CODEWITHSUNDEEP
msbuildcommand-line-argumentsconditional-statements
BobTheBuilder
BobTheBuilder

Reputation: 2485

How can I pass an msbuild condition from the command line?

I have a target as part of my build that I wish to skip upon evaluation of some command line check:

<Target Name="RunSomeDependencyVerification" Condition="!Exists('$(SkipVerification)')">
....

I want to pass the skip verification in from the console such that:

msbuild mybuild.dev.proj /p:SkipVerification

My build script complains that the "SkipVerification" property is not defined. I've found the documentation for <PropertyGroup /> but it seems like that not only defines the property, but sets the value too, which isn't what I'm after.

What am I missing?

Upvotes: 2

Views: 2879

Answers (2)

granadaCoder
granadaCoder

Reputation: 27842

Define your property with a default value in your original msbuild file.

<PropertyGroup>
    <SkipVerification Condition="'$(SkipVerification)'==''">False</SkipVerification>
</PropertyGroup>

Your use of "Exists" check is off I think.. (aka, nicely saying: it is the wrong syntax-sugar for what you are trying to do.) I think you want to check the VALUE of your property. As seen below: (no "Exists" used :) )

<Target Name="RunSomeDependencyVerification" Condition="'$(SkipVerification)'=='True'">

Then this.

/p:Configuration=Debug;SkipVerification=True

Please note:

Configuration=Debug; is not a part of what you need, I just wanted to show how to specify more than 1 property in the command line. (that you use a ";" delimiter)

Upvotes: 3

stijn
stijn

Reputation: 35901

Msbuild says SkipVerification is not defined because it isn't: Exists is for files or directories, not for properties. Try this instead: 

msbuild mybuild.dev.proj /p:SkipVerification=true

And then check on the value:

<Target Name="RunSomeDependencyVerification"
        Condition="'$(SkipVerification)'!='true')">

Upvotes: 0

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