CODEWITHSUNDEEP
nuget
Matt M
Matt M

Reputation: 1435

Unable to find nuget folder

I'm unable to find some nuget packages (VS 2019, asp.net core 2.2). I found that System.ComponentModels.Annotations can't be found in my .nuget folder and in VS, there is no "expand" arrow next to it like all the other packages:

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In my .nuget folder:

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I've tried clearing out my packages folder and re-building to get all the packages. I've tried update-package -reinstall. I've tried Installing system.componentmodel.annotations directly (rather than having it install as a dependency). My solution builds fine, but I can't find this package anywhere on my harddrive. I've also noticed that Microsoft.AspNetCore.Razor.Design is exhibiting the exact same behavior.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 2233

Answers (1)

zivkan
zivkan

Reputation: 14991

When NuGet restores a project that uses PackageReference for packages (all SDK-style projects, and opt-in for traditional projects), it writes the obj\project.assets.json file, which is what MSBuild uses to complete the rest of the build.

Looking at the packageFolders section of my test project, I see this:

  "packageFolders": {
    "c:\\git\\test\\globalPackages\\": {},
    "C:\\Program Files\\dotnet\\sdk\\NuGetFallbackFolder": {}
  },

note that I have a nuget.config that redirects my global packages folder away from my user profile global packages folder, so temporary/fake packages I create don't pollute my real dev environment. FYI in case you're wondering why you don't see c:\users\zivkan\.nuget\packages.

But notice that there are two package folders.

Looking for System.ComonentModel.Annotations in the libraries section of project.assets.json, I see: 

    "System.ComponentModel.Annotations/4.5.0": {
      "sha512": "UxYQ3FGUOtzJ7LfSdnYSFd7+oEv6M8NgUatatIN2HxNtDdlcvFAf+VIq4Of9cDMJEJC0aSRv/x898RYhB4Yppg==",
      "type": "package",
      "path": "system.componentmodel.annotations/4.5.0",
      "files": [
          // list of every file in package
      ]
    },

see the path says system.componentmodel.annotations/4.5.0, which means it could be in either or both of c:\git\test\globalPackages\system.componentmodel.annotations\4.5.0 and/or C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk\NuGetFallbackFolder\system.componentmodel.annotations\4.5.0.

For your use-case of trying to load it in Powershell, you can try to load one of the assemblies in the lib\* directory. Pick a TFM you think is compatible with your version of Powershell.

As for the reason that Solution Explorer doesn't have a twisty to expand the package, go find the package in the targets section of the project.assets.json and you'll see this:

      "System.ComponentModel.Annotations/4.5.0": {
        "type": "package",
        "compile": {
          "ref/netcoreapp2.0/_._": {}
        },
        "runtime": {
          "lib/netcoreapp2.0/_._": {}
        }
      },

In other words, the package is not bringing in any assets or additional NuGet dependencies. Therefore nothing to expand in Solution Explorer.

In this specific case it's because netcoreapp2.0 has the assembly built-in to the runtime, and the Microsoft.NETCore.App package has the compile-time metadata for it. This is why I asked why you are looking for the package. If you use project.assets.json to find the exact System.ComponentModel.Annotations.dll that the build uses during compile, you'll find a metadata-only reference assembly that can't be loaded. But I gave insturations above on how to find the package directory and you can look for a loadable dll in one of the lib\* directories to try to load in Powershell.

Upvotes: 1

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