Central Package Management - Where is the correct place to add IncludeAssets and PrivateAssets options?

[dfaivre]

i.e. for including coverlet.collector:

<PackageReference Include="coverlet.collector">
    <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers; buildtransitive</IncludeAssets>
    <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
</PackageReference>

Do the IncludeAssets and PrivateAssets tags go in the .csproj file or in the Directory.Packages.props file?

[horacioj]

+1

And just in case, I add “or should they be on both places?”

[nkolev92]

I think this question requires some more context.

Directory.Packages.props is used in the context of CPM. It contains PackageVersion items.
It also can be used to specify a [GlobalPackageReference](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/consume-packages/central-package-management#global-package-references), which is meant to be used for dev dependencies that are part of every project (similarly as PackageVersion).

In CPM world, a PackageReference is supposed to be specified in the project, with a matching PackageVersion in Directory.Packages.props.

Note you are free to specify PackageReference item Directory.Packages.props but that's not necessarily the intention.

Now the question here, asking where to include the includeassets/private assets suggests that you have PackageReference in both, but I'd discourage that and suggest you use GlobalPackageReference instead for those.

[dfaivre]

Thank you for taking the time to reply @nkolev92. Here is what I have in the Directory.Packages.props:

    <PackageVersion Include="Scalar.AspNetCore" Version="2.0.18"/>
    <PackageVersion Include="Swashbuckle.AspNetCore.SwaggerUI" Version="7.2.0"/>
    <PackageVersion Include="xunit.runner.visualstudio" Version="3.0.2">
      <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
      <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers; buildtransitive</IncludeAssets>
    </PackageVersion>
    <PackageVersion Include="xunit.v3" Version="1.1.0"/>
    <PackageVersion Include="xunit.v3.extensibility.core" Version="1.1.0"/>
    <PackageVersion Include="YamlDotNet" Version="16.3.0"/>

And here is my unit test project that uses the xunit libs:

        <PackageReference Include="xunit.runner.visualstudio">
            <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
            <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers; buildtransitive</IncludeAssets>
        </PackageReference>
        <PackageReference Include="xunit.v3"/>
        <PackageReference Include="YamlDotNet" />

It doesn't sound like GlobalPackageReference is what I'm looking for. I guess I'm just wondering where the PrivateAssets and IncludeAssets tags belong? Is that even a valid question?

I guess this is somewhat the same as @horacioj question below: #14029 (comment)

[nkolev92]

PackageVersion does not support PrivateAssets and IncludeAssets.
PackageReference is the only place where IncludeAssets/PrivateAssets are supported.

The PrivateAssets on the PackageVersion doesn't have any effect.

[dfaivre]

Thanks! I think I may need to open a bug with Rider because I think it may be adding the PrivateAssets and IncludeAssets when it adds the PackageVersion.

[conanthedev]

@dfaivre Thanks for asking the question. I've been wondering the same thing for a while. @nkolev92 Thanks for the clear answer.

It appears JB is already tracking the problem in these tickets:

RIDER-121850 "Upgrade Packages in Solution" adds metadata to the PackageVersion tags, not PackageReference, when using CPM

RIDER-122650 Updating NuGet packages adds unnecessary code to the CPM packages file

[dfaivre]

@conanthedev - thanks for the links. I up voted them.

[nmusset]

PackageVersion does not support PrivateAssets and IncludeAssets. PackageReference is the only place where IncludeAssets/PrivateAssets are supported.

The PrivateAssets on the PackageVersion doesn't have any effect.

Is it still the case? Using dotnet add package xunit.runner.visualstudio on the project does add PrivateAssets and IncludeAssets in Directory.Packages.props. If it is not supported why does the default tool shipped with dotnet add them?

[horacioj]

In my case I have <GlobalPackageReference... entries for analyzers that applies to every project, but some packages are project-specific. '
For example, "coverlet.collector", and many analyzers are specific to test projects. In this case, is this wrong? My current implementation (example for "coverlet.collector") is:

Directory.Build.props

    <PackageVersion Include="coverlet.collector" Version="6.0.4">
      <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
      <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers; buildtransitive</IncludeAssets>
    </PackageVersion>

A test project (.csproj)

    <PackageReference Include="coverlet.collector" />

Should I instead include this in the .csproj?

    <PackageReference Include="coverlet.collector">
      <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
      <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers; buildtransitive</IncludeAssets>
    </PackageReference>

[nkolev92]

#14029 (reply in thread)

PackageVersion does not support PrivateAssets and IncludeAssets.
PackageReference is the only place where IncludeAssets/PrivateAssets are supported.

The PrivateAssets on the PackageVersion doesn't have any effect.

[horacioj]

Just in case test packages could be an exception (being test projects 'not for production'), this happens not only for packages on test project. For example, I have analyzers that apply only to projects related to MS Orleans.