slnutil 2.40.0

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
• Enable Roslyn code analysis (Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.NetAnalyzers) across a solution by creating or merging a Directory.Build.props at the solution root
• Detect projects in a solution that still use packages.config (vs. modern PackageReference) for NuGet management
• 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.
enablecodeanalysis	Enable Roslyn code analysis across a solution by creating/merging a Directory.Build.props at the solution root.
findsolutions	Find solution files (sln and slnx) in a folder tree and optionally list projects with reference analysis.
formatjson	Formats JSON files
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.
updategithubactionsversions	Reads a GitHub Actions YAML file and updates the action 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.

enablecodeanalysis

Enable Roslyn code analysis across a solution by creating/merging a Directory.Build.props at the solution root.

Two distinct sets of Roslyn analyzers can be enabled:

Package	Rule prefix	What it covers
Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.NetAnalyzers	CA*	Code quality: null checks, performance, design, reliability
Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.CodeStyle	IDE*	Code style: readonly fields, var preferences, naming, formatting

Both are enabled by default. Use /enforce-code-style:false to skip the code style package and rely only on CA* rules.

Scans every project in the solution and decides what's needed in Directory.Build.props:

• For solutions containing .NET Framework projects that use PackageReference, the command adds a PackageReference to Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.NetAnalyzers (Framework projects don't have the analyzers built in). If --enforce-code-style is enabled (the default), Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.CodeStyle is also added.
• For solutions containing only .NET 5+ projects, no PackageReference is added because the SDK ships both analyzer sets.

In all cases the command sets RunCodeAnalysis=false (suppresses the deprecated FxCopCmd.exe post-build step), EnableNETAnalyzers=true, and AnalysisLevel (default latest-Minimum). When --enforce-code-style is enabled, EnforceCodeStyleInBuild=true is also set (which is what activates IDE* rules for SDK-style projects).

If a Directory.Build.props already exists, the command merges into it via XML parsing rather than string manipulation: existing properties and existing PackageReference entries are preserved, and only missing entries are added. Re-runs are idempotent.

Projects that still use packages.config are listed as warnings — they will not pick up the analyzer PackageReference from Directory.Build.props and need to be migrated to PackageReference to benefit (in Visual Studio: right-click packages.config → Migrate packages.config to PackageReference). If you don't want to migrate, run with /per-project:true instead (see below).

Per-project mode (/per-project:true)

For solutions where you don't want to migrate packages.config projects to PackageReference, pass /per-project:true. Instead of writing a Directory.Build.props, slnutil edits each project individually:

• packages.config projects get a <package> entry added to packages.config (developmentDependency="true") plus <Analyzer> elements added to the .csproj pointing at the analyzer DLLs in the solution-level packages\ folder. Both Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.NetAnalyzers and (if --enforce-code-style is on) Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.CodeStyle are handled this way. Only RunCodeAnalysis=false is set as a property — the other MSBuild properties are inert in old-style csproj because analysis is driven directly by the <Analyzer> entries.
• .NET Framework projects using PackageReference get the analyzer PackageReference(s) added directly to the .csproj, plus RunCodeAnalysis=false, EnableNETAnalyzers=true, and AnalysisLevel properties.
• .NET 5+ projects only get MSBuild properties set (analyzers ship with the SDK): RunCodeAnalysis=false, EnableNETAnalyzers=true, AnalysisLevel, and EnforceCodeStyleInBuild=true (when --enforce-code-style is on).

Existing values for the MSBuild properties owned by this command are overwritten so behavior is consistent across the solution. Existing PackageReference entries are left alone (no version churn). All other csproj content is preserved, including the old-style MSBuild xmlns. Re-runs are idempotent.

After running in per-project mode against packages.config projects, run nuget.exe restore <solution> (or Visual Studio → Tools → NuGet Package Manager → Restore NuGet Packages) so the analyzer DLLs actually land in the packages\ folder.

Arguments

Argument	Is Optional	Data Type	Description
solutionpath	Optional	String	Solution to update. If omitted, searches the current directory for a .sln or .slnx file.
analysis-level	Optional	String	Value for the AnalysisLevel MSBuild property. Default latest-Minimum. Other values: latest-Default, latest-Recommended, latest-All, latest.
analyzer-version	Optional	String	Version of Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.NetAnalyzers to reference for .NET Framework projects. If omitted, queries nuget.org for the latest stable version.
codestyle-version	Optional	String	Version of Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.CodeStyle to reference for .NET Framework projects (when --enforce-code-style is on). If omitted, queries nuget.org for the latest stable version.
enforce-code-style	Optional	Boolean	Enable code style enforcement (IDE* rules) during build. For .NET 5+ sets EnforceCodeStyleInBuild=true. For .NET Framework installs Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.CodeStyle. Default: true.
per-project	Optional	Boolean	Install analyzers into each project individually (modifies csproj + packages.config) instead of using Directory.Build.props. Required for solutions where projects use packages.config.
dry-run	Optional	Boolean	Preview what would change without writing any files.
create-editorconfig	Optional	Boolean	Also create a starter .editorconfig at the solution root if one doesn't already exist.

findsolutions

Find solution files (sln and slnx) in a folder tree and optionally list projects with reference analysis.

When listprojects and csv are both set, the output CSV includes per-project columns: uses-packages-config (True/False) and target-framework (TFM short form, e.g. net48, net8.0, netstandard2.1).

The reference-type column distinguishes five kinds of references:

• project-ref — <ProjectReference> entries.
• package-ref — modern SDK-style <PackageReference> entries.
• framework-ref — bare <Reference Include="System.*" /> entries (GAC / framework assemblies).
• nuget-via-packages-config — <Reference> entries whose HintPath points into a packages\ folder (the NuGet folder used by packages.config projects).
• binary-ref — <Reference> entries whose HintPath points elsewhere (direct DLL references to binaries checked into source control or referenced from an external location).

Arguments

Argument	Is Optional	Data Type	Description
rootdir	Optional	String	Path to start search from. Defaults to current directory.
listprojects	Optional	Boolean	List projects in solutions
csv	Optional	Boolean	Output results as comma-separated values
skipreferences	Optional	Boolean	Skip checking project references when listing projects in solutions

formatjson

Formats JSON 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

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.

updategithubactionsversions

Reads a GitHub Actions YAML file and updates the action versions to latest.

Arguments

Argument	Is Optional	Data Type	Description
filename	Optional	String	Name of the GitHub Actions YAML file to update.

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