Dotnet Tool Management

dotnet-tool-management

Consumer-side management of .NET CLI tools: installing global and local tools, creating and maintaining .config/dotnet-tools.json manifests, version pinning for team reproducibility, dotnet tool restore in CI pipelines, updating and uninstalling tools, and troubleshooting common tool issues.

Version assumptions: .NET 8.0+ baseline. Local tools and tool manifests available since .NET Core 3.0. RID-specific tool packaging available since .NET 10.

Out of scope: Tool authoring and packaging (PackAsTool, NuGet packaging, ToolCommandName) -- see [skill:dotnet-cli-packaging]. Distribution strategy (AOT vs framework-dependent vs dotnet tool decision) -- see [skill:dotnet-cli-distribution]. Release CI/CD pipeline -- see [skill:dotnet-cli-release-pipeline].

Cross-references: [skill:dotnet-cli-packaging] for tool authoring and NuGet packaging, [skill:dotnet-cli-distribution] for distribution strategy and RID matrix, [skill:dotnet-cli-release-pipeline] for automated release workflows, [skill:dotnet-project-analysis] for detecting existing tool manifests.

Global Tool Installation

Global tools are installed per-user and available from any directory. The tool binaries are added to a directory on the user's PATH.

# Install a global tool
dotnet tool install -g <package-id>

# Install a specific version
dotnet tool install -g <package-id> --version 1.2.3

# Install a pre-release version
dotnet tool install -g <package-id> --version "*-rc*"

# List installed global tools
dotnet tool list -g

# Update a global tool to the latest stable version
dotnet tool update -g <package-id>

# Uninstall a global tool
dotnet tool uninstall -g <package-id>

Default install locations:

Global tools are user-scoped, not machine-wide. Each user maintains their own tool installations independently.

Custom Install Location

Use --tool-path to install to a custom directory. The directory is not automatically added to PATH -- you must manage PATH yourself:

dotnet tool install <package-id> --tool-path ~/my-tools

Local Tool Installation

Local tools are scoped to a directory tree and tracked in a manifest file. Different directories can use different versions of the same tool.

Creating the Tool Manifest

The manifest file .config/dotnet-tools.json tracks local tool versions. Create it at the repository root:

# Create the manifest (first time only, at repo root)
dotnet new tool-manifest

This produces:

{
  "version": 1,
  "isRoot": true,
  "tools": {}
}

Commit this file to source control so all team members share the same tool versions.

Installing Local Tools

Omit the -g flag to install a tool locally. The tool is recorded in the nearest manifest file:

# Install a local tool (recorded in .config/dotnet-tools.json)
dotnet tool install <package-id>

# Install a specific version
dotnet tool install <package-id> --version 2.0.1

# List local tools
dotnet tool list

# Update a local tool
dotnet tool update <package-id>

# Uninstall a local tool
dotnet tool uninstall <package-id>

After installing two tools, the manifest looks like:

{
  "version": 1,
  "isRoot": true,
  "tools": {
    "dotnet-ef": {
      "version": "9.0.3",
      "commands": [
        "dotnet-ef"
      ]
    },
    "nbgv": {
      "version": "3.7.112",
      "commands": [
        "nbgv"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Running Local Tools

# Run a local tool (long form)
dotnet tool run <command-name>

# Run a local tool (short form, when command starts with dotnet-)
dotnet <command-name>

# Examples
dotnet tool run dotnet-ef migrations add Init
dotnet ef migrations add Init  # equivalent short form

Version Pinning and Team Workflows

The tool manifest enables reproducible tool versions across the team.

Pinning Strategy

1. One team member creates the manifest and installs tools with specific versions
2. Commit .config/dotnet-tools.json to source control
3. All team members run dotnet tool restore after cloning or pulling
4. Updates are explicit: one person runs dotnet tool update <package-id>, commits the updated manifest

Version Ranges

Use the --version option with NuGet version ranges for controlled flexibility:

# Exact version (strictest)
dotnet tool install <package-id> --version 2.0.1

# Allow patch updates (recommended for most tools)
dotnet tool install <package-id> --version "2.0.*"

# Pre-release versions
dotnet tool install <package-id> --version "*-preview*"

The manifest always records the exact resolved version, ensuring all team members use identical versions after restore.

CI Integration

Tool Restore Before Build

In CI pipelines, restore tools before any build step that depends on them. Tool restore is fast and idempotent.

GitHub Actions:

steps:
  - uses: actions/checkout@v4
  - uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
    with:
      dotnet-version: '8.0.x'
  - name: Restore tools
    run: dotnet tool restore
  - name: Build
    run: dotnet build
  - name: Run EF migrations check
    run: dotnet ef migrations has-pending-changes

Azure DevOps Pipelines:

steps:
  - task: UseDotNet@2
    inputs:
      packageType: sdk
      version: '8.0.x'
  - script: dotnet tool restore
    displayName: 'Restore tools'
  - script: dotnet build
    displayName: 'Build'

CI Best Practices

• Always run dotnet tool restore before build -- do not rely on tools being pre-installed on CI agents
• Commit .config/dotnet-tools.json -- the manifest ensures CI uses the same tool versions as local development
• Do not install tools globally in CI -- use local tool manifests for reproducibility; global installs may conflict across concurrent jobs
• Cache NuGet packages to speed up tool restore (~/.nuget/packages on Linux/macOS, %USERPROFILE%\.nuget\packages on Windows)

RID-Specific Tools

Starting with .NET 10, tool authors can publish RID-specific, self-contained, or Native AOT versions of their tools. From a consumer perspective, this is transparent -- the dotnet tool install command automatically selects the best package for your platform.

# RID selection is automatic -- no extra flags needed
dotnet tool install -g <package-id>

The .NET CLI detects your platform and downloads the appropriate RID-specific package. If no RID-specific package matches your platform, the CLI falls back to a framework-dependent package (if the tool author provided one).

For details on authoring and packaging RID-specific tools, see [skill:dotnet-cli-packaging].

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Tool already installed" -- Uninstall first or use dotnet tool update:

dotnet tool update -g <package-id>

"No manifest file found" -- Run dotnet new tool-manifest to create one, or check that you are in a directory at or below the manifest location.

"Tool not found after install" -- For global tools, verify ~/.dotnet/tools is on your PATH. For local tools, ensure you are in the directory tree containing the manifest.

"Version mismatch in CI" -- Verify .config/dotnet-tools.json is committed and dotnet tool restore runs before any tool usage.

Global vs Local Tools Decision Guide

Prefer local tools for anything used in a project's build, test, or development workflow. Reserve global tools for personal utilities not tied to a specific project.

Agent Gotchas

1. Do not install project-specific tools globally in CI. Use local tool manifests and dotnet tool restore for reproducible builds. Global installs may conflict across concurrent CI jobs and drift from the team's pinned versions.
2. Do not skip dotnet tool restore in CI pipelines. Tools are not pre-installed on CI agents. Always restore before any step that invokes a local tool, or the build will fail with "tool not found."
3. Do not omit .config/dotnet-tools.json from source control. The manifest is the single source of truth for tool versions. Without it, dotnet tool restore has nothing to restore and each developer gets different versions.
4. Do not specify RID flags when installing tools as a consumer. The .NET CLI automatically selects the correct RID-specific package for your platform. Manual RID selection is unnecessary and may cause installation failures.
5. Do not confuse tool command names with package IDs. The package ID (e.g., dotnet-ef) may differ from the command name (e.g., dotnet ef). Use dotnet tool list to see the mapping between package IDs and commands.

References

• .NET tools overview
• How to manage .NET local tools
• dotnet tool install command
• dotnet tool restore command
• RID-specific .NET tools
• Troubleshoot .NET tool usage issues