Local Tools

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

CLAUDE.md

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 871f73ffcae3 · 18 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• PublisherAaronontheweb GitHub userOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderAaronontheweb/dotnet-skills/skills/local-toolsThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceMITAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict871f73ffcae3A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 7 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Managing local .NET tools with dotnet-tools.json for consistent tooling across development environments and CI/CD pipelines.

---
name: dotnet-local-tools
description: Managing local .NET tools with dotnet-tools.json for consistent tooling across development environments and CI/CD pipelines.
user-invocable: false
---

# .NET Local Tools

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:
- Setting up consistent tooling across a development team
- Ensuring CI/CD pipelines use the same tool versions as local development
- Managing project-specific CLI tools (docfx, incrementalist, dotnet-ef, etc.)
- Avoiding global tool version conflicts between projects

## What Are Local Tools?

Local tools are .NET CLI tools that are installed and versioned per-repository rather than globally. They're defined in `.config/dotnet-tools.json` and restored with `dotnet tool restore`.

### Local vs Global Tools

| Aspect | Global Tools | Local Tools |
|--------|--------------|-------------|
| Installation | `dotnet tool install -g` | `dotnet tool restore` |
| Scope | Machine-wide | Per-repository |
| Version control | Manual | In `.config/dotnet-tools.json` |
| CI/CD | Must install each tool | Single restore command |
| Conflicts | Can have version conflicts | Isolated per project |

---

## Setting Up Local Tools

### Initialize the Manifest

```bash
# Create .config/dotnet-tools.json
dotnet new tool-manifest
```

This creates:
```
.config/
└── dotnet-tools.json
```

### Install Tools Locally

```bash
# Install a tool locally
dotnet tool install docfx

# Install specific version
dotnet tool install docfx --version 2.78.3

# Install from a specific source
dotnet tool install MyTool --add-source https://mycompany.pkgs.visualstudio.com/_packaging/feed/nuget/v3/index.json
```

### Restore Tools

```bash
# Restore all tools from manifest
dotnet tool restore
```

---

## dotnet-tools.json Format

```json
{
  "version": 1,
  "isRoot": true,
  "tools": {
    "docfx": {
      "version": "2.78.3",
      "commands": [
        "docfx"
      ],
      "rollForward": false
    },
    "dotnet-ef": {
      "version": "9.0.0",
      "commands": [
        "dotnet-ef"
      ],
      "rollForward": false
    },
    "incrementalist.cmd": {
      "version": "1.2.0",
      "commands": [
        "incrementalist"
      ],
      "rollForward": false
    },
    "dotnet-reportgenerator-globaltool": {
      "version": "5.4.1",
      "commands": [
        "reportgenerator"
      ],
      "rollForward": false
    }
  }
}
```

### Fields

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `version` | Manifest schema version (always 1) |
| `isRoot` | Marks this as the root manifest (prevents searching parent directories) |
| `tools` | Dictionary of tool configurations |
| `tools.<name>.version` | Exact version to install |
| `tools.<name>.commands` | CLI commands the tool provides |
| `tools.<name>.rollForward` | Allow newer versions (usually false for reproducibility) |

---

## Common Tools

### Documentation

```bash
# DocFX - API documentation generator
dotnet tool install docfx
```

```json
"docfx": {
  "version": "2.78.3",
  "commands": ["docfx"],
  "rollForward": false
}
```

**Usage:**
```bash
dotnet docfx docfx.json
dotnet docfx serve _site
```

### Entity Framework Core

```bash
# EF Core CLI for migrations
dotnet tool install dotnet-ef
```

```json
"dotnet-ef": {
  "version": "9.0.0",
  "commands": ["dotnet-ef"],
  "rollForward": false
}
```

**Usage:**
```bash
dotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate
dotnet ef database update
```

### Code Coverage

```bash
# ReportGenerator for coverage reports
dotnet tool install dotnet-reportgenerator-globaltool
```

```json
"dotnet-reportgenerator-globaltool": {
  "version": "5.4.1",
  "commands": ["reportgenerator"],
  "rollForward": false
}
```

**Usage:**
```bash
dotnet reportgenerator -reports:coverage.cobertura.xml -targetdir:coveragereport -reporttypes:Html
```

### Incremental Builds

```bash
# Incrementalist - build only changed projects
dotnet tool install incrementalist.cmd
```

```json
"incrementalist.cmd": {
  "version": "1.2.0",
  "commands": ["incrementalist"],
  "rollForward": false
}
```

**Usage:**
```bash
# Get projects affected by changes since main branch
incrementalist --branch main
```

### Code Formatting

```bash
# CSharpier - opinionated C# formatter
dotnet tool install csharpier
```

```json
"csharpier": {
  "version": "0.30.3",
  "commands": ["dotnet-csharpier"],
  "rollForward": false
}
```

**Usage:**
```bash
dotnet csharpier .
dotnet csharpier --check .  # CI mode - fails if changes needed
```

### Code Analysis

```bash
# JB dotnet-inspect (requires license)
dotnet tool install jb
```

```json
"jb": {
  "version": "2024.3.4",
  "commands": ["jb"],
  "rollForward": false
}
```

---

## CI/CD Integration

### GitHub Actions

```yaml
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup .NET
        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
        with:
          global-json-file: global.json

      - name: Restore tools
        run: dotnet tool restore

      - name: Build
        run: dotnet build

      - name: Test with coverage
        run: dotnet test --collect:"XPlat Code Coverage"

      - name: Generate coverage report
        run: dotnet reportgenerator -reports:**/coverage.cobertura.xml -targetdir:coveragereport

      - name: Build documentation
        run: dotnet docfx docs/docfx.json
```

### Azure Pipelines

```yaml
steps:
  - task: UseDotNet@2
    inputs:
      useGlobalJson: true

  - script: dotnet tool restore
    displayName: 'Restore .NET tools'

  - script: dotnet build -c Release
    displayName: 'Build'

  - script: dotnet test -c Release --collect:"XPlat Code Coverage"
    displayName: 'Test'

  - script: dotnet reportgenerator -reports:**/coverage.cobertura.xml -targetdir:$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/coverage
    displayName: 'Generate coverage report'
```

---

## Managing Tool Versions

### Update a Tool

```bash
# Update to latest version
dotnet tool update docfx

# Update to specific version
dotnet tool update docfx

Excerpt, first 6,000 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills
git -C dotnet-skills checkout 871f73ffcae3

Works in

1. 2026-10-18
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 871f73ffcae3

Questions about Local Tools

• github.com/Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills/tree/master/skills/local- — the audited source at commit 871f73ffcae3 and every finding aboveObserved · 18 Oct 2026

Spotted something wrong? Report a correction · Methodology