Name: Dotnet Ci Foundation
Author: csharpfritz

Context

When bootstrapping a .NET project's CI pipeline and initial test infrastructure. Applies to any .NET solution using GitHub Actions and xUnit.

Patterns

CI workflow at .github/workflows/ci.yml with three steps: dotnet restore, dotnet build --no-restore, dotnet test --no-build
Run at repo root so the solution file is discovered automatically — new projects added to the solution are automatically included in CI
Use dotnet new xunit template to generate test projects — it produces correct package versions and includes global <Using Include="Xunit" />
Test projects go in a tests/ directory, added to solution under a /tests/ folder
Always include a smoke test (Assert.True(true)) so CI has something to run from day one — proves the pipeline is wired end to end
Set <IsTestProject>true</IsTestProject> in csproj so dotnet test discovers the project

When bootstrapping a .NET project's CI pipeline and initial test infrastructure. Applies to any .NET solution using GitHub Actions and xUnit.

CI workflow at .github/workflows/ci.yml with three steps: dotnet restore, dotnet build --no-restore, dotnet test --no-build
Run at repo root so the solution file is discovered automatically — new projects added to the solution are automatically included in CI
Use dotnet new xunit template to generate test projects — it produces correct package versions and includes global <Using Include="Xunit" />
Test projects go in a tests/ directory, added to solution under a /tests/ folder
Always include a smoke test (Assert.True(true)) so CI has something to run from day one — proves the pipeline is wired end to end
Set <IsTestProject>true</IsTestProject> in csproj so dotnet test discovers the project