Remove checked-in nuspec files to resolve build issues by Copilot · Pull Request #37826 · dotnet/efcore

Copilot · 2026-03-02T21:44:45Z

Removes checked-in .nuspec files for dotnet-ef, EFCore.Tools, and EFCore.Tasks and replaces them with MSBuild properties and _PackageFiles targets. This fixes build breaks with newer SDKs where the nuspec files cause NU5000 errors due to missing package type name attributes.

Changes Made

Removed src/dotnet-ef/dotnet-ef.nuspec, src/EFCore.Tools/EFCore.Tools.nuspec, src/EFCore.Tasks/EFCore.Tasks.nuspec
dotnet-ef.csproj: Replaced NuspecFile/SetPackageProperties with an AddEfProjectOutput target that uses _PackageFiles to include ef.csproj output (dll, exe, pdb, runtimeconfig) at the correct package paths. An ExcludePdbFiles target strips all PDB files from the main package; they are included only in the symbols package
EFCore.Tools.csproj: Replaced NuspecFile/SetPackageProperties with an AddPackContent target for lib, tools, psd1, and ef.csproj output (including PDB files). An ExcludePdbFiles target strips PDBs from the main package. Added Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Design as a PackageReference with VersionOverride="8.0.0" for the dependency declaration
EFCore.Tasks.csproj: Replaced NuspecFile/SetPackageProperties with an AddPackContent target for lib, tasks, tools, and buildTransitive content. Added a ProjectReference to EFCore.Design with PrivateAssets="all" (for build ordering) and a separate PackageReference with VersionOverride="10.0.0" for the nuspec dependency. Set SuppressDependenciesWhenPacking=true for net472 and Pack=false on .NET Framework References to suppress unwanted dependency groups. Added lib/net10.0/_._ marker file to ensure the package is recognized as targeting net10. ExcludePdbFiles target and eng/CreateSymbolsPackage.targets import for symbols package creation
Renamed all PACKAGE.md files to README.md across src/ and test/ directories (22 files) and updated Directory.Build.targets to auto-detect README.md instead of PACKAGE.md
eng/CreateSymbolsPackage.targets: Added a shared MSBuild targets file that creates the .symbols.nupkg via a second MSBuild Pack call with _IsSymbolsPack=true. PDB files are included unconditionally in _PackageFiles, and each project has an ExcludePdbFiles target that strips all .pdb files by extension when _IsSymbolsPack != true. This ensures the main package nuspec is generated without PDB references, while the symbols package includes them correctly. Uses $([MSBuild]::NormalizeDirectory(...)) for cross-platform path handling. Imported by dotnet-ef.csproj, EFCore.Tools.csproj, and EFCore.Tasks.csproj
EFCore.Analyzers.csproj: Removed explicit PackageReadmeFile property (auto-detected by Directory.Build.targets)
Cross-platform paths: All _PackageFiles Include attributes use / instead of \ for filesystem paths to ensure compatibility on non-Windows builds

Package Content Comparison

Package contents were compared before and after the change. Remaining differences are expected SDK behavior changes:

README.md location: Package readme now included as README.md at the package root (previously docs/PACKAGE.md)
dotnet-ef AppHost: Native dotnet-ef binary no longer in package (SDK explicitly removes AppHost for RID-neutral tool packages per Microsoft.NET.PackTool.targets)
Nuspec metadata: exclude="Build,Analyzers" added by SDK on Design dependency (default for PackageReferences); empty .NETFramework4.7.2 dependency group in Tasks (functionally identical to no group)

💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

- Remove dotnet-ef.nuspec, EFCore.Tools.nuspec, EFCore.Tasks.nuspec - Convert package customizations to MSBuild properties and targets - Add Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Design to Directory.Packages.props - Use _PackageFiles items in targets to include ef project outputs - Add PrivateAssets="all" to ef ProjectReference to prevent dependency leakage - Use ProjectReference to EFCore.Design for Tasks dependency Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

AndriySvyryd · 2026-03-02T22:35:02Z

@copilot To validate, compare the content of the affected NuGet before and after the fix, they should match exactly, however, it's acceptable if the versions change to 11.0.0-dev or 11.0.0-dev 3

…ks, add Pack=false to framework refs Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot · 2026-03-02T22:52:58Z

@copilot To validate, compare the content of the affected NuGet before and after the fix, they should match exactly, however, it's acceptable if the versions change to 11.0.0-dev or ...

Validated in commit ccbce7a. Comparison summary:

EFCore.Tasks — only PACKAGE.md location change (docs/ → root, new NuGet SDK standard).

EFCore.Tools — PACKAGE.md location + ef.pdb files now also in main package (old nuspec with IncludeSymbols redirected PDBs to symbols-only).

dotnet-ef — PACKAGE.md location + dotnet-ef native AppHost removed (SDK explicitly removes it for RID-neutral tool packages in Microsoft.NET.PackTool.targets L202) + dotnet-ef.pdb from publish dir + ef.pdb files in main package.

Nuspec metadata — exclude="Build,Analyzers" added by SDK default on Design dependency; empty <group targetFramework=".NETFramework4.7.2" /> in Tasks (functionally identical to no group); branch attribute on <repository> (CI artifact). All versions are 11.0.0-dev as expected.

AndriySvyryd · 2026-03-02T22:54:54Z

@copilot Rename every PACKAGE.md to README.md

Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot · 2026-03-02T23:00:29Z

@copilot Rename every PACKAGE.md to README.md

Done in b22182a. Renamed all 22 PACKAGE.md files to README.md and updated Directory.Build.targets to auto-detect README.md instead of PACKAGE.md.

Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

…nline task Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

…version to 10.0.0, remove explicit PackageReadmeFile from Analyzers Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

ViktorHofer

The CreateSymbolsPackage.targets stuff looks wrong. Nuget already handles creating symbol packages by default. Can you share more info on why this needed?

AndriySvyryd · 2026-03-03T07:17:00Z

The default targets include the additional pdbs in the main package. This is needed to only include them in he symbols package.

ViktorHofer · 2026-03-03T07:27:03Z

For the default globs, pdbs are already filtered out automatically by NuGet when constructing the "main" package. When you add additionally stuff, you want to condition that on $(IncludeSymbols) and use the defined extension points: https://github.com/dotnet/runtime/blob/39403ad19d1eb4bb57133da1fbc57ab7099ff96a/eng/packaging.targets#L295-L300

ViktorHofer · 2026-03-03T07:28:15Z

Btw, we should use the officially documented extension points here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/reference/msbuild-targets#advanced-extension-points-to-create-customized-package. Everything else has couple of issues.

ViktorHofer · 2026-03-03T07:54:06Z

Happy to help. I hope pushing a few commits here is OK.

AndriySvyryd · 2026-03-03T08:36:56Z

Happy to help. I hope pushing a few commits here is OK.

Please go ahead if you can get it to work.

ViktorHofer · 2026-03-03T10:39:08Z

  <ItemGroup>
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.DotNet.Build.Tasks.Templating" PrivateAssets="All" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.DotNet.Build.Tasks.Templating" PrivateAssets="all" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Design" VersionOverride="8.0.0" />


@AndriySvyryd this change is questionable. What's the intent? Why 8.0.0?

See my last commit. I added a stub project that makes referencing the live EFCore.Design work from this project, even though it targets net10.0. This is a hack though. I'm not sure why this design was chosen in the first place.

The tools need to work with older versions of EF and 8.0.0 is currently the oldest supported version. Referencing the live one will break support for net8.0 apps, see #37515 (comment)

However, I do realize this is brittle anyway, so #37739 tracks removing it and forcing the user to add this dependency themselves, I just wanted to do it in a separate PR to allow this to be checked in quicker.

ViktorHofer · 2026-03-03T11:47:49Z

This is a change to the current package on nuget.org. Why adding a placeholder file?

For same reason as the .Tools package. But this is also likely going to be removed.

AndriySvyryd · 2026-03-03T16:22:05Z

-      <IncludeSymbols>true</IncludeSymbols>
-    </PropertyGroup>
-
+  <!-- PDBs are currently always included as PackAsTool packages don't support excluding them.


Yes, this is the reason why I had added the workaround to build the symbols package in the second pass

Not necessary to do anything here. This is the same as the latest released package on nuget.org. When the sdk issue will be adressed, efcore will automatically benefit.

ViktorHofer · 2026-03-03T20:08:39Z

@AndriySvyryd ready to merge?

AndriySvyryd · 2026-03-03T20:13:05Z

I'd prefer to use the workaround that avoids symbols in the main package, but we can merge this now to unblock VMR

ViktorHofer · 2026-03-03T20:17:11Z

We should truely fix this in sdk so that everyone benefits from it. Don't workaround it.

Initial plan

ba19496

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and AndriySvyryd Mar 2, 2026

Copilot started work on behalf of AndriySvyryd March 2, 2026 21:44 View session

Copilot AI and others added 2 commits March 2, 2026 22:10

Changes before error encountered

c01eba6

Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot started work on behalf of AndriySvyryd March 2, 2026 22:35 View session

Fix package content: restore PDB entries, suppress net472 deps in Tas…

ccbce7a

…ks, add Pack=false to framework refs Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Remove checked-in nuspec files to resolve build issues~~ Remove checked-in nuspec files to resolve build issues Mar 2, 2026

Copilot finished work on behalf of AndriySvyryd March 2, 2026 22:54

Copilot started work on behalf of AndriySvyryd March 2, 2026 22:55 View session

Rename all PACKAGE.md files to README.md

b22182a

Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of AndriySvyryd March 2, 2026 23:01

AndriySvyryd reviewed Mar 2, 2026

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Comment thread src/dotnet-ef/dotnet-ef.csproj Outdated

Copilot started work on behalf of AndriySvyryd March 2, 2026 23:09 View session

Copilot AI and others added 2 commits March 2, 2026 23:19

Remove PDB files from main packages, add RemovePdbFromMainPackage target

08c59e3

Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

Rename RemovePdbFromMainPackage target to ExcludePdbFiles for clarity

a1ba6f4

Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of AndriySvyryd March 2, 2026 23:20

Copilot started work on behalf of AndriySvyryd March 2, 2026 23:29 View session

Copilot AI and others added 2 commits March 2, 2026 23:48

Keep PDB files in symbols package only: add StripPdbFromMainPackage i…

a30459c

…nline task Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

Extract StripPdbFromNupkg task to shared eng/StripPdbFromNupkg.targets

837e44c

Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of AndriySvyryd March 2, 2026 23:51

Copilot started work on behalf of AndriySvyryd March 3, 2026 00:23 View session

Replace StripPdbFromNupkg with two-pass pack for correct PDB handling

366d4fb

Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

AndriySvyryd requested a review from Copilot March 3, 2026 00:40

AndriySvyryd requested a review from ViktorHofer March 3, 2026 01:47

Add ExcludePdbFiles/CreateSymbolsPackage to EFCore.Tasks, fix Design …

b89d49d

…version to 10.0.0, remove explicit PackageReadmeFile from Analyzers Co-authored-by: AndriySvyryd <6539701+AndriySvyryd@users.noreply.github.com>

AndriySvyryd force-pushed the copilot/remove-checked-in-nuspec-files branch from 0a520ba to b89d49d Compare March 3, 2026 02:35

ViktorHofer reviewed Mar 3, 2026

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Use documented pack extension points

da71ac5

ViktorHofer added 5 commits March 3, 2026 09:52

Simplify EFCore.Tools

13cd225

Fix symbols for EFCore.Tools

236ac43

dotnet-ef.csproj

fc86041

EFCore.Tasks

c629829

Add comment

4727cb0

ViktorHofer approved these changes Mar 3, 2026

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ViktorHofer added 2 commits March 3, 2026 11:36

Remove temp change

ead25ac

Remove prop

824aca1

ViktorHofer reviewed Mar 3, 2026

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Comment thread src/EFCore.Tasks/EFCore.Tasks.csproj Outdated

Use live dependency on EFCore.Design

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ViktorHofer reviewed Mar 3, 2026

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AndriySvyryd reviewed Mar 3, 2026

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AndriySvyryd merged commit f0fd83c into main Mar 3, 2026
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AndriySvyryd deleted the copilot/remove-checked-in-nuspec-files branch March 3, 2026 20:16

AndriySvyryd mentioned this pull request Mar 3, 2026

Re-Bootstrap to .NET 11.0.100-preview.3.26128.104 dotnet/dotnet#5155

Merged

dotnet-maestro Bot mentioned this pull request Mar 4, 2026

[main] Source code updates from dotnet/efcore dotnet/dotnet#5220

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