Restore native packaging project and fix CI solution path

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ jobs:
         run: dotnet --info
 
       - name: Restore dependencies
-        run: dotnet restore MLXSharp.sln
+        run: dotnet restore MLXSharp.slnx
 
       - name: Build C# projects (initial validation)
-        run: dotnet build MLXSharp.sln --configuration Release --no-restore
+        run: dotnet build MLXSharp.slnx --configuration Release --no-restore
 
       - name: Install CMake
         run: brew install cmake
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ jobs:
           ls -la src/MLXSharp.Native/runtimes/osx-arm64/native/
 
       - name: Rebuild solution with native libraries
-        run: dotnet build MLXSharp.sln --configuration Release --no-restore
+        run: dotnet build MLXSharp.slnx --configuration Release --no-restore
 
       - name: Setup Python for HuggingFace
         uses: actions/setup-python@v5
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ jobs:
           ls -la "$TEST_OUTPUT/runtimes/osx-arm64/native/"
 
       - name: Run tests
-        run: dotnet test MLXSharp.sln --configuration Release --no-build --logger "trx;LogFileName=TestResults.trx" --results-directory artifacts/test-results
+        run: dotnet test MLXSharp.slnx --configuration Release --no-build --logger "trx;LogFileName=TestResults.trx" --results-directory artifacts/test-results
         env:
           MLXSHARP_MODEL_PATH: ${{ github.workspace }}/models/Qwen1.5-0.5B-Chat-4bit
 
@@ -78,22 +78,42 @@ jobs:
           cp src/MLXSharp.Native/runtimes/osx-arm64/native/libmlxsharp.dylib artifacts/native/
 
       - name: Pack MLXSharp library
-        run: dotnet pack src/MLXSharp/MLXSharp.csproj --configuration Release --output artifacts/packages \
-          -p:MLXSharpMacNativeBinary=$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/native/build/libmlxsharp.dylib
+        run: dotnet pack src/MLXSharp/MLXSharp.csproj --configuration Release --output artifacts/packages -p:MLXSharpMacNativeBinary=$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/native/build/libmlxsharp.dylib
 
       - name: Pack MLXSharp.SemanticKernel library
-        run: dotnet pack src/MLXSharp.SemanticKernel/MLXSharp.SemanticKernel.csproj --configuration Release --output artifacts/packages \
-          -p:MLXSharpMacNativeBinary=$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/native/build/libmlxsharp.dylib
+        run: dotnet pack src/MLXSharp.SemanticKernel/MLXSharp.SemanticKernel.csproj --configuration Release --output artifacts/packages -p:MLXSharpMacNativeBinary=$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/native/build/libmlxsharp.dylib
 
       - name: Verify package contains native libraries
         run: |
           echo "Checking package contents..."
-          if unzip -l artifacts/packages/*.nupkg | grep -q "runtimes/osx-arm64/native/libmlxsharp.dylib"; then
-            echo "✓ Native library found in package"
-          else
-            echo "✗ ERROR: Native library NOT found in package!"
-            echo "Package contents:"
-            unzip -l artifacts/packages/*.nupkg
+          shopt -s nullglob
+          packages=(artifacts/packages/*.nupkg)
+          if [ ${#packages[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
+            echo "✗ ERROR: No packages were produced"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          missing=0
+          for package in "${packages[@]}"; do
+            echo "Inspecting ${package}"
+            filename=$(basename "${package}")
+            case "${filename}" in
+              MLXSharp.*.nupkg)
+                if unzip -l "${package}" | grep -q "runtimes/osx-arm64/native/libmlxsharp.dylib"; then
+                  echo "  ✓ Native library found"
+                else
+                  echo "  ✗ Native library NOT found"
+                  unzip -l "${package}"
+                  missing=1
+                fi
+                ;;
+              *)
+                echo "  ↷ Skipping native check for ${filename}"
+                ;;
+            esac
+          done
+
+          if [ $missing -ne 0 ]; then
             exit 1
           fi
 

MLXSharp.slnx

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+<Solution>
+  <Configurations>
+    <Platform Name="Any CPU" />
+    <Platform Name="x64" />
+    <Platform Name="x86" />
+  </Configurations>
+  <Folder Name="/src/">
+    <Project Path="src/MLXSharp.Native/MLXSharp.Native.csproj" />
+    <Project Path="src/MLXSharp.SemanticKernel/MLXSharp.SemanticKernel.csproj" />
+    <Project Path="src/MLXSharp.Tests/MLXSharp.Tests.csproj" />
+    <Project Path="src/MLXSharp/MLXSharp.csproj" />
+  </Folder>
+</Solution>

README.md

@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ The design mirrors the packaging approach from projects such as [LLamaSharp](htt
 - `IChatClient`, `IEmbeddingGenerator<string, Embedding<float)>`, and image generation helpers that adhere to the `Microsoft.Extensions.AI` abstractions.
 - Builder-based backend configuration with a deterministic managed implementation for tests and a P/Invoke powered native backend.
 - Native library resolver that probes application directories, `MLXSHARP_LIBRARY`, or packaged runtimes and loads `libmlxsharp` on demand.
-- `MLXSharp.Native` packaging project that ships stub binaries for CI (Linux x64 today) and a placeholder `osx-arm64` folder for the production MLX wrapper.
 - Dependency injection extensions (`AddMlx`) in **MLXSharp** package.
 - Semantic Kernel integration (`AddMlxChatCompletion`) in separate **MLXSharp.SemanticKernel** package.
 - Integration test suite that exercises chat, embedding, image, and Semantic Kernel flows against both managed and native backends.
@@ -19,8 +18,8 @@ The design mirrors the packaging approach from projects such as [LLamaSharp](htt
 ├── extern/mlx                      # Git submodule with the official MLX sources
 ├── native/                         # Native wrapper scaffold (CMake project)
 ├── src/MLXSharp/                   # Managed library with Microsoft.Extensions.AI adapters
+├── src/MLXSharp.Native/            # Native runtime packaging project with stub binaries
 ├── src/MLXSharp.SemanticKernel/    # Semantic Kernel integration (separate package)
-├── src/MLXSharp.Native/            # NuGet-ready container for native binaries
 └── src/MLXSharp.Tests/             # Integration tests covering DI and Semantic Kernel
 ```
 
@@ -81,10 +80,12 @@ dotnet add package MLXSharp
 
 This package contains:
 - Managed DLL with `Microsoft.Extensions.AI` implementations
-- Native libraries in `runtimes/{rid}/native/`:
-  - `runtimes/linux-x64/native/libmlxsharp.so` - stub for CI/testing
+- Native assets in `runtimes/{rid}/native/`:
+  - `runtimes/linux-x64/native/libmlxsharp.so.b64` - Base64-encoded stub that `MlxNativeLibrary` expands for CI/testing
   - `runtimes/osx-arm64/native/libmlxsharp.dylib` - built in CI on macOS
 
+`MlxNativeLibrary` materialises `libmlxsharp.so` from the encoded payload on first use so Git history stays free of binary blobs while tests retain deterministic behaviour.
+
 ### MLXSharp.SemanticKernel [![NuGet](https://img.shields.io/nuget/v/MLXSharp.SemanticKernel.svg)](https://www.nuget.org/packages/MLXSharp.SemanticKernel)
 
 Semantic Kernel integration:

src/MLXSharp.Native/README.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # MLXSharp.Native
 
-This package mirrors the layout that MLXSharp expects when resolving native binaries.
-It ships the `libmlxsharp` stub that our managed layer uses during development and in automated tests.
-The Linux stub lives as a Base64-encoded payload (`libmlxsharp.so.b64`) so we can keep Git history free of binary blobs.
-`MlxNativeLibrary` expands the encoded payload to `libmlxsharp.so` automatically the first time the native backend loads.
-Drop the macOS build of the wrapper into `runtimes/osx-arm64/native/` before publishing a release build.
+This helper project mirrors the runtime layout that MLXSharp expects when probing for native binaries.
+It ships the stubbed `libmlxsharp` artefacts that our managed layer exercises during development and CI runs.
+The Linux build lives as a Base64-encoded payload (`libmlxsharp.so.b64`) so Git history stays free of large binary blobs.
+`MlxNativeLibrary` expands that payload to `libmlxsharp.so` on demand, while macOS builds should drop the compiled
+`libmlxsharp.dylib` into `runtimes/osx-arm64/native/` before packing a release.

src/MLXSharp.Native/runtimes/osx-arm64/native/README.txt

@@ -1 +1 @@
-Place the macOS arm64 build of libmlxsharp.dylib here before packing MLXSharp.Native for distribution.
+Place the macOS arm64 build of libmlxsharp.dylib here before packing MLXSharp for distribution.

src/MLXSharp/MLXSharp.csproj

@@ -15,8 +15,11 @@
   </ItemGroup>
 
   <PropertyGroup>
-    <MLXSharpMacNativeBinary Condition="'$(MLXSharpMacNativeBinary)' == ''">$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)..\..\native\build\libmlxsharp.dylib</MLXSharpMacNativeBinary>
-    <MLXSharpMacNativeDestination>..\MLXSharp.Native\runtimes\osx-arm64\native\libmlxsharp.dylib</MLXSharpMacNativeDestination>
+    <MLXSharpProjectDirectory>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)</MLXSharpProjectDirectory>
+    <MLXSharpNativeRuntimeRoot>$(MLXSharpProjectDirectory)..\MLXSharp.Native\runtimes</MLXSharpNativeRuntimeRoot>
+    <MLXSharpMacNativeBinary Condition="'$(MLXSharpMacNativeBinary)' == ''">$(MLXSharpProjectDirectory)..\..\native\build\libmlxsharp.dylib</MLXSharpMacNativeBinary>
+    <MLXSharpMacNativeDestination>$(MLXSharpNativeRuntimeRoot)\osx-arm64\native\libmlxsharp.dylib</MLXSharpMacNativeDestination>
+    <MLXSharpMacNativeDestinationDir>$([System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName('$(MLXSharpMacNativeDestination)'))</MLXSharpMacNativeDestinationDir>
     <MLXSharpSkipMacNativeValidation Condition="'$(MLXSharpSkipMacNativeValidation)' == ''">false</MLXSharpSkipMacNativeValidation>
   </PropertyGroup>
 
@@ -28,11 +31,24 @@
                         Condition="Exists('$(MLXSharpMacNativeBinary)')" />
     </ItemGroup>
 
+    <MakeDir Directories="$(MLXSharpMacNativeDestinationDir)"
+             Condition="'$(MLXSharpMacNativeDestinationDir)' != ''" />
+
     <Copy SourceFiles="@(_MacNativeSource)"
           DestinationFiles="$(MLXSharpMacNativeDestination)"
           SkipUnchangedFiles="true"
           Condition="'@(_MacNativeSource)' != ''" />
 
+    <ItemGroup>
+      <None Include="$(MLXSharpMacNativeDestination)"
+            Condition="Exists('$(MLXSharpMacNativeDestination)')">
+        <Pack>true</Pack>
+        <PackagePath>runtimes/osx-arm64/native/%(Filename)%(Extension)</PackagePath>
+        <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
+        <Link>runtimes\osx-arm64\native\%(Filename)%(Extension)</Link>
+      </None>
+    </ItemGroup>
+
     <Error Condition="'$(MLXSharpSkipMacNativeValidation)' != 'true' and !Exists('$(MLXSharpMacNativeDestination)')"
            Text="libmlxsharp.dylib is missing. Build the native library or supply MLXSharpMacNativeBinary before packing." />
   </Target>