How to set version metadata?

[fr0]

1. I want to use the VersionPrefix property inside my csproj to define my package's semver 2.0 (3-part) version.
2. I want to attach a 4th part and build metadata on the command line.

In other words, I want to have the version be, e.g. "1.2.3.4+f0c432"

Where 1.2.3 is stored in the csproj
and .4 comes from the CI environment
and +40c432 is the commit hash.

The problem I've run into is that using --version-suffix automatically makes it a pre-release version, which I don't want.

Even if I ignore the 4th number (build number), I can't even do this:

dotnet build MyProj  --version-suffix "+f0c432"

Because:

/usr/local/share/dotnet/sdk/2.2.107/NuGet.targets(114,5): error : '1.2.3-+f0c432' is not a valid version string

[livarcocc]

Version is defined in the SDK as such:

<Version Condition=" '$(VersionSuffix)' != '' ">$(VersionPrefix)-$(VersionSuffix)</Version>

If you want it to be different, you need to define version yourself to be something different, like

<Version Condition=" '$(VersionSuffix)' != '' ">$(VersionPrefix)+$(VersionSuffix)</Version>

Note that I haven't tried this myself, but it should work. Also, here is where it is defined: https://github.com/dotnet/sdk/blob/master/src/Tasks/Microsoft.NET.Build.Tasks/targets/Microsoft.NET.DefaultAssemblyInfo.targets#L16

[fr0]

I think that the default definition is confusing given the SemVer 2 spec. The '-' shouldn't be implied.
Consider this issue a request to change that.

[TheBoneJarmer]

While this issue is over a year old, I too hit the limits of this. In all honesty I find setting a version in dotnet core to be a joke. Why do I have to fiddle with suffixes, prefixes and what not just to get my version right? Why can I not say "dotnet pack --version [MY_ACTUAL_VERSION]" and be done with it?

In the very least it should be possible to just provide build data just @fr0 requests. No, instead our only option is to append a suffix with, as @fr0 rightly cites, a '-' symbol that canot be used in combination with SemVer2 as the + symbol is required to mark build data. Is there any feature on the roadmap that deals with this?

[rmacfie]

@TheBoneJarmer you can set the exact version with dotnet pack -p:Version="[EXACT_FULL_VERSION]"

[jasonkarns]

@rmacfie is this supposed to actually modify the .sln or .csproj files? It doesn't seem to do anything on my system.

[rmacfie]

@rmacfie is this supposed to actually modify the .sln or .csproj files? It doesn't seem to do anything on my system.

It doesn't modify any files but sets the package version and assembly version of the artifacts you create with the dotnet pack command. Did you check the resulting artifacts?

[TheBoneJarmer]

@TheBoneJarmer you can set the exact version with dotnet pack -p:Version="[EXACT_FULL_VERSION]"

Wow, completely overlooked this one. I figured it out myself too in the meantime, but thanks anyway!

[jasonkarns]

It doesn't modify any files

oh, i misunderstood the point of it. can't seem to find any (functioning) cli tools to manage the project and solution files. :/

[PureKrome]

what's annoying here @jasonkarns is that the -p: / /p: is not, like, part of the nuget pack command, but just a "catchall" saying "just pass in anything else to the low level msbuild command". Sure, that's what all of this is doing.

But the version stuff should be a more "1st class" citizen of the dotnet pack command, IMO.

I'll go and open a new issue to see if the team could consider adding this.

[voronoipotato]

This has a fun interaction with octopus deploy where octo considers them prereleases because that's what semver states they are. :(