dotnet-cli-packaging

Multi-platform packaging for .NET CLI tools: Homebrew formula authoring (binary tap and cask), apt/deb packaging with dpkg-deb , winget manifest YAML schema and PR submission to winget-pkgs , Scoop manifest JSON, Chocolatey package creation, dotnet tool global/local packaging, and NuGet distribution.

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dotnet-cli-packaging

Multi-platform packaging for .NET CLI tools: Homebrew formula authoring (binary tap and cask), apt/deb packaging with dpkg-deb , winget manifest YAML schema and PR submission to winget-pkgs , Scoop manifest JSON, Chocolatey package creation, dotnet tool global/local packaging, and NuGet distribution.

Version assumptions: .NET 8.0+ baseline. Package manager formats are stable across .NET versions.

Scope

  • Homebrew formula authoring (binary tap and cask)

  • apt/deb packaging with dpkg-deb

  • winget manifest YAML schema and PR submission

  • Scoop manifest JSON for Windows

  • Chocolatey package creation

  • dotnet tool global/local packaging and NuGet distribution

Out of scope

  • CLI distribution strategy (AOT vs framework-dependent decision) -- see [skill:dotnet-cli-distribution]

  • Release CI/CD pipeline that automates packaging -- see [skill:dotnet-cli-release-pipeline]

  • Native AOT compilation -- see [skill:dotnet-native-aot]

  • Container-based distribution -- see [skill:dotnet-containers]

  • General CI/CD patterns -- see [skill:dotnet-gha-patterns] and [skill:dotnet-ado-patterns]

Cross-references: [skill:dotnet-cli-distribution] for distribution strategy and RID matrix, [skill:dotnet-cli-release-pipeline] for automated package publishing, [skill:dotnet-native-aot] for AOT binary production, [skill:dotnet-containers] for container-based distribution, [skill:dotnet-tool-management] for consumer-side tool installation and manifest management.

Homebrew (macOS / Linux)

Homebrew is the primary package manager for macOS and widely used on Linux. Two distribution formats exist for CLI tools.

Binary Tap (Formula)

A formula downloads pre-built binaries per platform. This is the recommended approach for Native AOT CLI tools.

Formula/mytool.rb

class Mytool < Formula desc "A CLI tool for managing widgets" homepage "https://github.com/myorg/mytool" version "1.2.3" license "MIT"

on_macos do on_arm do url "https://github.com/myorg/mytool/releases/download/v1.2.3/mytool-1.2.3-osx-arm64.tar.gz" sha256 "abc123..." end # Optional: remove on_intel block if not targeting Intel Macs on_intel do url "https://github.com/myorg/mytool/releases/download/v1.2.3/mytool-1.2.3-osx-x64.tar.gz" sha256 "def456..." end end

on_linux do on_arm do url "https://github.com/myorg/mytool/releases/download/v1.2.3/mytool-1.2.3-linux-arm64.tar.gz" sha256 "ghi789..." end on_intel do url "https://github.com/myorg/mytool/releases/download/v1.2.3/mytool-1.2.3-linux-x64.tar.gz" sha256 "jkl012..." end end

def install bin.install "mytool" end

test do assert_match version.to_s, shell_output("#{bin}/mytool --version") end end

Hosting a Tap

A tap is a Git repository containing formulae. Create a repo named homebrew-tap :

myorg/homebrew-tap/ Formula/ mytool.rb

Users install with:

brew tap myorg/tap brew install mytool

Homebrew Cask

Casks are for GUI applications or tools with an installer. For pure CLI tools, prefer formulae over casks.

Casks/mytool.rb -- only if the tool has a GUI component

cask "mytool" do version "1.2.3" sha256 "abc123..."

url "https://github.com/myorg/mytool/releases/download/v#{version}/mytool-#{version}-osx-arm64.tar.gz" name "MyTool" homepage "https://github.com/myorg/mytool"

binary "mytool" end

apt/deb (Debian/Ubuntu)

Building a .deb Package with dpkg-deb

Create the package directory structure:

mytool_1.2.3_amd64/ DEBIAN/ control usr/ bin/ mytool

Control file:

Package: mytool Version: 1.2.3 Section: utils Priority: optional Architecture: amd64 Maintainer: My Org <dev@myorg.com> Description: A CLI tool for managing widgets MyTool provides fast widget management from the command line. Built with .NET Native AOT for zero-dependency execution. Homepage: https://github.com/myorg/mytool

Build the package:

#!/bin/bash set -euo pipefail

VERSION="${1:?Usage: build-deb.sh <version>}" ARCH="amd64" # or arm64 PKG_DIR="mytool_${VERSION}_${ARCH}"

mkdir -p "$PKG_DIR/DEBIAN" mkdir -p "$PKG_DIR/usr/bin"

Copy the published binary

cp "artifacts/linux-x64/mytool" "$PKG_DIR/usr/bin/mytool" chmod 755 "$PKG_DIR/usr/bin/mytool"

Write control file

cat > "$PKG_DIR/DEBIAN/control" << EOF Package: mytool Version: ${VERSION} Section: utils Priority: optional Architecture: ${ARCH} Maintainer: My Org <dev@myorg.com> Description: A CLI tool for managing widgets Homepage: https://github.com/myorg/mytool EOF

Build the .deb

dpkg-deb --build --root-owner-group "$PKG_DIR" echo "Built: ${PKG_DIR}.deb"

RID to Debian architecture mapping:

.NET RID Debian Architecture

linux-x64

amd64

linux-arm64

arm64

Installing the .deb

sudo dpkg -i mytool_1.2.3_amd64.deb

winget (Windows Package Manager)

Manifest YAML Schema

winget manifests consist of multiple YAML files in a versioned directory structure within the microsoft/winget-pkgs repository.

Directory structure:

manifests/ m/ MyOrg/ MyTool/ 1.2.3/ MyOrg.MyTool.yaml # Version manifest MyOrg.MyTool.installer.yaml # Installer manifest MyOrg.MyTool.locale.en-US.yaml # Locale manifest

Version manifest (MyOrg.MyTool.yaml):

PackageIdentifier: MyOrg.MyTool PackageVersion: 1.2.3 DefaultLocale: en-US ManifestType: version ManifestVersion: 1.9.0

Installer manifest (MyOrg.MyTool.installer.yaml):

PackageIdentifier: MyOrg.MyTool PackageVersion: 1.2.3 InstallerType: zip NestedInstallerType: portable NestedInstallerFiles:

Locale manifest (MyOrg.MyTool.locale.en-US.yaml):

PackageIdentifier: MyOrg.MyTool PackageVersion: 1.2.3 PackageLocale: en-US PackageName: MyTool Publisher: My Org ShortDescription: A CLI tool for managing widgets License: MIT PackageUrl: https://github.com/myorg/mytool ManifestType: defaultLocale ManifestVersion: 1.9.0

Submitting to winget-pkgs

  • Fork microsoft/winget-pkgs on GitHub

  • Create the manifest files in the correct directory structure

  • Validate locally: winget validate --manifest <path>

  • Submit a PR -- automated checks run against the manifest

  • Microsoft team reviews and merges

See [skill:dotnet-cli-release-pipeline] for automating winget PR creation.

Scoop (Windows)

Scoop is popular among Windows power users. Manifests are JSON files in a bucket repository.

Scoop Manifest

{ "version": "1.2.3", "description": "A CLI tool for managing widgets", "homepage": "https://github.com/myorg/mytool", "license": "MIT", "architecture": { "64bit": { "url": "https://github.com/myorg/mytool/releases/download/v1.2.3/mytool-1.2.3-win-x64.zip", "hash": "abc123..." }, "arm64": { "url": "https://github.com/myorg/mytool/releases/download/v1.2.3/mytool-1.2.3-win-arm64.zip", "hash": "def456..." } }, "bin": "mytool.exe", "checkver": { "github": "https://github.com/myorg/mytool" }, "autoupdate": { "architecture": { "64bit": { "url": "https://github.com/myorg/mytool/releases/download/v$version/mytool-$version-win-x64.zip" }, "arm64": { "url": "https://github.com/myorg/mytool/releases/download/v$version/mytool-$version-win-arm64.zip" } } } }

Hosting a Scoop Bucket

Create a GitHub repo named scoop-mytool (or scoop-bucket ):

myorg/scoop-mytool/ bucket/ mytool.json

Users install with:

scoop bucket add myorg https://github.com/myorg/scoop-mytool scoop install mytool

Chocolatey

Chocolatey is Windows' most established package manager for binary distribution.

Package Structure

mytool/ mytool.nuspec tools/ chocolateyInstall.ps1 LICENSE.txt

mytool.nuspec:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <package xmlns="http://schemas.xmldata.org/2004/07/nuspec"> <metadata> <id>mytool</id> <version>1.2.3</version> <title>MyTool</title> <authors>My Org</authors> <projectUrl>https://github.com/myorg/mytool&#x3C;/projectUrl> <license type="expression">MIT</license> <description>A CLI tool for managing widgets.</description> <tags>cli dotnet tools</tags> </metadata> </package>

tools/chocolateyInstall.ps1:

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

$packageArgs = @{ packageName = 'mytool' url64bit = 'https://github.com/myorg/mytool/releases/download/v1.2.3/mytool-1.2.3-win-x64.zip' checksum64 = 'ABC123...' checksumType64 = 'sha256' unzipLocation = "$(Split-Path -Parent $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Definition)" }

Install-ChocolateyZipPackage @packageArgs

Building and Publishing

Pack the .nupkg

choco pack mytool.nuspec

Test locally

choco install mytool --source="." --force

Push to Chocolatey Community Repository

choco push mytool.1.2.3.nupkg --source https://push.chocolatey.org/ --api-key $env:CHOCO_API_KEY

dotnet tool (Global and Local)

dotnet tool is the simplest distribution for .NET developers. Tools are distributed as NuGet packages.

Project Configuration for Tool Packaging

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk"> <PropertyGroup> <OutputType>Exe</OutputType> <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>

&#x3C;!-- Tool packaging properties -->
&#x3C;PackAsTool>true&#x3C;/PackAsTool>
&#x3C;ToolCommandName>mytool&#x3C;/ToolCommandName>
&#x3C;PackageId>MyOrg.MyTool&#x3C;/PackageId>
&#x3C;Version>1.2.3&#x3C;/Version>
&#x3C;Description>A CLI tool for managing widgets&#x3C;/Description>
&#x3C;Authors>My Org&#x3C;/Authors>
&#x3C;PackageLicenseExpression>MIT&#x3C;/PackageLicenseExpression>
&#x3C;PackageProjectUrl>https://github.com/myorg/mytool&#x3C;/PackageProjectUrl>
&#x3C;PackageReadmeFile>README.md&#x3C;/PackageReadmeFile>

</PropertyGroup>

<ItemGroup> <None Include="../../README.md" Pack="true" PackagePath="/" /> </ItemGroup> </Project>

Building and Publishing

Pack the tool

dotnet pack -c Release

Publish to NuGet.org

dotnet nuget push bin/Release/MyOrg.MyTool.1.2.3.nupkg
--source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json
--api-key "$NUGET_API_KEY"

Installing dotnet Tools

Global tool (available system-wide)

dotnet tool install -g MyOrg.MyTool

Local tool (per-project, tracked in .config/dotnet-tools.json)

dotnet new tool-manifest # first time only dotnet tool install MyOrg.MyTool

Update

dotnet tool update -g MyOrg.MyTool

Run local tool

dotnet tool run mytool

or just:

dotnet mytool

Global vs Local Tools

Aspect Global Tool Local Tool

Scope System-wide (per user) Per-project directory

Install location ~/.dotnet/tools

.config/dotnet-tools.json

Version management Manual update Tracked in source control

CI/CD Must install before use dotnet tool restore restores all

Best for Personal productivity tools Project-specific build tools

NuGet Distribution

For tools distributed as NuGet packages (either as dotnet tool or standalone):

Package Metadata

<PropertyGroup> <PackageId>MyOrg.MyTool</PackageId> <Version>1.2.3</Version> <Description>A CLI tool for managing widgets</Description> <Authors>My Org</Authors> <PackageLicenseExpression>MIT</PackageLicenseExpression> <PackageProjectUrl>https://github.com/myorg/mytool&#x3C;/PackageProjectUrl> <PackageReadmeFile>README.md</PackageReadmeFile> <PackageTags>cli;tools;widgets</PackageTags> <RepositoryUrl>https://github.com/myorg/mytool&#x3C;/RepositoryUrl> <RepositoryType>git</RepositoryType> </PropertyGroup>

Publishing to NuGet.org

Pack

dotnet pack -c Release -o ./nupkgs

Push (use env var for API key -- never hardcode)

dotnet nuget push ./nupkgs/MyOrg.MyTool.1.2.3.nupkg
--source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json
--api-key "$NUGET_API_KEY"

Private Feed Distribution

Push to a private feed (Azure Artifacts, GitHub Packages, etc.)

dotnet nuget push ./nupkgs/MyOrg.MyTool.1.2.3.nupkg
--source https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/myorg/_packaging/myfeed/nuget/v3/index.json
--api-key "$AZURE_ARTIFACTS_PAT"

Package Format Comparison

Format Platform Requires .NET Auto-Update Difficulty

Homebrew formula macOS, Linux No (binary tap) brew upgrade

Medium

apt/deb Debian/Ubuntu No (AOT binary) Via apt repo Medium

winget Windows 10+ No (portable) winget upgrade

Medium

Scoop Windows No (portable) scoop update

Low

Chocolatey Windows No choco upgrade

Medium

dotnet tool Cross-platform Yes (SDK) dotnet tool update

Low

NuGet (library) Cross-platform Yes (SDK) NuGet restore Low

Agent Gotchas

  • Do not hardcode SHA-256 hashes in package manifests. Generate checksums from actual release artifacts, not placeholder values. All package managers validate checksums against downloaded files.

  • Do not use InstallerType: exe for portable CLI tools in winget. Use InstallerType: zip with NestedInstallerType: portable for standalone executables. The exe type implies an installer with silent flags.

  • Do not forget PackAsTool for dotnet tool projects. Without <PackAsTool>true</PackAsTool> , dotnet pack produces a library package, not an installable tool.

  • Do not hardcode API keys in packaging scripts. Use environment variable references ($NUGET_API_KEY , $env:CHOCO_API_KEY ) with a comment noting CI secret configuration.

  • Do not mix Homebrew formula and cask for the same CLI tool. Pure CLI tools should use formulae. Casks are for GUI applications with macOS app bundles.

  • Do not skip the test block in Homebrew formulae. Homebrew CI runs formula tests. A missing test block causes review rejection. At minimum, test --version output.

References

  • Homebrew Formula Cookbook

  • Homebrew Taps

  • dpkg-deb manual

  • winget manifest schema

  • winget-pkgs repository

  • Scoop Wiki

  • Chocolatey package creation

  • .NET tool packaging

  • NuGet publishing

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