I have a Visual Studio solution with which I am trying to make a template. I have a .template.config directory containing a template.json file and I also have a SolutionTemplate.nuspec. I am trying to make a solution template i.e. the template creates a solution containing multiple projects. The directory structure is:

- .git
- .template.config
    - template.json
- template_content
    - proj_one_dir
        - files
    - proj_two_dir
        - files
    - Template.sln
- SolutionTemplate.nuspec
- pipeline.yml

The sources section of template.json is:

{
    "sources":[{
    "modifiers": [{
      "exclude":[
        "**/[Bb]in/**",
        "**/[Oo]bj/**",
        ".template.config/**/*",
        "**/*.filelist",
        "**/*.user",
        "**/*.lock.json",
        ".git/**"
      ]
    }],
    "source": "./template_content",
    "target": "./"
  }]
}

As you can see, I'm trying to stop things like the git and template config directories from being included in the output.

The .nuspec file content is:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<package xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/packaging/2012/06/nuspec.xsd">
  <metadata>
    <id>Our.Microservice.Template</id>
    <version>1.0.0</version>
    <description>
      Blah blah blah.
    </description>
    <authors>Me</authors>
    <license type="expression">Apache-2.0</license>
    <packageTypes>
      <packageType name="Template" />
    </packageTypes>
  </metadata>
</package>

If I run nuget.exe pack "SolutionTemplate.nuspec" then the final output when I use the template just includes everything. I've seen instructions that suggest to control the output in the .nuspec file e.g.

<files>
    <file   src="template_content\**\*.*" 
            exclude="**\bin\**\*.*;**\obj\**\*.*;**\*.nuspec;**\*.nupkg;**\*.suo;docs\**;.git\**;**\.gitignore;.vs\**;.vscode\**;" 
            />
</files> 

This does seem to work. But if that's the intended way to control which files are included/excluded, then what's the sources section in template.json for?

What's the correct way to pick and choose the files that end up as the template content?

CodePudding user response：

I've realised the answer on my own.

I hadn't really appreciated the fact that there's two stages to this process.

1. Packing the files up into the Nuget package
2. Using the template (in a way, extracting the content of the Nuget)

To control what goes into the Nuget package, we use the <files> section in the YourNuspecFile.nuspec.

To control how the files in the Nuget package are used to make the end result, we use the "sources": section of template.json.

I hadn't found any documentation anywhere that pointed this out clearly. It may be obvious to many, but I'd managed to conflate the two in my mind.

I also realised my json didn't make sense.

Here's the files section of my .nuspec file now:

<files>
    <file   src=".template.config\**\*.*"
            target=".template.config" />
    <file   src="docs\**\*.*"
            target="docs" 
            exclude="docs\dotnet_templates\**\*.*;docs\images\**\*.*;" />
    <file   src="src\**\*.*"
            target="src"
            exclude="**\bin\**\*.*;**\obj\**\*.*;**\*.nuspec;**\*.nupkg;**\*.suo;**\*.sln;" />
    <file   src="test\**\*.*"
            target="test"
            exclude="**\bin\**\*.*;**\obj\**\*.*;**\*.nuspec;**\*.nupkg;**\*.suo;**\*.sln;" />
    <file   src="README_FOR_TEMPLATE.md" 
            target="README.md" />
    <file   src="Templates.Microservice.Template.sln" 
            target="Templates.Microservice.sln" />
    <file   src=".gitignore" 
            target=".gitignore" />
</files> 

And here's the sources section of my `template.json':

{"sources":[{
    "source": "./docs/",
    "include": [
      "**/*"
    ],
    "target": "./docs/"
  },
  {
    "source": "./src/",
    "include": [
      "**/*"
    ],
    "target": "./src/"
  },
  {
    "source": "./test/",
    "include": [
      "**/*"
    ],
    "target": "./test/"
  },
  {
    "source": "./",
    "include": [
      "README.md",
      "Templates.Microservice.sln",
      ".gitignore"
    ],
    "target": "./"
  }]
}

As you can see, I've done some renames in the .nuspec file. But I am aware that these could also have been done in the template.json file (with a bit more learning).