MSBuild cannot find a reference

Question

I'm currently trying to figure out why MSBuild is not able to compile one of our unit test dlls. The problem is only occuring with this DLL and not with the other unit test projects.

This is the output I receive from TeamCity when the build fails:

[10:38:55]: NAnt output:
[10:38:55]: [exec]
[10:38:55]: [exec]
[10:38:55]: [exec] "C:\Robinson\trunk\Projects\Robinson\Robinson.sln" (default target) (1) ->
[10:38:55]: [exec] "C:\Robinson\trunk\Projects\Robinson\TenForceExecutionTests\TenForceExecutionTests.csproj" (default target) (19) ->
[10:38:55]: [exec] (CoreCompile target) ->
[10:38:55]: [exec] Modules\SecurityModuleTests.cs(10,30): error CS0234: The type or namespace name 'Modules' does not exist in the namespace 'TenForce.Execution.Web' (are you missing an assembly reference?) [C:\Robinson\trunk\Projects\Robinson\TenForceExecutionTests\TenForceExecutionTests.csproj]
[10:38:55]: [exec] Modules\SecurityModuleTests.cs(197,39): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'SecurityModule' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?) [C:\Robinson\trunk\Projects\Robinson\TenForceExecutionTests\TenForceExecutionTests.csproj]
[10:38:55]: [exec] TranslateTests.cs(10,30): error CS0234: The type or namespace name 'Utils' does not exist in the namespace 'TenForce.Execution.Web' (are you missing an assembly reference?) [C:\Robinson\trunk\Projects\Robinson\TenForceExecutionTests\TenForceExecutionTests.csproj]
[10:38:55]: [exec] IPETests.cs(8,30): error CS0234: The type or namespace name 'Ajax' does not exist in the namespace 'TenForce.Execution.Web' (are you missing an assembly reference?) [C:\Robinson\trunk\Projects\Robinson\TenForceExecutionTests\TenForceExecutionTests.csproj]
[10:38:55]: [exec] Pages\BasePageTest.cs(6,30): error CS0234: The type or namespace name 'Utils' does not exist in the namespace 'TenForce.Execution.Web' (are you missing an assembly reference?) [C:\Robinson\trunk\Projects\Robinson\TenForceExecutionTests\TenForceExecutionTests.csproj]
[10:38:55]: [exec] Pages\BasePageTest.cs(7,30): error CS0234: The type or namespace name 'Pages' does not exist in the namespace 'TenForce.Execution.Web' (are you missing an assembly reference?) [C:\Robinson\trunk\Projects\Robinson\TenForceExecutionTests\TenForceExecutionTests.csproj]
[10:38:55]: [exec] ServiceAsmxTests.cs(9,30): error CS0234: The type or namespace name 'Ajax' does not exist in the namespace 'TenForce.Execution.Web' (are you missing an assembly reference?) [C:\Robinson\trunk\Projects\Robinson\TenForceExecutionTests\TenForceExecutionTests.csproj]
[10:38:55]: [exec] ServiceAsmxTests.cs(10,30): error CS0234: The type or namespace name 'Utils' does not exist in the namespace 'TenForce.Execution.Web' (are you missing an assembly reference?) [C:\Robinson\trunk\Projects\Robinson\TenForceExecutionTests\TenForceExecutionTests.csproj]
[10:38:55]: [exec] Pages\BasePageTest.cs(16,17): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'basepage' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?) [C:\Robinson\trunk\Projects\Robinson\TenForceExecutionTests\TenForceExecutionTests.csproj]
[10:38:55]: [exec] ServiceAsmxTests.cs(22,17): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'Service' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?) [C:\Robinson\trunk\Projects\Robinson\TenForceExecutionTests\TenForceExecutionTests.csproj]
[10:38:55]: [exec]
[10:38:55]: [exec] 2075 Warning(s)
[10:38:55]: [exec] 10 Error(s)
[10:38:55]: [exec]
[10:38:55]: [exec] Time Elapsed 00:01:40.06

The project TenForceExecutionTests is a simply DLL that contains several UnitTests of the MBunit Framework. This project has a reference to TenForceExecution which is a web application project and another reference to TenForce.Execution.Test, which is another DLL containing logic for both projects.

When we compile everything on the development machine, it works without problems and the compile occurs without errors. On the build agent however this seems to fail...

INFO

• Target Framework : .NET4
• OS : Windows XP 32bit
• Windows 7 SDK Installed

EDIT

Did a clean checkout, and Visual Studio is able to build the entire solution, msbuild however cannot.

EDIT 2

Checked the dependencies:

• There is a project dependency between the projects
• There is a solution dependecy between the projects

EDIT 3 When I remove the reference to the webApplication project, and replace it with a reference to the compiled DLL of that project, the errors dissapear and the project compiles fine with MSBuild.

EDIT 4 I've ran the entire build from msbuild through a LOG and took a look at the specific task for compiling the project that's giving problems:

  Task "Csc"
    c:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\Csc.exe /noconfig /nowarn:1701,1702 /nostdlib+ /errorreport:prompt /warn:4 /define:DEBUG;TRACE /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\ThirdPartyComponents\ASP.dll /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\BUL\bin\Debug\BUL.dll /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\BULTest\bin\Debug\BULTest.dll /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\DAL\bin\Debug\DAL.dll /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\Framework\bin\Debug\Framework.dll /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\ThirdPartyComponents\Gallio.dll /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\ThirdPartyComponents\Iesi.Collections.dll /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\LanguageResource\bin\Debug\LanguageResource.dll /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\ThirdPartyComponents\log4net.dll /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\ThirdPartyComponents\MbUnit.dll /reference:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.0\mscorlib.dll" /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\ThirdPartyComponents\NHibernate.dll /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\PresentationBridge\bin\Debug\PresentationBridge.dll /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\PresentationBridgeTest\bin\Debug\PresentationBridgeTest.dll /reference:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.0\System.Configuration.dll" /reference:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.0\System.Core.dll" /reference:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.0\System.Data.dll" /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\ThirdPartyComponents\System.Data.SQLite.DLL /reference:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.0\System.dll" /reference:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.0\System.Web.dll" /reference:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.0\System.Web.Extensions.dll" /reference:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.0\System.Web.Services.dll" /reference:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.0\System.Xml.dll" /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\TenForce.Execution.Test\bin\Debug\TenForce.Execution.Test.dll /reference:D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\Documents\RobinsonSource\Projects\Robinson\ThirdPartyComponents\WatiN.Core.dll /debug+ /debug:full /optimize- /out:obj\Debug\TenForceExecutionTests.dll /target:library Modules\SecurityModuleTests.cs TestRunSetup.cs TranslateTests.cs WebBaseTest.cs MetaTests.cs IPETests.cs Pages\BasePageTest.cs Properties\AssemblyInfo.cs ServiceAsmxTests.cs Settings.Designer.cs "D:\Users\arne.de.herdt.TENFORCE2\AppData\Local\Temp\6\.NETFramework,Version=v4.0.AssemblyAttributes.cs"
    Microsoft (R) Visual C# 2010 Compiler version 4.0.30319.1
    Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

From what I can tell, the actuall WebApplication is NOT included in the reference list.

Answer 1

Had the same problem with a Visual Studio 2019 project.

The issue was solved by migrating project references from packages.config to PackageReference.

From the Microsoft Docs:

1. Open a solution containing project using packages.config.

2. In Solution Explorer, right-click on the References node or the packages.config file and select Migrate packages.config to PackageReference....

[...]

Note

Before migration begins, Visual Studio creates a backup of the project to allow you to roll back to packages.config if necessary.

Answer 2

My project configuration file "csproj" had two <ItemGroup> sections with <ProjectReference>s

This error has gone when I merged these <ItemGroup> sections.

Answer 3

I encountered same issue (Build successfully in Visual studio, but fail by MSBUILD).

After tried different solutions mentioned in this questions but failed.

Fortunately finally I found adding -tv:version resolve the errors.

For my project, the <TargetFrameworkVersion>v4.0</TargetFrameworkVersion> in my A.csproj is v4.0, so I used the command like msbuild A.csproj -tv:4.0 then succeeded to compile the projects.

Below are the struct of my solution:

1. Project A: startup project and target framework version=v4.0

2. Project B: reference project, its target framework version=v3.5

3. Project C: reference project, its target framework version=v3.5

It seems if not telling the specific target framework version to MSBUILD when exists multiple versions, sometimes it will get messed up.

Answer 4

I also found a similar reference issue when building an UWP appx package. There are a lot of error messages look like:

App.xaml.cs(6,15): error CS0234: The type or namespace name 'ApplicationModel' does not exist in the namespace 'Windows' (are you missing an assembly reference?)

If opening the sln file with VS2017, it builds no problem.

I did two things to fix this issue:

1. I noticed that the original solution requires winSDK 10.0.18362, but on my build machine, I don't have it. If opening with VS2017, it asks me to re-target the SDK to an installed older version. I think the msbuild may not be able to do the re-target, so I just downloaded and installed the required winSDK 18362.
2. I added a "/t:restore" option to the msbuild command line, and run the msbuild twice:

    msbuild mySolution.sln /p:Configuration="Release" /p:Platform="x64" /t:restore
    msbuild mySolution.sln /p:Configuration="Release" /p:Platform="x64"

For restore, please refer to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/reference/msbuild-targets#restore-target

Answer 5

I have tried using AnyCPU and Prefer-32 bit, it still didn't work. Also tried with AnyCPU without checking Prefer-32 bit but nothing worked. I was having this issue when Deploying my code using the Bamboo. I made sure my packages are all checked in to the code(as my nuget restore in bamboo have an issue) and make sure my dll references in the project are looking at the packages in their paths. I checked in my packages by removing the /packages from the .gitignore file. Also, updated my packages.config file in the project to mention the package and the version to use. For Ex: Also, made sure the Agent on which the Deployment task is running, it has the needed .NET framework version. With the above all changes, I could resolve this reference issue.

Answer 6

I encountered this error message when I built a solution with MSBuild in Release mode, even though Debug mode worked fine and both worked in Visual Studio. Turned out in the solution settings the project was not configured to be built for "Release|Mixed Platforms" or "Release|Any CPU".

Answer 7

I have also experienced the same issue.

I really doubt why MSBuild throws missing assembly reference when ever we run the solution file through MSBuild and Jenkins but it works like a charm in the Visual Studio, After fighting for two days I found a conclusion for this.

I wrote a batch script to run the Solution file first through Visual Studio and then ran the Solution file. It is not working fine.

All you need to do is to call the batch script and then run the MSBuild/Jenkins.

Batch script :

cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\IDE devenv "C:\Program Files (x86)\Jenkins\workspace\TFS\Product\Soluttion.sln" /Rebuild

devenv: To run the Visual Studio in Command line.

Note: you really need Visual Studio if your running MSBuild/Jenkins in the server.

Mail me for any issues regarding this..........

Answer 8

I inspect the dll properties missed and I see that the assembly name have the same name of the default namespace. Then I change the assembly name to a different one and I solved my problem.

Answer 9

Had the same issue today, ended that the project that could not be referenced had a different platform specified, x86 where the other projects where Any Platform. To get around this, I had to set the parameter with /p:Platform="Mixed Platforms". You can see what VS uses by going to Configuration Manager and looking at the Active Solution Platform selected in the top right.

Answer 10

I know this is an old post, but I came across it today, so thought I would offer feedback for anyone else.

I've encountered this a few times and found that changing the Target Framework from .NET Framework 4 Client Profile to just .NET Framework 4 does the trick.

Answer 11

Apparently this seems to be a known problem in MSBuild as more people have issues with this. I still haven't received a valid reply from Microsoft regarding this, but the discussion was continued here : http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-CA/msbuild/thread/434abf1a-30db-4b13-8062-13755898dd71

Answer 12

I have also experienced the issue that building from VS is not always the same as simply using msbuild. What helped me then is to create a log of the msbuild run (/fl switch) and check the log and trace down the build steps and try to find the problematic task.

Answer 13

If you do a clean checkout to a new folder on your machine does it work over there too?

Most times these problems occur because you have a reference to something that is available locally but not in source control. This is a good check to see if everything that is needed for building your project is correctly referenced and under source control.