dotnet-add-reference - Man Page

This article applies to: ✔️ .NET Core 3.1 SDK and later versions

dotnet add [<PROJECT>] reference [-f|--framework <FRAMEWORK>]
     [--interactive] <PROJECT_REFERENCES>

dotnet add reference -h|--help

The dotnet add reference command provides a convenient option to add project references to a project. After running the command, the <ProjectReference> elements are added to the project file.

<ItemGroup>
  <ProjectReference Include="app.csproj" />
  <ProjectReference Include="..\lib2\lib2.csproj" />
  <ProjectReference Include="..\lib1\lib1.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>

• PROJECT

  Specifies the project file. If not specified, the command searches the current directory for one.

• PROJECT_REFERENCES

  Project-to-project (P2P) references to add. Specify one or more projects. Glob patterns (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glob_(programming)) are supported on Unix/Linux-based systems.

• -f|--framework <FRAMEWORK>

  Adds project references only when targeting a specific framework using the TFM format.

• -?|-h|--help

  Prints out a description of how to use the command.

• --interactive

  Allows the command to stop and wait for user input or action. For example, to complete authentication. Available since .NET Core 3.0 SDK.

• Add a project reference:

  dotnet add app/app.csproj reference lib/lib.csproj

• Add multiple project references to the project in the current directory:

  dotnet add reference lib1/lib1.csproj lib2/lib2.csproj

• Add multiple project references using a globbing pattern on Linux/Unix:

  dotnet add app/app.csproj reference **/*.csproj