DotNet CLI Plus
dotnet CLI commands, project/solution management, NuGet tools and project templates for VS Code — a free companion to the base C# extension (ms-dotnettools.csharp) that covers the workflow features normally gated behind the C# Dev Kit: no sign-in, no license, works in VS Code forks.
Requirements
- .NET SDK (
dotnet) on PATH — SDK-style projects (.NET Core 3.1+ / .NET 5+)
- The C# extension for language features and debugging (recommended automatically)
Keyboard shortcuts
All commands are bound to Ctrl+Shift+D chords (macOS: Cmd+Shift+D).
Note: Ctrl+Shift+D normally opens VS Code's Run and Debug view. With this extension installed the chord takes priority; the Run view stays available from the activity bar and the Command Palette.
| Chord |
Command |
Ctrl+Shift+D R |
.NET: Run Project |
Ctrl+Shift+D D |
.NET: Debug Project (generates/updates launch.json, builds, launches coreclr) |
Ctrl+Shift+D W |
.NET: Watch Project (hot reload via dotnet watch) |
Ctrl+Shift+D B |
.NET: Build |
Ctrl+Shift+D T |
.NET: Test (with vstest filter support) |
Ctrl+Shift+D F |
.NET: Format (dotnet format — check or apply) |
Ctrl+Shift+D S |
.NET: Restore |
Ctrl+Shift+D N |
.NET: New Project… (full template wizard over dotnet new list) |
Ctrl+Shift+D P |
NuGet: Manage Packages (search / add / update / remove) |
Ctrl+Shift+D U |
.NET: Update Packages (outdated packages webview) |
Ctrl+Shift+D M |
.NET: Manage Solution (new / add / remove / list / migrate to .slnx) |
Ctrl+Shift+D E |
.NET: Check Build Errors (webview with AI auto-fix) |
Ctrl+Shift+D L |
.NET: Run Launch Profile (launchSettings.json) |
Ctrl+Shift+D G |
.NET: User Secrets (init / set / list / remove / open) |
Ctrl+Shift+D K |
.NET: Manage SDKs (list / sdk check / pin global.json) |
Ctrl+Shift+D A |
.NET: Setup NuGet Auth (private feed credentials) |
Ctrl+Shift+D J |
.NET: Manage Config Files (gitignore / editorconfig / global.json / nuget.config / NuGet sources) |
Ctrl+Shift+D O |
.NET: Publish / Pack |
Ctrl+Shift+D Tab |
.NET: Switch File (code-behind ↔ markup, source ↔ tests) |
Ctrl+Shift+D C |
Close Terminals |
Every command is also available in the Command Palette under the DotNet CLI Plus category, via the status bar item, and for folders through the .NET New explorer context submenu (console, classlib, xunit/NUnit/MSTest, Web API, Blazor, worker, gRPC, config files…).
Features
- Solution & project aware — discovers
.sln/.slnx files (falls back to standalone .csproj), parses projects directly, and offers smart pickers with Current project / Last used context rows
- Terminal lifecycle management — tracked, reused terminals; restart prompts for long-running commands; exit-code toasts with Retry
- NuGet management — package search with version picker, outdated-package webview with per-project batch updates, add/remove/list
- Project references — add (with circular-reference detection), remove, list
- AI auto-fix — build errors open in a webview with one-click fixes via GitHub Copilot Chat or Claude Code (clipboard fallback)
- Branch-switch restore check — watches
.git/HEAD and offers dotnet restore when solution/project files change
- SDK health — verifies
dotnet availability and global.json SDK pinning on startup
- C# snippets — prop, ctor, cw, xunit fact/theory, MSTest/NUnit tests, dispose pattern and more
Settings (dotnetCliPlus.*)
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
build.configuration |
default |
Configuration for dotnet build |
run.configuration |
default |
Configuration for dotnet run |
watch.mode |
run |
Default watch mode (run/build/test) |
test.noBuild |
false |
Pass --no-build to dotnet test |
newProject.outputRoot |
"" |
Default output dir for the New Project wizard |
newProject.addToSolution |
true |
Offer dotnet sln add after creating projects |
nuget.prerelease |
false |
Include prerelease versions in package search |
publish.configuration |
release |
Default configuration for publish/pack |
restoreCheck.enabled |
true |
Offer restore after git branch switches |
sdk.checkOnStartup |
true |
Check dotnet availability + global.json on startup |
ai.provider |
copilot |
AI assistant for auto-fix (copilot/claude) |
ai.autoFixEnabled |
true |
Show Auto Fix buttons in webviews |
Roadmap
- Solution Explorer tree view (solution → projects → references)
- Test Explorer integration (
dotnet test --list-tests, TRX results)
- Code coverage (
--collect "XPlat Code Coverage")
Development
npm install
npm run compile # type-check + lint + bundle
npm run watch # watch mode (tsc + esbuild)
npm test # unit tests (runs in VS Code via @vscode/test-electron)
Releases are published from dnp_* tags via the Release workflow.
License
MIT
