Using a locally installed dotnet tool

[Kemyke]

Hi Community,

I successfully installed a dotnet tool with the preprocessor directive:
#tool dotnet:?package=dotnet-sonarscanner

But when I want to use it from the build script, I get the error that the tool is not found. I try to use it like this:
DotNetTool("sonarscanner", ...);

Apparently, DotNetTool command can execute the sonarscanner tool when it is globally installed. I would prefer to install the tool locally. How can I execute the tool in this case with DotNetTool command? I cannot find any info about this online.

Thanks!

[nils-a]

I am afraid you are mixing 2 different "tools".

When you use the pre-processor directive #tool, the tool installed in the local cake tools path. This is independent of the "normal" dotnet tool usage which always installs tools in the global tools path - even if that tool is installed locally.

I feel you have two solutions to your task:

using the #tool pre-processor directive

The installed tool can be resolved using Context.Tools.Resolve. Thus, code like the following should work:

#tool dotnet:?package=dotnet-sonarscanner

var target = Argument("target", "Default");

Task("Default")
.Does(() => {
   var exe = Context.Tools.Resolve("dotnet-sonarscanner.exe");
   Information("exe: {0}", exe);
   StartProcess(exe, "-?");
});

RunTarget(target);

using a locally installed tool

Assuming you are using the cake global tool as described in the docs, you'll probably have a tool manifest already, and you are restoring the local tools, too.
Thus, you could manually run dotnet tool install dotnet-sonarscanner, making sonarscanner available in your path, after the dotnet tools have been restored.

If you go that route, you'd be able to use the DotNetTool("sonarscanner", ...);