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dotnet run

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This article applies to: ✔️ .NET Core 3.1 SDK and later versions

Name

dotnet run - Runs source code without any explicit compile or launch commands.

Synopsis

dotnet run [-a|--arch <ARCHITECTURE>] [-c|--configuration <CONFIGURATION>]
    [-f|--framework <FRAMEWORK>] [--force] [--interactive]
    [--launch-profile <NAME>] [--no-build]
    [--no-dependencies] [--no-launch-profile] [--no-restore]
    [--os <OS>] [--project <PATH>] [-r|--runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER>]
    [--tl:[auto|on|off]] [-v|--verbosity <LEVEL>]
    [[--] [application arguments]]

dotnet run -h|--help

Description

The dotnet run command provides a convenient option to run your application from the source code with one command. It's useful for fast iterative development from the command line. The command depends on the dotnet build command to build the code. Any requirements for the build, such as that the project must be restored first, apply to dotnet run as well.

Note

dotnet run doesn't respect arguments like /property:property=value, which are respected by dotnet build.

Output files are written into the default location, which is bin/<configuration>/<target>. For example if you have a netcoreapp2.1 application and you run dotnet run, the output is placed in bin/Debug/netcoreapp2.1. Files are overwritten as needed. Temporary files are placed in the obj directory.

If the project specifies multiple frameworks, executing dotnet run results in an error unless the -f|--framework <FRAMEWORK> option is used to specify the framework.

The dotnet run command is used in the context of projects, not built assemblies. If you're trying to run a framework-dependent application DLL instead, you must use dotnet without a command. For example, to run myapp.dll, use:

dotnet myapp.dll

For more information on the dotnet driver, see the .NET Command Line Tools (CLI) topic.

To run the application, the dotnet run command resolves the dependencies of the application that are outside of the shared runtime from the NuGet cache. Because it uses cached dependencies, it's not recommended to use dotnet run to run applications in production. Instead, create a deployment using the dotnet publish command and deploy the published output.

Implicit restore

You don't have to run dotnet restore because it's run implicitly by all commands that require a restore to occur, such as dotnet new, dotnet build, dotnet run, dotnet test, dotnet publish, and dotnet pack. To disable implicit restore, use the --no-restore option.

The dotnet restore command is still useful in certain scenarios where explicitly restoring makes sense, such as continuous integration builds in Azure DevOps Services or in build systems that need to explicitly control when the restore occurs.

For information about how to manage NuGet feeds, see the dotnet restore documentation.

This command supports the dotnet restore options when passed in the long form (for example, --source). Short form options, such as -s, are not supported.

Workload manifest downloads

When you run this command, it initiates an asynchronous background download of advertising manifests for workloads. If the download is still running when this command finishes, the download is stopped. For more information, see Advertising manifests.

Options

  • --

    Delimits arguments to dotnet run from arguments for the application being run. All arguments after this delimiter are passed to the application run.

  • -a|--arch <ARCHITECTURE>

    Specifies the target architecture. This is a shorthand syntax for setting the Runtime Identifier (RID), where the provided value is combined with the default RID. For example, on a win-x64 machine, specifying --arch x86 sets the RID to win-x86. If you use this option, don't use the -r|--runtime option. Available since .NET 6 Preview 7.

  • -c|--configuration <CONFIGURATION>

    Defines the build configuration. The default for most projects is Debug, but you can override the build configuration settings in your project.

  • -f|--framework <FRAMEWORK>

    Builds and runs the app using the specified framework. The framework must be specified in the project file.

  • --force

    Forces all dependencies to be resolved even if the last restore was successful. Specifying this flag is the same as deleting the project.assets.json file.

  • -?|-h|--help

    Prints out a description of how to use the command.

  • --interactive

    Allows the command to stop and wait for user input or action. For example, to complete authentication. Available since .NET Core 3.0 SDK.

  • --launch-profile <NAME>

    The name of the launch profile (if any) to use when launching the application. Launch profiles are defined in the launchSettings.json file and are typically called Development, Staging, and Production. For more information, see Working with multiple environments.

  • --no-build

    Doesn't build the project before running. It also implicitly sets the --no-restore flag.

  • --no-dependencies

    When restoring a project with project-to-project (P2P) references, restores the root project and not the references.

  • --no-launch-profile

    Doesn't try to use launchSettings.json to configure the application.

  • --no-restore

    Doesn't execute an implicit restore when running the command.

  • --os <OS>

    Specifies the target operating system (OS). This is a shorthand syntax for setting the Runtime Identifier (RID), where the provided value is combined with the default RID. For example, on a win-x64 machine, specifying --os linux sets the RID to linux-x64. If you use this option, don't use the -r|--runtime option. Available since .NET 6.

  • --project <PATH>

    Specifies the path of the project file to run (folder name or full path). If not specified, it defaults to the current directory.

    The -p abbreviation for --project is deprecated starting in .NET 6 SDK. For a limited time starting in .NET 6 RC1 SDK, -p can still be used for --project despite the deprecation warning. If the argument provided for the option doesn't contain =, the command accepts -p as short for --project. Otherwise, the command assumes that -p is short for --property. This flexible use of -p for --project will be phased out in .NET 7.

  • --property:<NAME>=<VALUE>

    Sets one or more MSBuild properties. Specify multiple properties delimited by semicolons or by repeating the option:

    --property:<NAME1>=<VALUE1>;<NAME2>=<VALUE2>
--property:<NAME1>=<VALUE1> --property:<NAME2>=<VALUE2>

    The short form -p can be used for --property. If the argument provided for the option contains =, -p is accepted as short for --property. Otherwise, the command assumes that -p is short for --project.

    To pass --property to the application rather than set an MSBuild property, provide the option after the -- syntax separator, for example:

    dotnet run -- --property name=value

  • -r|--runtime <RUNTIME_IDENTIFIER>

    Specifies the target runtime to restore packages for. For a list of Runtime Identifiers (RIDs), see the RID catalog.

  • --tl:[auto|on|off]

    Specifies whether the terminal logger should be used for the build output. The default is auto, which first verifies the environment before enabling terminal logging. The environment check verifies that the terminal is capable of using modern output features and isn't using a redirected standard output before enabling the new logger. on skips the environment check and enables terminal logging. off skips the environment check and uses the default console logger.

    The terminal logger shows you the restore phase followed by the build phase. During each phase, the currently building projects appear at the bottom of the terminal. Each project that's building outputs both the MSBuild target currently being built and the amount of time spent on that target. You can search this information to learn more about the build. When a project is finished building, a single "build completed" section is written that captures:

    • The name of the built project.
    • The target framework (if multi-targeted).
    • The status of that build.
    • The primary output of that build (which is hyperlinked).
    • Any diagnostics generated for that project.

    This option is available starting in .NET 8.

  • -v|--verbosity <LEVEL>

    Sets the verbosity level of the command. Allowed values are q[uiet], m[inimal], n[ormal], d[etailed], and diag[nostic]. The default is minimal. For more information, see LoggerVerbosity.

Examples

  • Run the project in the current directory:

    dotnet run

  • Run the specified project:

    dotnet run --project ./projects/proj1/proj1.csproj

  • Run the project in the current directory, specifying Release configuration:

    dotnet run --property:Configuration=Release

  • Run the project in the current directory (the --help argument in this example is passed to the application, since the blank -- option is used):

    dotnet run --configuration Release -- --help

  • Restore dependencies and tools for the project in the current directory only showing minimal output and then run the project:

    dotnet run --verbosity m