{"id":457,"date":"2026-10-14T12:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T12:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scmgalaxy.com\/tutorials\/2015\/11\/21\/how-to-create-a-package-in-nuget\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T12:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T12:41:11","slug":"how-to-create-a-package-in-nuget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/how-to-create-a-package-in-nuget\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create NuGet Packages with nuget.exe (Assembly, .nuspec, and .csproj Methods)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Creating a NuGet package is a core skill for .NET and DevOps engineers who need to distribute internal libraries, scripts, or reusable project assets. This guide explains the three packaging approaches shown in the original tutorial, when each one fits best, and the exact commands and manifest structure you need to produce a .nupkg<\/code> artifact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally published on 2015-11-21; fully revised and updated.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"create-a-package-in-nuget\"\/<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Choose the right packaging method<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The original tutorial presents three ways to create packages with nuget.exe<\/code>. In practice, your starting point (compiled DLL, folder layout, or project file) determines which workflow is fastest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Method<\/th>Best for<\/th>Primary command path<\/th>Notes<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
From an assembly<\/td>You already have a compiled DLL and want a quick package<\/td>nuget spec MyAssembly.dll<\/code> then nuget pack MyAssembly.nuspec<\/code><\/td>Simple and fast; metadata comes from assembly and edited .nuspec<\/code>.<\/td><\/tr>
From a convention-based folder + nuspec<\/td>Packages that include content, scripts, tools, or build assets<\/td>nuget spec<\/code> then nuget pack YourPackage.nuspec<\/code><\/td>Most flexible for non-DLL assets and custom folder structures.<\/td><\/tr>
From a Visual Studio project<\/td>Project-centric packaging with token replacement and optional referenced projects<\/td>nuget spec<\/code> then nuget pack MyProject.csproj<\/code><\/td>Uses project metadata tokens like $id$<\/code> and $version$<\/code>.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

NuGet packaging workflow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All three methods follow the same high-level flow: generate or prepare a manifest, verify package content, build the package, and then publish to your feed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nflowchart TD\n    A[Start packaging] --> B{What do you have?}\n    B --> C[Compiled assembly]\n    B --> D[Folder layout and files]\n    B --> E[Project file]\n    C --> F[Generate nuspec from dll]\n    D --> G[Generate or edit nuspec]\n    E --> H[Generate tokenized nuspec]\n    F --> I[Edit metadata and dependencies]\n    G --> I\n    H --> I\n    I --> J[Run nuget pack]\n    J --> K[Validate nupkg contents]\n    K --> L[Publish to repository]\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Method 1: Create a package from an existing assembly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Use this when you already have a compiled assembly and want NuGet to scaffold a .nuspec<\/code> from assembly metadata.<\/p>\n\n\n
nuget<\/span> spec<\/span> MyAssembly<\/span>.dll<\/span>\nnuget<\/span> pack<\/span> MyAssembly<\/span>.nuspec<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
After generating the .nuspec<\/code>, update metadata fields (ID, version, description, dependencies) before packing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Method 2: Create a package from a convention-based directory and nuspec<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This method is ideal when the package includes more than assemblies, such as content files, scripts, and build artifacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Folder<\/th>Purpose in package<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
lib<\/code><\/td>Assemblies to be added as references on install.<\/td><\/tr>
tools<\/code><\/td>PowerShell scripts and executables accessible from Package Manager Console.<\/td><\/tr>
content<\/code><\/td>Files copied into the target application structure.<\/td><\/tr>
build<\/code><\/td>MSBuild targets files applied to consuming projects.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: Generate the manifest<\/h3>\n\n\n
nuget spec<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
This creates a .nuspec<\/code> file you can edit. Example manifest from the original tutorial:<\/p>\n\n\n
<?xml version=\"1.0\"?><\/span>\n<package<\/span> xmlns<\/span>=\"http:\/\/schemas.microsoft.com\/packaging\/2010\/07\/nuspec.xsd\"<\/span>><\/span>\n  <metadata<\/span>><\/span>\n    <id<\/span>><\/span>MyPackageId<\/id<\/span>><\/span>\n    <version<\/span>><\/span>1.0<\/version<\/span>><\/span>\n    <authors<\/span>><\/span>philha<\/authors<\/span>><\/span>\n    <owners<\/span>><\/span>philha<\/owners<\/span>><\/span>\n    <licenseUrl<\/span>><\/span>http:\/\/LICENSE_URL_HERE_OR_DELETE_THIS_LINE<\/licenseUrl<\/span>><\/span>\n    <projectUrl<\/span>><\/span>http:\/\/PROJECT_URL_HERE_OR_DELETE_THIS_LINE<\/projectUrl<\/span>><\/span>\n    <iconUrl<\/span>><\/span>http:\/\/ICON_URL_HERE_OR_DELETE_THIS_LINE<\/iconUrl<\/span>><\/span>\n    <requireLicenseAcceptance<\/span>><\/span>false<\/requireLicenseAcceptance<\/span>><\/span>\n    <description<\/span>><\/span>Package description<\/description<\/span>><\/span>\n    <tags<\/span>><\/span>Tag1 Tag2<\/tags<\/span>><\/span>\n    <dependencies<\/span>><\/span>\n      <dependency<\/span> id<\/span>=\"SampleDependency\"<\/span> version<\/span>=\"1.0\"<\/span> \/><\/span>\n    <\/dependencies<\/span>><\/span>\n  <\/metadata<\/span>><\/span>\n<\/package<\/span>><\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> HTML, XML<\/span> (<\/span>xml<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Step 2: Lay out package content and build<\/h3>\n\n\n
mkdir<\/span> lib<\/span>\nmkdir<\/span> tools<\/span>\nmkdir<\/span> content<\/span>\nmkdir<\/span> content<\/span>\\controllers<\/span>\ncopy<\/span> ..\\src<\/span>\\SomeController<\/span>.cs<\/span> content<\/span>\\controllers<\/span>\ncopy<\/span> ..\\src<\/span>\\MyLibrary<\/span>.dll<\/span> lib<\/span>\ncopy<\/span> ..\\src<\/span>\\SomePowershellScript<\/span>.ps1<\/span> tools<\/span>\nnuget<\/span> pack<\/span> YourPackage<\/span>.nuspec<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Method 3: Create a package from a Visual Studio project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For simple project-based packaging, run commands in the folder containing the .csproj<\/code> (or .vbproj<\/code>) file. NuGet creates a tokenized .nuspec<\/code> and replaces tokens during packing when you pack the project file.<\/p>\n\n\n
nuget<\/span> spec<\/span>\nnuget<\/span> pack<\/span> MyProject<\/span>.csproj<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Supported replacement tokens highlighted in the original article:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Token<\/th>Source<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
$id$<\/code><\/td>Assembly name<\/td><\/tr>
$version$<\/code><\/td>Assembly version from assembly attributes<\/td><\/tr>
$author$<\/code><\/td>Company from assembly attributes<\/td><\/tr>
$description$<\/code><\/td>Description from assembly attributes<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
You can also include additional files through a <files><\/code> section in the .nuspec<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n
<files<\/span>><\/span>\n  <file<\/span> src<\/span>=\"..\\..\\SomeRoot\\**\\*.*\"<\/span> target<\/span>=\"\"<\/span> \/><\/span>\n<\/files<\/span>><\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> HTML, XML<\/span> (<\/span>xml<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Referenced projects can be included recursively with -IncludeReferencedProjects<\/code>, and build configuration can be selected with -Prop<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n
nuget pack A.csproj -IncludeReferencedProjects\nnuget pack MyProject.csproj -Prop Configuration=Release<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
Official references<\/h2>\n\n\n\n