How Do I Include NuGet Dependencies in My .NET Core Plugin DLLs?

Distributing NuGet Packages with .NET Core Plugin DLLs

Developing a plugin architecture with .NET Core requires distributing the plugin DLL and its dependencies for seamless user installation. Standard .NET Core builds, however, don't automatically include NuGet dependencies.

Solution: Modifying the .csproj File

To include these dependencies, adjust your project file (.csproj) as follows:

1. Find the <propertygroup></propertygroup> section in your .csproj file.
2. Inside <propertygroup></propertygroup>, add this line:

<CopyLocalLockFileAssemblies>true</CopyLocalLockFileAssemblies>

This ensures that NuGet packages are copied to the build output directory.

Important Consideration: Build Output vs. Deployment

While convenient for local testing, directly copying NuGet packages to the build output isn't ideal for distribution. For creating deployable artifacts, always use the dotnet publish command.

A More Robust Solution: Using the DependencyContext API

A more flexible and portable alternative avoids directly embedding NuGet packages. Leverage the DependencyContext API to dynamically resolve DLL locations at runtime from the application's dependency graph. This offers a cleaner, more maintainable approach for handling dependencies.

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