slnutil 2.33.0
dotnet tool install --global slnutil --version 2.33.0
dotnet new tool-manifest
dotnet tool install --local slnutil --version 2.33.0
#tool dotnet:?package=slnutil&version=2.33.0
nuke :add-package slnutil --version 2.33.0
slnutil
A collection of utilities for working with .NET Solutions and Projects (.sln and .slnx).
Written by Benjamin Day
Pluralsight Author | Microsoft MVP | Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainer
https://www.benday.com
https://www.slidespeaker.ai
info@benday.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@_benday
Key features
- Create solutions and projects with unit tests & integration tests for...
- ASP.NET Web API Projects with xUnit
- ASP.NET MVC Projects with xUnit
- .NET MAUI Projects with xUnit & the .NET MAUI Community Toolkit
- .NET MAUI Projects with sample application, viewmodels, and xunit tests. This uses the Benday.Presentation.Controls & Benday.Presentation libraries.
- .NET Core Console application
- Commands Utility application using Benday.CommandsFramework. This helps you to quickly write CLI utilities that run as a dotnet tool.
- Create class diagrams for all or part of a project using Mermaid
- Update the .NET Framework version for all projects in a solution
- Set or increment the assembly version for a project
- Set a project property value in a csproj file
- Deploy Entity Framework Core Migrations from a DLL (aka. deploy migrations without the source code)
- Validate a connection string against SQL Server to make sure it connects
- Bulk rename files and folders
- Edit json from the command line
- Set the connection string in appsettings.json from the command line
- Generate C# classes from JSON
- Run SQL commands or script files against SQL Server
- Check and update versions in Bicep files
- Format XML files (single file or recursive)
- View assembly information
- And lots more...
Suggestions, Problems, or Bugs?
Got ideas for utilities you'd like to see? Found a bug? Let us know by submitting an issue https://github.com/benday-inc/slnutil/issues. Want to contribute? Submit a pull request.
Installing
The slnutil is distributed as a .NET Core Tool via NuGet. To install it go to the command prompt and type
dotnet tool install slnutil -g
Commands
| Command Name | Description |
|---|---|
| assemblyinfo | View assembly info for a DLL. |
| rename | Bulk rename for files and folders. |
| classdiagram | Generate a class diagram for an assembly. |
| cleanreferences | Simplifies package references in a C# project file. Mostly this fixes stuff in the EF Core references that breaks Azure DevOps & GitHub builds like PrivateAssets and IncludeAssets directives. |
| createsolution | Create a solution and projects |
| deployefmigrations | Deploy EF Core Migrations from DLL binaries. |
| devtreeclean | Clean development folder tree. Removes node_modules, .git, bin, obj, and TestResults folders. |
| findsolutions | Find solution files in a folder tree. |
| formatxml | Formats XML files |
| getconnectionstring | Get database connection string in appsettings.json. |
| classesfromjson | Create C# classes from JSON with serialization attributes for System.Text.Json. |
| listpackages-oldstyle | Lists packages referenced in legacy style packages.config files. |
| listsolutionprojects | Gets list of projects in a solution. |
| printfile | Reads a text file and prints it to the console character by character. This is helpful for diagnosing encoding issues and weird text issues. |
| replacetoken | Replace token in file. |
| runsql | Execute SQL command or SQL script file against a database. |
| setconnectionstring | Set database connection string in appsettings.json. |
| setframework | Set the target framework version on all projects. |
| setjsonvalue | Set a string value in a json file. |
| setpackageversion | Changes NuGet package references in a C# project file to a new value. |
| setprojectproperty | Set a project property value on all projects. |
| setprojectversion | Set the assembly and nuget package version property value on a project. |
| sortpropertygroup | Sorts the elements in a property group for a csproj file. |
| sortreferences | Sorts the references in an item group for a csproj file. |
| base64 | Encodes a string value as a base 64 string. |
| touch | Modifies a file's date to current date time or creates a new empty file if it doesn't exist. |
| updatebicepversions | Reads bicep file or files and updates the api versions to latest. |
| validateconnectionstring | Validate that specified connection string can connect to SQL Server. |
| wildcardreference | Changes package references in a C# project file to use wildcard version rather than fixed version number. |
| snippetize | Reads a block of text from the clipboard and formats it for use in a VSCode snippet. |
assemblyinfo
View assembly info for a DLL.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| filename | Required | String | Assembly to view |
rename
Bulk rename for files and folders.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| rootdir | Optional | String | Starting directory for the rename operation |
| from | Required | String | String to search for and replace |
| to | Required | String | Replacement value |
| prefix | Optional | String | Prefix all matching values with this value |
| preview | Optional | Boolean | Preview changes |
| recursive | Optional | Boolean | Recurse the directory tree |
classdiagram
Generate a class diagram for an assembly.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| namespace | Optional | String | Filter by namespace |
| filename | Required | String | Path to assembly that you want a class diagram for. |
| hideinheritance | Optional | Boolean | Hide inheritance relationships. |
| typenamesmatchexact | Optional | Boolean | Exact match for type names. Default is contains. |
| localonly | Optional | Boolean | Only show methods and properties that are declared locally. Don't show inherited members. |
| typenames | Optional | String | Show types that exist in this comma separated list. Default search is contains match that matches by substring. |
cleanreferences
Simplifies package references in a C# project file. Mostly this fixes stuff in the EF Core references that breaks Azure DevOps & GitHub builds like PrivateAssets and IncludeAssets directives.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| solutionpath | Optional | String | Solution file to use |
| preview | Optional | Boolean | Preview changes only |
createsolution
Create a solution and projects
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| rootdir | Optional | String | Starting directory. If not supplied, the tool uses the current directory. |
| type | Required | String | Type of solution to create. Valid values are: webapi, mvc, console, commands, maui, maui-demo |
| namespace | Required | String | This is the root namespace for the solution. For example: Benday.SampleApp |
| verbose | Optional | Boolean | verbose |
deployefmigrations
Deploy EF Core Migrations from DLL binaries.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| binariesdir | Optional | String | Path to EF Core migration binaries. Defaults to current directory. |
| startupdll | Optional | String | Path to EF Core startup DLL. |
| migrationsdll | Optional | String | Path to EF Core migrations DLL. |
| dbcontextname | Optional | String | Name of the EF Core DbContext class. |
| namespace | Optional | String | Root namespace of the EF Core migrations DLL. |
| verbose | Optional | Boolean | Output results as comma-separated values |
devtreeclean
Clean development folder tree. Removes node_modules, .git, bin, obj, and TestResults folders.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| rootdir | Optional | String | Starting directory. If not supplied, the tool uses the current directory. |
| keepgit | Optional | Boolean | If true, skips delete of .git folders and preserves any git repositories. Default value is true. Set this value to false to delete .git folders. |
| keepnodemodules | Optional | Boolean | If true, skips delete of node_modules folders. Default value is false. |
findsolutions
Find solution files in a folder tree.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| rootdir | Required | String | Path to start search from |
| listprojects | Optional | Boolean | List projects in solutions |
| csv | Optional | Boolean | Output results as comma-separated values |
| skipreferences | Optional | Boolean | Output results as comma-separated values |
formatxml
Formats XML files
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| filename | Optional | String | Path to file or wildcard to files |
| recursive | Optional | Boolean | Apply to matching files recursively |
| write | Optional | Boolean | Write changes back to the file |
getconnectionstring
Get database connection string in appsettings.json.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| filename | Optional | String | Path to json config file |
| name | Required | String | Name of the connection string to get |
classesfromjson
Create C# classes from JSON with serialization attributes for System.Text.Json.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| filename | Optional | String | Optional: file source for the JSON to convert to C# classes. |
| clipboard | Optional | Boolean | Optional: read JSON from clipboard instead of a file or console input. |
| innerclasses | Optional | Boolean | Optional: generate inner classes for nested JSON objects. |
listpackages-oldstyle
Lists packages referenced in legacy style packages.config files.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| rootdir | Optional | String | Path to start search from |
listsolutionprojects
Gets list of projects in a solution.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| solutionpath | Optional | String | Solution to examine. If this value is not supplied, the tool searches for a sln file automatically. |
| pathonly | Optional | Boolean | Only show the project paths. Don't show the framework versions. |
printfile
Reads a text file and prints it to the console character by character. This is helpful for diagnosing encoding issues and weird text issues.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| input | Required | String | Path to the text file to read and print. |
replacetoken
Replace token in file.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| filename | Required | String | Path to file |
| token | Required | String | Token to replace |
| value | Required | String | String value to set |
runsql
Execute SQL command or SQL script file against a database.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| connectionstring | Required | String | Connection string to the database |
| query | Optional | String | SQL query to execute |
| sqlfile | Optional | String | Path to SQL file to execute |
| display | Optional | Boolean | Display results of query (for SELECT statements) |
setconnectionstring
Set database connection string in appsettings.json.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| filename | Optional | String | Path to json config file |
| name | Required | String | Name of the connection string to set |
| value | Required | String | Connection string value |
setframework
Set the target framework version on all projects.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| solutionpath | Optional | String | Solution to examine. If this value is not supplied, the tool searches for a sln file automatically. |
| version | Required | String | Framework version to set projects to. |
setjsonvalue
Set a string value in a json file.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| filename | Optional | String | Path to json config file |
| level1 | Required | String | First level json property name to set |
| level2 | Optional | String | Second level json property name to set |
| level3 | Optional | String | Third level json property name to set |
| level4 | Optional | String | Fourth level json property name to set |
| value | Optional | String | String value to set |
| increment-int | Optional | Boolean | Increment the existing value or use the '/value' as the value if it does not exist or isn't an integer. |
| increment-minor-version | Optional | Boolean | Increment the minor version of the existing value or use the '/value' as the value if it does not exist or isn't an integer. |
| increment-patch-version | Optional | Boolean | Increment the patch version of the existing value or use the '/value' as the value if it does not exist or isn't an integer. |
| bool | Optional | Boolean | Set value into the json as boolean |
setpackageversion
Changes NuGet package references in a C# project file to a new value.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| solutionpath | Optional | String | Solution file to use |
| preview | Optional | Boolean | Preview changes only |
| filter | Optional | String | Filter package by name. If package name starts with this value, it gets updated. |
| version | Required | String | Package version to reference |
setprojectproperty
Set a project property value on all projects.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| solutionpath | Optional | String | Solution to examine. If this value is not supplied, the tool searches for a sln file automatically. |
| propertyname | Required | String | Name of the property to set. |
| propertyvalue | Required | String | Value for the property. |
setprojectversion
Set the assembly and nuget package version property value on a project.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| solutionpath | Optional | String | Solution to examine. If this value is not supplied, the tool searches for a sln file automatically. |
| project | Required | String | Project name to update. |
| increment | Optional | Boolean | Increment the minor value. |
| value | Optional | String | Value for the property. |
sortpropertygroup
Sorts the elements in a property group for a csproj file.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| project | Optional | String | Project file to edit. If this value is not supplied, the tool looks for a csproj file in the current directory. |
sortreferences
Sorts the references in an item group for a csproj file.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| project | Optional | String | Project file to edit. If this value is not supplied, the tool looks for a csproj file in the current directory. |
base64
Encodes a string value as a base 64 string.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| value | Required | String | Value to encode as base64 |
touch
Modifies a file's date to current date time or creates a new empty file if it doesn't exist.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| filename | Required | String | Path to file |
updatebicepversions
Reads bicep file or files and updates the api versions to latest.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| filename | Optional | String | Name of the bicep file, if you want to update just one file. |
| previewversions | Optional | Boolean | Allow preview versions for resources. |
| preview | Optional | Boolean | Do not save changes only preview the changes. |
validateconnectionstring
Validate that specified connection string can connect to SQL Server.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| filename | Optional | String | Path to json config file |
| name | Required | String | Name of the connection string to validate |
wildcardreference
Changes package references in a C# project file to use wildcard version rather than fixed version number.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| solutionpath | Optional | String | Solution file to use |
| preview | Optional | Boolean | Preview changes only |
| filter | Required | String | Filter package by name. If package name starts with this value, it gets updated. |
snippetize
Reads a block of text from the clipboard and formats it for use in a VSCode snippet.
Arguments
| Argument | Is Optional | Data Type | Description |
|---|
| Product | Versions Compatible and additional computed target framework versions. |
|---|---|
| .NET | net8.0 is compatible. net8.0-android was computed. net8.0-browser was computed. net8.0-ios was computed. net8.0-maccatalyst was computed. net8.0-macos was computed. net8.0-tvos was computed. net8.0-windows was computed. net9.0 is compatible. net9.0-android was computed. net9.0-browser was computed. net9.0-ios was computed. net9.0-maccatalyst was computed. net9.0-macos was computed. net9.0-tvos was computed. net9.0-windows was computed. net10.0 is compatible. net10.0-android was computed. net10.0-browser was computed. net10.0-ios was computed. net10.0-maccatalyst was computed. net10.0-macos was computed. net10.0-tvos was computed. net10.0-windows was computed. |
This package has no dependencies.
| Version | Downloads | Last Updated |
|---|---|---|
| 2.33.0 | 38 | 1/20/2026 |
| 2.32.1 | 271 | 12/17/2025 |
| 2.32.0 | 264 | 12/17/2025 |
| 2.31.0 | 209 | 11/4/2025 |
| 2.30.0 | 203 | 11/3/2025 |
| 2.29.0 | 213 | 10/2/2025 |
| 2.28.0 | 293 | 9/4/2025 |
| 2.27.0 | 220 | 9/4/2025 |
| 2.26.0 | 552 | 7/21/2025 |
| 2.25.0 | 415 | 6/11/2025 |
| 2.24.0 | 276 | 5/16/2025 |
| 2.23.0 | 310 | 4/24/2025 |
| 2.22.0 | 256 | 3/21/2025 |
| 2.21.0 | 176 | 3/21/2025 |
| 2.20.0 | 279 | 3/9/2025 |
| 2.19.0 | 221 | 1/20/2025 |
| 2.17.0 | 341 | 11/27/2024 |
| 2.16.0 | 349 | 11/13/2024 |
| 2.15.0 | 224 | 10/31/2024 |
| 2.14.0 | 235 | 10/27/2024 |
| 2.13.0 | 259 | 10/4/2024 |
| 2.12.0 | 175 | 10/3/2024 |
| 2.11.0 | 298 | 9/10/2024 |
| 2.10.0 | 473 | 5/20/2024 |
| 2.9.0 | 186 | 5/20/2024 |
| 2.8.0 | 264 | 5/6/2024 |
| 2.7.0 | 198 | 4/24/2024 |
| 2.6.0 | 330 | 3/26/2024 |
| 2.5.0 | 233 | 2/6/2024 |
| 2.4.0 | 259 | 2/5/2024 |
| 2.3.0 | 224 | 2/5/2024 |
| 2.2.0 | 313 | 12/18/2023 |
| 2.1.0 | 240 | 12/18/2023 |
| 2.0.0 | 266 | 12/15/2023 |
| 1.10.0 | 286 | 10/4/2023 |
| 1.9.0 | 286 | 10/2/2023 |
| 1.8.0 | 246 | 8/24/2023 |
| 1.7.0 | 369 | 5/18/2023 |
| 1.6.0 | 353 | 4/21/2023 |
| 1.5.1 | 344 | 4/4/2023 |
| 1.5.0 | 343 | 4/4/2023 |
| 1.4.1 | 342 | 3/17/2023 |
| 1.4.0 | 334 | 3/7/2023 |
| 1.3.0 | 360 | 3/5/2023 |
| 1.1.1 | 354 | 3/3/2023 |
| 1.1.0 | 373 | 3/3/2023 |
| 1.0.0 | 336 | 3/3/2023 |
v2.33 - Modified SetJsonValueCommand to allow incrementing patch version numbers;
v2.32.1 - Updated dependencies to fix security vulnerabilities;
v2.32 - Added support for .net10; Added support for slnx files; Modified create solution command to no longer install FluentAssertions library;
v2.31 - Modified classes from json command to 1) detect DateTime property values 2) optionally generate inner classes instead of separate classes;
v2.30 - Added clipboard option to classes from json command to read JSON from clipboard instead of a file or console input;
v2.29 - Added printfile command to read a text file and print it to the console character by character. This is helpful for diagnosing encoding issues and weird text issues.;
v2.28 - Adding run sql command to execute SQL commands or SQL script files against a SQL Server database;
v2.27 - Adding support for json comments to JsonToClasses command;
v2.26 - Added command to sort references in a csproj file.
v2.25 - Added utility to check versions in bicep files and update to latest.
v2.24 - Added option to devtreeclean to preserve node_modules directories.
v2.23 - Added command to sort the values in the first PropertyGroup of a csproj file; Fixing bugs related to Process.Start() timeouts and stream reading in CreateSolutionCommand.
v2.22 - Added set package version command to update NuGet package versions in project files using optional package name filtering.
v2.21 - Modified set framework version command to more gracefully handle OS-specific targeting. Adding net8.0 and net9.0 to target frameworks.
v2.20 - Added prefix option to bulk rename command
v2.19 - Bug fixes; Support in class diagram for protected members; Class diagram option for showing locally defined members
v2.18 - Fixing bugs in formatxml command
v2.17 - Fixing bugs in class diagram generator
v2.16 - Restored the devtreeclean command which had been accidentally removed.
v2.15 - You don't wanna know. It was a mess.
v2.14 - Generate class diagrams for an assembly.
v2.13 - Added xml formatter command that allows recursive file processing.
v2.12 - Command to update or increment package version number and assembly version number.
v2.11 - Added support for setting values as json boolean in via setjsonvalue.
v2.10 - Fixed bug in setprojectproperty command where values were not updated if the property already existed.
v2.9 - Added assembly info viewer.
v2.8 - Added option to devtreeclean to keep git repositories when cleaning a directory tree.
v2.7 - Added wildcard reference command.
v2.6 - Updated nuget package to include Benday.CommandsFramework v3.2.0.
v2.5 - Updated jsontoclasses to add support for hyphens in json property names.