Introduction

When you working on an ASP.NET Core project in a CI/CD environment like TeamCity, you might found issues where your project builds successfully in Visual Studio but fails under MSBuild, particularly when it can’t locate common libraries like system libraries. To address this, it’s crucial to understand and know the differences between two commonly used commands for restoring dependencies: ‘dotnet restore’ and ‘nuget restore’. In this documentation, we will let you know the difference between them and how they impact your TeamCity build process.

Compatibility Overview

dotnet restore

• ‘dotnet restore’ is a command provided by the .NET SDK, it is designed for .NET Core and .NET 5+ projects.
• It’s the way to restore project dependencies in .NET applications.
• Works with the ‘dotnet’ CLI and is tightly integrated into the .NET ecosystem.

nuget restore

• ‘nuget restore’ is the traditional approach to restore NuGet package dependencies.
• It predates .NET Core and .NET 5+ and is generally used with older .NET Framework projects.
• Can also be used with newer .NET projects but is less commonly recommended.

What is the Process for Resolution?

dotnet restore

1. When you execute ‘dotnet restore’, it analyzes the project file and fetches the necessary dependencies listed there.
2. It also ensures compatibility with the target framework defined in the project file.
3. ‘dotnet restore’ uses NuGet under the hood to manage packages, making it a powerful and reliable choice.

nuget restore

1. ‘nuget restore’ is a command that relies solely on NuGet for restoring packages.
2. It looks at the ‘packages.config’ file (for older projects) or the ‘PackageReference’ elements (for newer projects) to determine the required packages.
3. While ‘nuget restore’ can work for newer projects, it may not be as efficient or have the same level of integration as ‘dotnet restore’.

Pros and Cons

dotnet restore

Pros:

• Modern and officially recommended for .NET Core and .NET 5+ projects.
• Seamlessly integrates with the ‘dotnet’ CLI and other .NET tools.
• Provides excellent compatibility and support for the latest .NET technologies.

Cons:

• Not the ideal choice for older .NET Framework projects, which may require ‘nuget restore’.
• May require some configuration adjustments in older solutions or custom build scripts.

nuget restore

Pros:

• Well-established and widely used for older .NET Framework projects.
• Works reliably for projects that were originally developed using NuGet.
• Offers compatibility with legacy codebases.

Cons:

• Less integrated with modern .NET Core and .NET 5+ projects.
• Not the recommended approach for new .NET Core or .NET 5+ projects.
• May require extra effort for compatibility with newer .NET technologies.