bld

bld utility for working with .NET/msbuild project files and solutions.

• clean build output
• list nuget packages
• list and update tfm
• enable central package management
• scan and update outdated nuget package versions
• scan for docker base image references

Some of this can be handy when working with agentic coding tools which at this stage may have an unconventional approach to tfms, central package management, nuget package references and versions.

Quick Start

dotnet build bld.sln
dotnet run --project bld -- clean --root <root-or-sln>

Use --delete only after you have reviewed the generated script or statistics.

Command Overview

Command	Stability	Purpose
clean	Stable	Evaluate projects, report disk usage, and emit an OS-specific deletion script (dry-run by default).
stats	Stable	Print cleaning statistics only; never writes scripts or deletes files.
nuget	Beta	Inspect NuGet dependencies and optionally aggregate package usage.
tfm	Beta	Migrate project target frameworks.
cpm	Beta	Convert a solution to Central Package Management.
outdated	Beta	Check (and optionally update) NuGet packages to newer versions.
containerize	Beta	Discover Dockerfiles and projects using SDK container build properties.

Commands marked Beta may change behavior, arguments, or output formatting.

Global Options

All commands accept the following shared options unless stated otherwise:

• --root, -r, or trailing argument — Directory or .sln to scan. Defaults to the current working directory.
• --depth, -d — Directory recursion depth when --root is a folder. Default: 3.
• --log, -v, --verbosity — Debug, Verbose, Info, Warning, or Error. Default: Info.
• --vstoolspath, -vs — Explicit VSToolsPath for MSBuild evaluation.
• --novstoolspath, -novs — Skip automatic VSToolsPath resolution.

Stable Commands

clean

• --non-current, --noncurrent, -nc — Only target frameworks no longer referenced. Default: false.
• --obj, -obj — Include obj directories. Default: false.
• --output-file, -o — Where to write the deletion script (clean.cmd or clean.sh by default).
• --delete — Execute deletions instead of just generating scripts. Default: false.
• --force — Skip confirmation prompts (requires explicit --root).

Example:

bld clean --root C:\src\MyRepo --depth 4 --obj

stats

• --non-current, --noncurrent, -nc — Only report non-current TFMs. Default: false.
• --obj, -obj — Include obj directories in the statistics. Default: false.

Example:

bld stats --root MySolution.sln --non-current

Beta Commands

nuget (BETA)

• --whitelist-blacklist-file, --wbf — Path to categorization rules.
• --aggregate, --agg — Collapse results across projects. Default: false.
• --show-projects, --sp — When aggregating, list referencing projects. Default: true.

Example:

bld nuget --root C:\src\MyRepo --aggregate

tfm (BETA)

• --from — Comma-separated source TFMs (auto-detected when possible).
• --to — Target TFM (auto-detected from installed SDKs when omitted).
• --apply — Persist changes instead of a dry-run.

Example:

bld tfm --root MySolution.sln --to net9.0 --apply

The command will scan for consistent TFMs, infer .NET SDK versions, and report conflicts before applying changes.

cpm (BETA)

• --apply — Modify projects and create Directory.Packages.props. Default: dry-run.
• --overwrite — Replace an existing Directory.Packages.props.

Example:

bld cpm --root MySolution.sln --apply --overwrite

outdated (BETA)

• --apply — Update packages in-place. Default: dry-run/report only.
• --skip-tfm-check — Ignore target framework compatibility checks.
• --prerelease, --pre — Consider prerelease package versions.

Example:

bld outdated --root C:\src\MyRepo --prerelease

containerize (BETA)

• --list, -l — Show file paths only. Default: false.
• --projects, -p — Scan for SDK-style container projects. Default: false.
• --all, -a — Scan Dockerfiles and container projects together.

Example:

bld containerize --root C:\src\MyRepo --all --depth 5

Typical Workflows

• Generate a deletion script for inspection:

   bld clean --root C:\src\MyRepo --depth 3 -o clean.cmd

• Preview disk impact only:

   bld stats --root MySolution.sln --obj --non-current

• Audit NuGet usage across solutions:

   bld nuget --root C:\src\MyRepo --aggregate --show-projects

• List Dockerfiles without parsing:

   bld containerize --root . --list

Notes & Caveats

• MSBuild evaluation happens in-process; evaluation failures are reported but do not abort the run.
• Auto-resolving MSBuild toolsets may require Visual Studio or the .NET SDK to be installed.
• Beta commands surface rich diagnostics but are still evolving; file issues with exact command lines and logs when something looks off.

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bld is developed for repositories that accumulate large volumes of build output. Review scripts before executing deletions, especially when using --delete.