MSBuild.NodeTools


Run various Node tools as a MSBuild task.

⚠️ This is still a WIP, please report any issues. Thanks ! ⚠️

Installation

NuGet

MSBuild.NodeTools is available as a NuGet Package with the same name. This package contains all the available tools.

Install-Package MSBuild.NodeTools

It is also possible to install each tool seperately.

Install-Package MSBuild.Npm
Install-Package MSBuild.Bower
Install-Package MSBuild.Gulp
Install-Package MSBuild.Grunt

NuGet will automatically add the MSBuild targets to the .csproj file.

Manually

Download the files in the build/ folder and put them in your project folder. Then open the .csproj file in an editor and do the following changes.

<Project ToolsVersion="12.0" DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
    <!-- Put this at the top of the Project node -->
    <Import Project="..\path\to\MSBuild.Node.props" Condition="Exists('..\path\to\MSBuild.Node.props')" />
    <!-- Import *.props file for the tool(s) that you need -->

    <!--
      other stuff goes here...
    -->

    <!-- Put this at the bottom of the Project node -->
    <Import Project="..\path\to\MSBuild.Node.targets" Condition="Exists('..\path\to\MSBuild.Node.targets')" />
    <!-- Import *.targets file for the tool(s) that you need -->
</Project>

Note that the MSBuild.Node.props and MSBuild.Node.targets is required by all the tools and must always be included.

Configuration

There are various configuration properties you can overwrite in the .csproj file after importing MSBuild.*.props but before importing MSBuild.*.targets.

MSBuild.Node

MSBuild.Node tries to find the global NodeJS by reading the NODEJS environment variable first and then executing where node when it is unset. It also tries to locate the global npm folder. The global paths are stored in the following properties which should not be overriden.

• GlobalNodePath: Defaults to $(NODEJS) or where node
• GlobalNodeModulePath: Defaults to $(HOMEDRIVE)$(HOMEPATH)\AppData\Roaming\npm

If no global NodeJS installation is available or if a local installation should be used instead, set these properties instead:

• LocalNodePath: Path to the local NodeJS installation.
• LocalNodeModulePath: Path to the local npm modules folder.

MSBuild.Npm

• NpmFile: Path to the npm file. Defaults to $(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\package.json.
• NpmCommand: Npm command that should be run. Defaults to install --loglevel error.

MSBuild.Bower

• BowerFile: Path to the bower file. Defaults to $(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\bower.json.
• BowerCommand: Bower command that should be run. Defaults to install.

If no global Git installation is available or if a local installation should be used instead, set these properties instead:

• LocalGitPath: Path to the local git installation.

MSBuild.Gulp

• GulpFile: Path to gulpfile. Defaults to $(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\gulpfile.[js|coffee].
• GulpWorkingDirectory: Directory in which context the gulp task gets executed. Defaults to $(MSBuildProjectDirectory).
• GulpTask: [deprecated] See GulpBuildTask.
• GulpBuildTask: Gulp task that gets executed on build. Defaults to build-$(Configuration).
• GulpCleanTask: Gulp task that gets executed on clean. Defaults to unset.

MSBuild.Grunt

• GruntFile: Path to gruntfile. Defaults to $(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\gruntfile.[js|coffee].
• GruntWorkingDirectory: Directory in which context the grunt task gets executed. Defaults to $(MSBuildProjectDirectory).
• GruntTask: [deprecated] See GruntBuildTask.
• GruntBuildTask: Grunt task that gets executed on build. Defaults to build-$(Configuration).
• GruntCleanTask: Grunt task that gets executed on clean. Defaults to unset.

Release History

• v0.5.1
  • Add ConsoleToMsBuild flag to gulp and grunt task (this time for real).
• v0.5.0
  • Bugfix for npm and bower working directory.
  • Support for local git when using bower.
  • ⚠️ Remove quotes around GruntBuildTask and GruntCleanTask. In case that breaks some, please open an issue.
  • Add ConsoleToMsBuild flag to gulp and grunt task.
• v0.4.2 Performance Improvements
  • Run npm targets before BeforeBuild/BeforeClean instead of PrepareForBuild.
  • Run bower targets before BeforeBuild instead of PrepareForBuild.
• v0.4.1 Bugfixes
• v0.4.0 MSBuild.Grunt and MSBuild.Gulp support clean target.