nuget-manager_skill

Overview

This skill manages NuGet packages in .NET projects and enforces safe, consistent package operations. It prioritizes using the dotnet CLI for adding and removing packages and provides a strict, verifiable workflow for editing versions directly. It helps prevent accidental project-file corruption and ensures package restores validate changes immediately.

How this skill works

The skill inspects solution layout to determine whether package versions are centralized in Directory.Packages.props or defined per-project in .csproj files. For add/remove actions it issues dotnet CLI commands (dotnet add/remove package). For version changes it verifies the target version exists on NuGet, applies a direct edit to the appropriate file, and runs dotnet restore to confirm compatibility.

When to use it

• Adding a new NuGet package to a project or solution
• Removing an existing NuGet package from a project
• Updating a package version centrally or per-project
• Verifying a package version exists before changing files
• Ensuring changes restore cleanly after version edits

Best practices

• Always use dotnet add package and dotnet remove package for adds/removals; do not edit project files directly for these operations
• Limit direct file edits to version string updates only and never add/remove references manually
• Verify version existence with dotnet package search (use jq or PowerShell to parse JSON) before editing
• Determine whether versions are managed in Directory.Packages.props or in individual .csproj files before making changes
• Run dotnet restore immediately after any version change and revert if restore fails

Example use cases

• Add Serilog to src/WebApi/WebApi.csproj using dotnet add src/WebApi/WebApi.csproj package Serilog
• Remove Newtonsoft.Json from a project with dotnet remove path/to/project.csproj package Newtonsoft.Json
• Update Newtonsoft.Json to 13.0.3 by verifying the version exists, editing Directory.Packages.props (or .csproj), then running dotnet restore
• Bulk-update a centrally managed dependency by editing Directory.Packages.props and validating solution restore
• Confirm a target version with dotnet package search and script the check using jq or PowerShell