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In MSBuild, an item is a named reference to one or more files. Items contain metadata such as file names, paths, and version numbers. All project types in Visual Studio have several items in common. These items are defined in the file
Microsoft.Build.CommonTypes.xsd
.
This article lists all the common project items.
Reference
Represents an assembly (managed) reference in the project.
Item metadata name
Description
Optional string. The display name of the assembly, for example, "System.Windows.Forms."
FusionName
Optional string. Specifies the simple or strong fusion name for the item.
When this attribute is present, it can save time because the assembly file does not have to be opened to obtain the fusion name.
SpecificVersion
Optional boolean. Specifies whether only the version in the fusion name should be referenced.
Aliases
Optional string. Any aliases for the reference.
Private
Optional boolean. Specifies whether the reference should be copied to the output folder. This attribute matches the
Copy Local
property of the reference that's in the Visual Studio IDE.
COMReference
Represents a COM (unmanaged) component reference in the project. This item applies only to .NET projects.
Item metadata name
Description
Required string. A GUID for the component, in the form {12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456781234}.
VersionMajor
Required string. The major part of the version number of the component. For example, "5" if the full version number is "5.46."
VersionMinor
Required string. The minor part of the version number of the component. For example, "46" if the full version number is "5.46."
EmbedInteropTypes
Optional boolean. If true, embed the interop types from this reference directly into your assembly rather than generating an interop DLL.
Optional string. The LocaleID for the component.
WrapperTool
Optional string. The name of the wrapper tool that is used on the component. Values are:
1. primary
2. tlbimp
3. primaryortlbimp
4. aximp
Isolated
Optional boolean. Specifies whether the component is a reg-free component.
COMFileReference
Represents a list of type libraries that are passed to the
TypeLibFiles
parameter of the
ResolveComReference
target. This item applies only to .NET projects.
Item metadata name
Description
GlobalPropertiesToRemove
Optional
string[]
. Names of properties to remove when building the referenced project, for example
RuntimeIdentifier;PackOnBuild
. Defaults to empty.
Project
Optional string. A GUID for the reference, in the form {12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456781234}.
OutputItemType
Optional string. Item type to emit target outputs into. Default is blank. If the Reference metadata is set to "true" (default) then target outputs will become references for the compiler.
ReferenceOutputAssembly
Optional boolean. If set to
false
, does not include the output of the referenced project as a
Reference
of this project, but still ensures that the other project builds before this one. Defaults to
true
.
Private
Optional boolean. Specifies whether the reference should be copied to the output folder. This attribute matches the
Copy Local
property of the reference that's in the Visual Studio IDE.
SetConfiguration
Optional string. Sets the global property
Configuration
for the referenced project, for example
Configuration=Release
.
SetPlatform
Optional string. Sets the global property
Platform
for the referenced project, for example
Platform=AnyCPU
.
SetTargetFramework
Optional string. Sets the global property
TargetFramework
for the referenced project, for example
TargetFramework=netstandard2.0
.
SkipGetTargetFrameworkProperties
Optional boolean. If
true
, builds the referenced project without negotiating the most compatible
TargetFramework
value. Defaults to
false
.
Targets
Optional
string[]
. Semicolon separated list of targets in the referenced projects that should be built. Default is the value of
$(ProjectReferenceBuildTargets)
which defaults to empty, indicating the default targets.
There is a difference between how project references work between .NET Framework and .NET Core (including .NET 5 and later). In .NET Framework projects, project references are not transitive. That is, if Project1 references Project2, and Project2 references Project3, you can't code against Project3 from Project1. However, in .NET Core (including .NET 5 and later), project references
are
transitive. You can code against Project3 in Project1.
Compile
Represents the source files for the compiler.
Item metadata name
Description
DependentUpon
Optional string. Specifies the file this file depends on to compile correctly.
AutoGen
Optional boolean. Indicates whether the file was generated for the project by the Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE).
Optional string. The notational path to be displayed when the file is physically located outside the influence of the project file.
Visible
Optional boolean. Indicates whether to display the file in
Solution Explorer
in Visual Studio.
CopyToOutputDirectory
Optional string. Determines whether to copy the file to the output directory. Values are:
1. Never
2. Always
3. PreserveNewest
EmbeddedResource
Represents resources to be embedded in the generated assembly.
Item metadata name
Description
DependentUpon
Optional string. Specifies the file this file depends on to compile correctly
Generator
Required string. The name of any file generator that is run on this item.
LastGenOutput
Required string. The name of the file that was created by any file generator that ran on this item.
CustomToolNamespace
Required string. The namespace in which any file generator that runs on this item should create code.
Optional string. The notational path is displayed if the file is physically located outside the influence of the project.
Visible
Optional boolean. Indicates whether to display the file in
Solution Explorer
in Visual Studio.
CopyToOutputDirectory
Optional string. Determines whether to copy the file to the output directory. Values are:
1. Never
2. Always
3. PreserveNewest
LogicalName
Required string. The logical name of the embedded resource.
Content
Represents files that are not compiled into the project, but may be embedded or published together with it.
Item metadata name
Description
DependentUpon
Optional string. Specifies the file this file depends on to compile correctly.
Generator
Required string. The name of any file generator that runs on this item.
LastGenOutput
Required string. The name of the file that was created by any file generator that was run on this item.
CustomToolNamespace
Required string. The namespace in which any file generator that runs on this item should create code.
Optional string. The notational path to be displayed if the file is physically located outside the influence of the project.
PublishState
Required string. The publish state of the content, either:
- Default
- Included
- Excluded
- DataFile
- Prerequisite
IsAssembly
Optional boolean. Specifies whether the file is an assembly.
Visible
Optional boolean. Indicates whether to display the file in
Solution Explorer
in Visual Studio.
CopyToOutputDirectory
Optional string. Determines whether to copy the file to the output directory. Values are:
1. Never
2. Always
3. PreserveNewest
TargetPath
Optional string. The output path (relative to the configuration- and/or platform-specific output directory) of an item, including the filename. This respects the
Link
metadata, if provided. If TargetPath is not provided, it is computed during the build process. See
AssignTargetPath
.
Represents files that should have no role in the build process.
Item metadata name
Description
DependentUpon
Optional string. Specifies the file this file depends on to compile correctly.
Generator
Required string. The name of any file generator that is run on this item.
LastGenOutput
Required string. The name of the file that was created by any file generator that ran on this item.
CustomToolNamespace
Required string. The namespace in which any file generator that runs on this item should create code.
Optional string. The notational path to be displayed if the file is physically located outside the influence of the project.
Visible
Optional boolean. Indicates whether to display the file in
Solution Explorer
in Visual Studio.
CopyToOutputDirectory
Optional string. Determines whether to copy the file to the output directory. Values are:
1. Never
2. Always
3. PreserveNewest
Represents assembly attributes to be generated as
[AssemblyMetadata(key, value)]
.
Item metadata name
Description
Include
Becomes the first parameter (the key) in the
AssemblyMetadataAttribute
attribute constructor.
Value
Required string. Becomes the second parameter (the value) in the
AssemblyMetadataAttribute
attribute constructor.
This item applies to projects using the SDK for .NET 5 (and .NET Core) and later versions.
InternalsVisibleTo
Specifies assemblies to be emitted as
[InternalsVisibleTo(..)]
assembly attributes.
Item metadata name
Description
This item applies to projects using the SDK for .NET 5 (and .NET Core) and later versions.
BaseApplicationManifest
Represents the base application manifest for the build, and contains ClickOnce deployment security information.
CodeAnalysisImport
Represents the FxCop project to import.
Import
Represents assemblies whose namespaces should be imported by the Visual Basic compiler.
See also
Common MSBuild project properties
Common MSBuild item metadata
