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NuGet Package Publish

Publish or update a .NET package on NuGet.org with metadata optimized for discoverability

Instructions

NuGet Package Publish

Publish a .NET package to NuGet.org with metadata configured for developer discoverability.

Tools

| Tool | Method | Docs | |------|--------|------| | dotnet CLI | dotnet nuget push | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/nuget-org/publish-a-package | | NuGet CLI | nuget push | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/reference/cli-reference/cli-ref-push | | GitHub Actions | dotnet nuget push in CI | https://docs.github.com/en/actions/publishing-packages/publishing-nuget-packages | | Azure DevOps | NuGetCommand@2 task | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/artifacts/nuget |

Authentication

  • dotnet CLI: Pass API key via --api-key. Create at https://www.nuget.org/account/apikeys
  • CI: Store key as NUGET_API_KEY secret. Scope to specific packages and allow push only.

Instructions

1. Configure .csproj for discoverability

<PropertyGroup>
  <PackageId>YourOrg.PackageName</PackageId>
  <Version>1.0.0</Version>
  <Description>Verb-first description with primary keyword.</Description>
  <PackageTags>keyword1;keyword2;keyword3;keyword4</PackageTags>
  <PackageProjectUrl>https://yoursite.com/docs/sdk/dotnet?utm_source=nuget&amp;utm_medium=registry&amp;utm_campaign=dotnet-sdk</PackageProjectUrl>
  <RepositoryUrl>https://github.com/org/dotnet-sdk</RepositoryUrl>
  <PackageLicenseExpression>MIT</PackageLicenseExpression>
  <PackageReadmeFile>README.md</PackageReadmeFile>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
  <None Include="README.md" Pack="true" PackagePath="\" />
</ItemGroup>

2. Build and publish

dotnet pack --configuration Release
dotnet nuget push ./bin/Release/YourOrg.PackageName.1.0.0.nupkg \
  --api-key $NUGET_API_KEY \
  --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

3. Verify publication

# NuGet packages can take up to 30 minutes to index
dotnet nuget search YourOrg.PackageName --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json
# Visit: https://www.nuget.org/packages/YourOrg.PackageName

Error Handling

| Error | Cause | Fix | |-------|-------|-----| | 403 Forbidden | API key lacks push scope | Create a new key with push permissions for this package | | 409 Conflict | Version already exists | Bump version in .csproj | | 400 Bad Request | Invalid package metadata | Run dotnet pack and fix validation errors |

Notes

  • README on NuGet: NuGet renders the included README.md on the package page. Include CTA with utm_source=nuget.
  • Unlisting: To hide a version from search (but allow direct install): dotnet nuget delete YourOrg.PackageName 1.0.0 --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json