MSBuild support for deprecated NuGet metadata elements

According to .nuspec File Reference for NuGet the following metadata elements are deprecated:

• owners

  owners is deprecated. Use authors instead.

• summary

  summary is being deprecated. Use description instead.

However, you might still want to include these metadata elements in your NuGet package for whatever reason.

Solution

I have created a .targets file for MSBuild which can utilize the <Owners> and the <Summary> MSBuild properties.

All you have to do is some simple steps:

• Save EgonsoftHU.NuspecProperties.targets file to a location from where it can be referenced from your solution/project.
• Import EgonsoftHU.NuspecProperties.targets file into your project file (e.g. .csproj) or into your Directory.Build.targets file, if you have such file.
• Set <Owners> and/or <Summary> MSBuild properties.

Import the .targets file

Let's assume you have a Git repository with these files:

• {gitrepo}\Directory.Build.targets
• {gitrepo}\Build\EgonsoftHU.NuspecProperties.targets

The content of the Directory.Build.targets file may look like this:

<Project>

  <PropertyGroup>
    <EgonsoftHUNuspecPropertiesTargetsFile>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)Build\EgonsoftHU.NuspecProperties.targets</EgonsoftHUNuspecPropertiesTargetsFile>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <Import Project="$(EgonsoftHUNuspecPropertiesTargetsFile)" Condition="Exists('$(EgonsoftHUNuspecPropertiesTargetsFile)')" />

</Project>

Set <Owners> and/or <Summary> MSBuild properties

Let's assume you have a Git repository with this file:

• {gitrepo}\src\YourProject\YourProject.csproj

The content of the YourProject.csproj file may look like this:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <Authors>Your profile name on nuget.org</Authors>
    <Owners>Your profile name on nuget.org</Owners>
    <Description>A description of the package for UI display. When uploading a package to nuget.org, the description field is limited to 4000 characters.</Description>
    <Summary>A short description of the package for UI display. If omitted, a truncated version of description is used.</Summary>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <!-- The rest is omitted for clarity. -->

</Project>

How it works

When the Pack MSBuild target finishes then the followings happen:

• The .nupkg file will be extracted to a temporary folder.
• If either the <Owners> or the <Summary> MSBuild property is set then the extracted .nuspec file will be modified.
  • The owners element will be added after the authors element.
  • The summary element will be added after the description element.
• The content of the temporary folder will be zipped into the original .nupkg file by overwriting it.
• The temporary folder will be deleted.

Example build output

======================================
Egonsoft.HU NuGet package updater v1.0
======================================
Author        : Gabor Csizmadia
Description   : Update .nuspec file by adding owners and summary elements using Owners and Summary MSBuild properties.
--------------------------------------
Creating temporary folder...
  Folder      : [P:\GIT\EgonsoftHU.Extensions\nupkgs\243a2f2f-35e3-4e88-b7f6-1c9f8876d145]
--------------------------------------
Unzipping .nupkg file to the temporary folder...
  .nupkg file : [P:\GIT\EgonsoftHU.Extensions\nupkgs\EgonsoftHU.Extensions.Bcl.1.0.0.nupkg]
  Folder      : [P:\GIT\EgonsoftHU.Extensions\nupkgs\243a2f2f-35e3-4e88-b7f6-1c9f8876d145]
--------------------------------------
Updating .nuspec file...
  .nuspec file: [P:\GIT\EgonsoftHU.Extensions\nupkgs\243a2f2f-35e3-4e88-b7f6-1c9f8876d145\EgonsoftHU.Extensions.Bcl.nuspec]
  Owners      : [Egonsoft.HU]
  Summary     : [Extension methods for BCL types]

The .nuspec file was found.
Loading .nuspec file...
Getting default XML namespace...
Getting <metadata> node...
Getting <authors> node...
Appending <owners> node...
Getting <description> node...
Appending <summary> node...
Saving .nuspec file...
--------------------------------------
Creating new .nupkg file from the contents of the temporary folder...
  .nupkg file : [P:\GIT\EgonsoftHU.Extensions\nupkgs\EgonsoftHU.Extensions.Bcl.1.0.0.nupkg]
  Folder      : [P:\GIT\EgonsoftHU.Extensions\nupkgs\243a2f2f-35e3-4e88-b7f6-1c9f8876d145]

Zipping directory "P:\GIT\EgonsoftHU.Extensions\nupkgs\243a2f2f-35e3-4e88-b7f6-1c9f8876d145" to "P:\GIT\EgonsoftHU.Extensions\nupkgs\EgonsoftHU.Extensions.Bcl.1.0.0.nupkg".
--------------------------------------
Deleting temporary folder...
  Folder      : [P:\GIT\EgonsoftHU.Extensions\nupkgs\243a2f2f-35e3-4e88-b7f6-1c9f8876d145]
--------------------------------------
The new .nupkg file has been created...
  .nupkg file : [P:\GIT\EgonsoftHU.Extensions\nupkgs\EgonsoftHU.Extensions.Bcl.1.0.0.nupkg]
======================================

Notes

Directory.Build.props and Directory.Build.targets files

If you are not yet familiar with these files then I suggest to check how to Customize your build.