Guide for organizing MSBuild infrastructure with Directory.Build.props, Directory.Build.targets, Directory.Packages.props, and Directory.Build.rsp. Only activate in MSBuild/.NET build context. USE FOR: structuring multi-project repos, centralizing build settings, implementing NuGet Central Package Management (CPM) with ManagePackageVersionsCentrally, consolidating duplicated properties across .csproj files, setting up multi-level Directory.Build hierarchy with GetPathOfFileAbove, understanding evaluation order (Directory.Build.props → SDK .props → .csproj → SDK .targets → Directory.Build.targets). Critical pitfall: $(TargetFramework) conditions in .props silently fail for single-targeting projects — must use .targets. DO NOT USE FOR: non-MSBuild build systems, migrating legacy projects to SDK-style (use msbuild-modernization), single-project solutions with no shared settings. INVOKES: no tools — pure knowledge skill.
Understanding which file to use is critical. They differ in when they are imported during evaluation:
Evaluation order:
Directory.Build.props → SDK .props → YourProject.csproj → SDK .targets → Directory.Build.targets
Use .props for | Use .targets for |
|---|---|
| Setting property defaults | Custom build targets |
| Common item definitions | Late-bound property overrides |
| Properties projects can override | Post-build steps |
| Assembly/package metadata | Conditional logic on final values |
| Analyzer PackageReferences | Targets that depend on SDK-defined properties |
Rule of thumb: Properties and items go in . Custom targets and late-bound logic go in .
.props.targetsBecause .props is imported before the project file, the project can override any value set there. Because .targets is imported after everything, it gets the final say—but projects cannot override .targets values.
Property conditions on $(TargetFramework) in .props files silently fail for single-targeting projects — the property is empty during .props evaluation. Move TFM-conditional properties to .targets instead. ItemGroup and Target conditions are not affected.
See targetframework-props-pitfall.md for the full explanation.
Good candidates: language settings, assembly/package metadata, build warnings, code analysis, common analyzers.
<Project>
<PropertyGroup>
<LangVersion>latest</LangVersion>
<Nullable>enable</Nullable>
<ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
<TreatWarningsAsErrors>true</TreatWarningsAsErrors>
<EnforceCodeStyleInBuild>true</EnforceCodeStyleInBuild>
<Company>Contoso</Company>
<Authors>Contoso Engineering</Authors>
</PropertyGroup>
</Project>
Do NOT put here: project-specific TFMs, project-specific PackageReferences, targets/build logic, or properties depending on SDK-defined values (not available during .props evaluation).
Good candidates: custom build targets, late-bound property overrides (values depending on SDK properties), post-build validation.
<Project>
<Target Name="ValidateProjectSettings" BeforeTargets="Build">
<Error Text="All libraries must target netstandard2.0 or higher"
Condition="'$(OutputType)' == 'Library' AND '$(TargetFramework)' == 'net472'" />
</Target>
<PropertyGroup>
<!-- DocumentationFile depends on OutputPath, which is set by the SDK -->
<DocumentationFile Condition="'$(IsPackable)' == 'true'">$(OutputPath)$(AssemblyName).xml</DocumentationFile>
</PropertyGroup>
</Project>
Central Package Management (CPM) provides a single source of truth for all NuGet package versions. See https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/consume-packages/central-package-management for details.
Enable CPM in Directory.Packages.props at the repo root:
<Project>
<PropertyGroup>
<ManagePackageVersionsCentrally>true</ManagePackageVersionsCentrally>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<PackageVersion Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging" Version="8.0.0" />
<PackageVersion Include="Newtonsoft.Json" Version="13.0.3" />
<PackageVersion Include="xunit" Version="2.9.0" />
<PackageVersion Include="xunit.runner.visualstudio" Version="2.8.2" />
</ItemGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<!-- GlobalPackageReference applies to ALL projects — great for analyzers -->
<GlobalPackageReference Include="StyleCop.Analyzers" Version="1.2.0-beta.556" />
<GlobalPackageReference Include="Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.NetAnalyzers" Version="8.0.0" />
</ItemGroup>
</Project>
Contains default MSBuild CLI arguments applied to all builds under the directory tree.
Example Directory.Build.rsp:
/maxcpucount
/nodeReuse:false
/consoleLoggerParameters:Summary;ForceNoAlign
/warnAsMessage:MSB3277
msbuild and dotnet CLI in modern .NET versionsMSBuild only auto-imports the first Directory.Build.props (or .targets) it finds walking up from the project directory. To chain multiple levels, explicitly import the parent at the top of the inner file. See multi-level-examples for full file examples.
<Project>
<Import Project="$([MSBuild]::GetPathOfFileAbove('Directory.Build.props', '$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)../'))"
Condition="Exists('$([MSBuild]::GetPathOfFileAbove('Directory.Build.props', '$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)../'))')" />
<!-- Inner-level overrides go here -->
</Project>
Example layout:
repo/
Directory.Build.props ← repo-wide (lang version, company info, analyzers)
Directory.Build.targets ← repo-wide targets
Directory.Packages.props ← central package versions
src/
Directory.Build.props ← src-specific (imports repo-level, sets IsPackable=true)
test/
Directory.Build.props ← test-specific (imports repo-level, sets IsPackable=false, adds test packages)
Set <ArtifactsPath>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)artifacts</ArtifactsPath> in Directory.Build.props to automatically produce project-name-separated bin/, obj/, and publish/ directories under a single artifacts/ folder, avoiding bin/obj clashes by default. See common-patterns for the directory layout and additional patterns (conditional settings by project type, post-pack validation).
.csproj files — Catalog every <PropertyGroup>, <ItemGroup>, and custom <Target> across the solution. Note which settings repeat and which are project-specific.Directory.Build.props — Move shared property defaults (LangVersion, Nullable, TreatWarningsAsErrors, metadata) here. These are imported before the project file so projects can override them.Directory.Build.targets — Move custom build targets, post-build validation, and any properties that depend on SDK-defined values (e.g., OutputPath, TargetFramework for single-targeting projects) here. These are imported after the SDK so all properties are available.Directory.Packages.props — Enable Central Package Management (ManagePackageVersionsCentrally), list all PackageVersion entries, and remove Version= from PackageReference items in .csproj files.Directory.Build.props files for src/ and test/ folders with distinct settings. Use GetPathOfFileAbove to chain to the parent..csproj files — Remove all centralized properties, version attributes, and duplicated targets. Each project should only contain what is unique to it.dotnet restore && dotnet build and verify no regressions. Use dotnet msbuild -pp:output.xml to inspect the final merged view if needed.| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Directory.Build.props isn't picked up | File name casing wrong (exact match required on Linux/macOS) | Verify exact casing: Directory.Build.props (capital D, B) |
Properties from .props are ignored by projects | Project sets the same property after the import | Move the property to Directory.Build.targets to set it after the project |
| Multi-level import doesn't work | Missing GetPathOfFileAbove import in inner file | Add the <Import> element at the top of the inner file (see Multi-level section) |
Properties using SDK values are empty in .props | SDK properties aren't defined yet during .props evaluation | Move to .targets which is imported after the SDK |
Directory.Packages.props not found | File not at repo root or not named exactly | Must be named Directory.Packages.props and at or above the project directory |
Property condition on $(TargetFramework) doesn't match in .props | TargetFramework isn't set yet for single-targeting projects during .props evaluation | Move property to .targets, or use ItemGroup/Target conditions instead (which evaluate late) |
Diagnosis: Use the preprocessed project output to see all imports and final property values:
dotnet msbuild -pp:output.xml MyProject.csproj
This expands all imports inline so you can see exactly where each property is set and what the final evaluated value is.