern

NuGet Asset Cleanup Pattern

MSBuild Invocation Pattern

Archive Generation

ZIP Archives

TAR.GZ Archives

Custom Target Execution

Execute Specific Target

Execute Multiple Targets

Override Configuration

Override TFMs

Verbose Output

Save to Log File

Binary Log

Best Practices

1. Clean Before Major Builds

2. Use Rebuild for Complete Rebuild

3. Test Packaging Locally Before Push

4. Use Binary Logs for Troubleshooting

5. Parallel Builds

Related Documentation