MSBuild Task Reference

Tasks provide the code that runs during the build process. The tasks in the following list are included with MSBuild. When Visual C++ is installed, additional tasks are available that are used to build Visual C++ projects. For more information, see MSBuild Tasks Specific to Visual C++.

In addition to the parameters listed in the topics in this section, each task also has the following parameters:

In This Section

• Task Base Class
  Adds several parameters to the tasks that derive from the Task class.

• TaskExtension Base Class
  Adds several parameters to the tasks that derive from the TaskExtension class.

• ToolTaskExtension Base Class
  Adds several parameters to the tasks that derive from the ToolTaskExtension class.

• AL (Assembly Linker) Task
  Creates an assembly with a manifest from one or more files that are either modules or resource files.

• AspNetCompiler Task
  Wraps aspnet_compiler.exe, a utility to precompile ASP.NET applications.

• AssignCulture Task
  Assigns culture identifiers to items.

• AssignProjectConfiguration Task
  Accepts a list of configuration strings and assigns them to specified projects.

• AssignTargetPath Task
  Accepts a list of files and adds <TargetPath> attributes if they are not already specified.

• CallTarget Task
  Invokes a target in the project file.

• CombinePath Task
  Combines the specified paths into a single path.

• ConvertToAbsolutePath Task
  Converts a relative path or reference into an absolute path.

• Copy Task
  Copies files to a new location.

• CreateCSharpManifestResourceName Task
  Creates a Visual C#-style manifest name from a given .resx file name or other resource.

• CreateItem Task
  Populates item collections from the input items, allowing items to be copied from one list to another.

• CreateProperty Task
  Populates properties from the input values, allowing values to be copied from one property or string to another.

• CreateVisualBasicManifestResourceName Task
  Creates a Visual Basic-style manifest name from a given .resx file name or other resource.

• Csc Task
  Invokes the Visual C# compiler to produce executables, dynamic-link libraries, or code modules.

• Delete Task
  Deletes the specified files.

• Error Task
  Stops a build and logs an error based on an evaluated conditional statement.

• Exec Task
  Runs the specified program or command with the specified arguments.

• FindAppConfigFile Task
  Finds the app.config file, if any, in the provided lists.

• FindInList Task
  Finds an item in a specified list that has the matching itemspec.

• FindUnderPath Task
  Determines which items in the specified item collection exist in the specified folder and all of its subfolders.

• FormatUrl Task
  Converts a URL to a correct URL format.

• FormatVersion Task
  Appends the revision number to the version number.

• GenerateApplicationManifest Task
  Generates a ClickOnce application manifest or a native manifest.

• GenerateBootstrapper Task
  Provides an automated way to detect, download, and install an application and its prerequisites.

• GenerateDeploymentManifest Task
  Generates a ClickOnce deployment manifest.

• GenerateResource Task
  Converts .txt and .resx files to common language runtime binary .resources files.

• GenerateTrustInfo Task
  Generates the application trust from the base manifest, and from the TargetZone and ExcludedPermissions parameters.

• GetAssemblyIdentity Task
  Retrieves the assembly identities from the specified files and outputs the identity information.

• GetFrameworkPath Task
  Retrieves the path to the .NET Framework assemblies.

• GetFrameworkSdkPath Task
  Retrieves the path to the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK).

• GetReferenceAssemblyPaths Task
  Returns the reference assembly paths of the various frameworks.

• LC Task
  Generates a .license file from a .licx file.

• MakeDir Task
  Creates directories and, if necessary, any parent directories.

• Message Task
  Logs a message during a build.

• Move Task
  Moves files to a new location.

• MSBuild Task
  Builds MSBuild projects from another MSBuild project.

• ReadLinesFromFile Task
  Reads a list of items from a text file.

• RegisterAssembly Task
  Reads the metadata within the specified assembly and adds the necessary entries to the registry.

• RemoveDir Task
  Removes the specified directories and all of its files and subdirectories.

• RemoveDuplicates Task
  Removes duplicate items from the specified item collection.

• RequiresFramework35SP1Assembly Task
  Determines whether the application requires the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.

• ResGen Task
  Obsolete. Use the GenerateResource Task task to convert .txt and .resx files to and from common language runtime binary .resources files.

• ResolveAssemblyReference Task
  Determines all assemblies that depend on the specified assemblies.

• ResolveComReference Task
  Takes a list of one or more type library names or .tlb files and resolves those type libraries to locations on disk.

• ResolveKeySource Task
  Determines the strong name key source

• ResolveManifestFiles Task
  Resolves the following items in the build process to files for manifest generation: built items, dependencies, satellites, content, debug symbols, and documentation.

• ResolveNativeReference Task
  Resolves native references.

• ResolveNonMSBuildProjectOutput Task
  Determines the output files for non-MSBuild project references.

• SGen Task
  Creates an XML serialization assembly for types in the specified assembly.

• SignFile Task
  Signs the specified file using the specified certificate.

• Touch Task
  Sets the access and modification times of files.

• UnregisterAssembly Task
  Unregisters the specified assemblies for COM interop purposes.

• UpdateManifest Task
  Updates selected properties in a manifest and resigns.

• Vbc Task
  Invokes the Visual Basic compiler to produce executables, dynamic-link libraries, or code modules..

• Warning Task
  Logs a warning during a build based on an evaluated conditional statement.

• WriteCodeFragment Task
  Generates a temporary code file by using the specified generated code fragment. Does not delete the file.

• WriteLinesToFile Task
  Writes the specified items to the specified text file.

• XmlPeek Task
  Returns values as specified by XPath query from an XML file.

• XmlPoke Task
  Sets values as specified by an XPath query into an XML file.

• XslTransformation Task
  Transforms an XML input by using an Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT) or compiled XSLT and outputs to an output device or a file.

See Also

Concepts

Task Writing

MSBuild Tasks

Other Resources

MSBuild Reference