MSBuild

MSBuild

MSBuild is an XML-based build automation tool developed by Microsoft. It is used to build applications and solutions across various .NET languages and platforms like .NET Framework, .NET Core, and Mono. MSBuild handles project builds, clean builds, packaging, publishing, and more
Development Build Tools
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MSBuild alternatives ➤

MSBuild: XML-based build automation tool for .NET development

MSBuild is an XML-based build automation tool developed by Microsoft. It is used to build applications and solutions across various .NET languages and platforms like .NET Framework, .NET Core, and Mono. MSBuild handles project builds, clean builds, packaging, publishing, and more.

What is MSBuild?

MSBuild is an XML-based build automation platform created by Microsoft for building applications across .NET platforms. It is the successor to the NAnt and de-facto standard build system for .NET projects.

At its core, MSBuild uses XML-formatted project files called .proj files that contain the various settings and instructions for controlling the build process. These project files outline the project properties, items, tasks to execute, targets, and more. Developers can create re-usable build logic using MSBuild tasks and share them via .targets files.

When an MSBuild project file is executed, MSBuild parses the XML to create a dependency graph of targets and tasks to run. Key capabilities of MSBuild include:

  • Incremental and clean builds
  • Multitargeting - build for different .NET target frameworks
  • Custom logging and notifications
  • Package restore
  • Publishing web applications
  • Integration with IDEs like Visual Studio

MSBuild scales well for small and extremely large codebases and facilitates standardization of build processes across development teams. It ships out of the box with .NET SDKs and Visual Studio making it the ubiquitous choice for building .NET applications.

MSBuild Features

Features

  1. XML-based build scripts
  2. Incremental and clean builds
  3. NuGet package restore
  4. Multi-targeting and multi-platform support
  5. Extensible and customizable via tasks

Pricing

  • Free
  • Open Source

Pros

Integrated into Visual Studio

Cross-platform

Powerful extensibility

Wide adoption in .NET ecosystem

Cons

XML build scripts can be verbose

Steep learning curve

Not as fast as other build tools

Official Links

Official Website
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/m...

The Best MSBuild Alternatives

Top Development and Build Tools and other similar apps like MSBuild

Here are some alternatives to MSBuild:

CMake icon
CMake
GNU Make icon
GNU Make
SCons icon
SCons
Premake icon
Premake
Buildr icon
Buildr
Automake icon
Automake
Suggest an alternative ❐

CMake icon

CMake

CMake is an open-source, cross-platform tool designed to build, test, and package software. It works by generating native makefiles and workspaces that can be used in the compiler environment of your choice.Some key features and benefits of CMake include:Compiler-independent build processes - CMake abstracts away compiler differences and allows you...
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GNU Make icon

GNU Make

GNU Make is a build automation and compilation management tool that was created in 1976 and is now maintained by the GNU Project. It automates the process of building executable programs and libraries from source code using a file called a Makefile which specifies how the project is compiled.Makefiles contain...
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SCons icon

SCons

SCons is an open source software construction tool that can be used as an alternative to Make. It is used to build software applications and libraries from source code. Some key things about SCons:Written in Python and uses Python scripts for its configuration files, making SCons highly customizable and easy...
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Premake icon

Premake

Premake is an open-source build configuration tool designed for C and C++ projects across Windows, MacOS, and Linux operating systems. It allows developers to define their project build configurations and rules in a portable script, which Premake then processes to generate the native project files and build scripts needed for...
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Buildr icon

Buildr

Buildr is an open-source software build system and project automation tool. It is written in Ruby and is designed for building Java, C/C++, Ruby, Scala and other language projects with ease. Some key features of Buildr include:Handles compilation, packaging, testing, and deployment of software projectsCross-platform - works on Linux, macOS,...
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Automake icon

Automake

Automake is a software development tool that assists in creating and maintaining portable Makefiles for projects that use Autoconf. It enforces the GNU coding standards for Makefiles and simplifies the process of creating standards-compliant Makefiles for complex software projects.Some key features of Automake include:Automatic generation of Makefile.am files from Automake...
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