# MSBuild

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSBuild
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Build automation software

"Microsoft build" redirects here. For the conference, see [BUILD (Microsoft)](/source/BUILD_(Microsoft)).

MSBuild Developers Microsoft, .NET Foundation Release 2003; 23 years ago (2003) Stable release v17.8.3 / 15 November 2023; 2 years ago (2023-11-15)[1] Written in C# Operating system Cross-platform Platform .NET Framework, .NET Type Build tool License MIT License Website docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/msbuild/msbuild Repository github.com/dotnet/msbuild

**Microsoft Build Engine**, or **MSBuild**,[2][3] is a set of [free and open-source](/source/Free_and_open-source) [build tools](/source/Build_tool) for [managed code](/source/Managed_code) under the [Common Language Infrastructure](/source/Common_Language_Infrastructure) as well as native [C](/source/C_(programming_language)) and [C++](/source/C%2B%2B) code. It was first released in 2003 and was a part of [.NET Framework](/source/.NET_Framework). MSBuild is included with [Visual Studio](/source/Visual_Studio), but can also be run independently through MSBuild's [command-line interface](/source/Command-line_interface).[4]

## Overview

MSBuild is a [build tool](/source/Build_tool) that helps automate the process of creating a software product, including [compiling](/source/Compiler) the [source code](/source/Source_code), [packaging](/source/Software_package_(installation)), testing, [deployment](/source/Software_deployment) and creating documentations. With MSBuild, it is possible to build Visual Studio projects and solutions without the Visual Studio [IDE](/source/Integrated_development_environment) installed. MSBuild is [free and open-source](/source/Free_and_open-source).[5] MSBuild was previously bundled with [.NET Framework](/source/.NET_Framework); starting with [Visual Studio 2013](/source/Visual_Studio_2013), however, it is bundled with Visual Studio instead.[6] MSBuild is a functional replacement for the [nmake](/source/Nmake) utility, which remains in use in projects that originated in older Visual Studio releases.

MSBuild acts on MSBuild project files which have a similar [XML](/source/Extensible_Markup_Language) syntax to [Apache Ant](/source/Apache_Ant) or [NAnt](/source/NAnt). Even though the syntax is based upon well-defined [XML schema](/source/XML_schema), the fundamental structure and operation is comparable to the traditional Unix [make](/source/Make_(software)) utility: the user specifies what will be used (typically source code files) and what the result should be (typically a static library, DLL or an executable application), but the utility itself decides what to do and the order in which to carry out the build.

MSBuild can build a project against a supported .NET Framework version of choice. This feature is called "multitargeting". Any given build of a project, however, can only target one version of the framework at a time.[7]

## History

MSBuild was first created in 2003 targeting [.NET Framework 2.0](/source/.NET_Framework_2.0) for use in [Visual Studio 2005](/source/Visual_Studio_2005) (codenamed Whidbey)[8] and [Windows Vista](/source/Windows_Vista) (codenamed Longhorn).[9][10]

## Versions

Version .NET Framework Visual Studio Version Usual Install Locations (x86)[11] 2.0 2.0 2005 C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727 3.5 3.5 2008 C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5 4.7.3062.0 4.0 2010 C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319 4.8.3761.0 4.5.2 2012 C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319 12.0[6] 4.5.2 2013 C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\12.0\Bin 14.0 4.6 2015 C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\14.0\Bin 15.0[12] 4.7 2017 C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\BuildTools\MSBuild\15.0\Bin C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Enterprise\MSBuild\15.0\Bin C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Community\MSBuild\15.0\Bin 16.0[13] 4.7.2 2019 C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\BuildTools\MSBuild\Current\Bin C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Enterprise\MSBuild\Current\Bin C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Community\MSBuild\Current\Bin 17.0[14] 2022 C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\MSBuild\Current\Bin C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Preview\MSBuild\Current\Bin C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Professional\MSBuild\Current\Bin C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\MSBuild\Current\Bin C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\MSBuild\Current\Bin 18.0 2026 C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2026\BuildTools\MSBuild\Current\Bin C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2026\Preview\MSBuild\Current\Bin C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2026\Professional\MSBuild\Current\Bin C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2026\Enterprise\MSBuild\Current\Bin C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2026\Community\MSBuild\Current\Bin

## Terminology

This section may be confusing or unclear to readers. In particular, it is unclear what this section is talking about and what is the nature of, say, a "Target" or "Task". Examples would help. Please help clarify the section. There might be a discussion about this on the talk page. (April 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

**Target**
- A *Target* contains a set of tasks for MSBuild to execute. The focus of MSBuild is the result *Target* specified when invoking MSBuild with the project file. This is because a *Project* may contain several *Target* entries, each executed sequentially (and conditionally). Subsequent dependent Targets are executed before the requested Target. The execution flow of the current *Target* can be directed using the following attributes: Condition, BeforeTargets, AfterTargets, & DependsOnTargets. Each Target may be self-contained with the necessary Tasks to complete itself. A Target is typically an action executed on a file, set of files or directory.

**Task**
- A *Task* is a command which is executed in order to complete a Target. *Tasks* are used to group and execute any number of actions during the build process. They are typically implemented in a .NET assembly as a class which inherits from the Task class or implements the ITask interface. Many basic tasks are shipped as part of the .NET Framework,[15] and community developed tasks are freely available. Some examples of *Tasks* include copying files, creating directories, or parsing XML.

**Properties and Items**
- MSBuild provides *Properties* and *Items*, which are conceptually equivalent to [make's](/source/Make_(software)) [macros](/source/Macro_(computer_science)). Properties specify static values, whereas Items are usually used to define sets of files or folders on which to perform Tasks. Specifying files on Items is made easy by the support of wildcards.

## See also

- [Free and open-source software portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Free_and_open-source_software)

- [List of build automation software](/source/List_of_build_automation_software)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Latest release"](https://github.com/Microsoft/msbuild/releases/latest). Microsoft/msbuild. *[GitHub](/source/GitHub)*. [Microsoft](/source/Microsoft). Retrieved 2022-08-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["microsoft/msbuild: The Microsoft Build Engine (MSBuild) is the build platform for .NET and Visual Studio"](https://github.com/Microsoft/msbuild). *[GitHub](/source/GitHub)*. [Microsoft](/source/Microsoft). Retrieved 2019-07-23.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Hashimi, Sayed Ibrahim; Bartholomew, William (2009). *Inside the Microsoft Build Engine: Using MSBuild and Team Foundation Build*. Microsoft Press. p. 406. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7356-2628-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7356-2628-7).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Prime_4-0)** ["MSBuild"](https://docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/msbuild/msbuild). MSBuild. *[Microsoft Docs](/source/Microsoft_Docs)*. Retrieved 2019-07-23.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Lander, Rich (18 March 2015). ["MSBuild Engine is now Open Source on GitHub"](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/msbuild-engine-is-now-open-source-on-github/). .NET Blog. *MSDN Blogs*. [Microsoft](/source/Microsoft). Retrieved 2019-07-23.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-msb12_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-msb12_6-1) ["What's new in MSBuild 12.0"](https://docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/msbuild/what-s-new-in-msbuild-12-0). MSBuild. *[Microsoft Docs](/source/Microsoft_Docs)*. Retrieved 2019-07-23.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["MSBuild multitargeting overview"](https://docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/msbuild/msbuild-multitargeting-overview). MSBuild. *[Microsoft Docs](/source/Microsoft_Docs)*. Retrieved 2019-07-23.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Building, Testing, and Deployment"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140826051347/http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/88fx1xy0(VS.80).aspx#rtmbuildtestdeploy). What's New in Visual Studio 2005. *MSDN*. Microsoft. Archived from [the original](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/88fx1xy0(VS.80).aspx#rtmbuildtestdeploy) on 2014-08-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Sneath2004_9-0)** Sneath, Tim (July 19, 2004). ["MSBuild: The New Build System for Visual Studio 2005 and Longhorn"](https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/tims/2004/07/19/msbuild-the-new-build-system-for-visual-studio-2005-and-longhorn/). Tim Sneath. *MSDN Blogs*. Retrieved 2018-04-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-England2010_10-0)** England, Chuck (February 25, 2010). ["Getting Started with MSBuild"](https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/visualstudio/2010/02/25/getting-started-with-msbuild/). The Visual Studio Blog. *MSDN Blogs*. Retrieved 2018-04-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Standard and custom Toolset configurations"](https://docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/msbuild/standard-and-custom-toolset-configurations). MSBuild. *[Microsoft Docs](/source/Microsoft_Docs)*. Retrieved 2019-07-23.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-msb15_12-0)** ["What's new in MSBuild 15"](https://docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/msbuild/what-s-new-in-msbuild-15-0). MSBuild. *[Microsoft Docs](/source/Microsoft_Docs)*. Retrieved 2019-07-23.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-msb16_13-0)** ["What's new in MSBuild 16.0"](https://docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/msbuild/whats-new-msbuild-16-0). MSBuild. *[Microsoft Docs](/source/Microsoft_Docs)*. Retrieved 2019-07-23.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-msb17_14-0)** ["What's new in MSBuild 17"](https://docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/msbuild/whats-new-msbuild-17-0). MSBuild. *[Microsoft Docs](/source/Microsoft_Docs)*. Retrieved 2026-04-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["MSBuild task reference"](https://docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/msbuild/msbuild-task-reference). MSBuild. *[Microsoft Docs](/source/Microsoft_Docs)*. Retrieved 2019-07-23.

## Further reading

- Kretzler, Brian (2011). *MSBuild Trickery: 99 Ways to Bend the Build Engine to Your Will*. K Cross Seven Ranch Company. p. 426. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-615-50907-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-615-50907-5).

- Hashimi, Sayed Ibrahim (June 2006). ["Inside MSBuild: Compiling Apps With Custom Tasks For The Microsoft Build Engine"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150411004510/https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc163589.aspx). *MSDN Magazine*. Microsoft. Archived from [the original](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc163589.aspx) on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2013.

- Hashimi, Sayed Ibrahim (March 2007). ["WiX Tricks: Automate Releases With MSBuild And Windows Installer XML"](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc163456.aspx). *MSDN Magazine*. Microsoft. Retrieved 11 April 2013.

- Hashimi, Sayed Ibrahim (February 2009). ["MSBuild: Best Practices For Creating Reliable Builds, Part 1"](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/dd419659.aspx). *MSDN Magazine*. Microsoft. Retrieved 11 April 2013.

- Hashimi, Sayed Ibrahim (March 2009). ["MSBuild: Best Practices For Creating Reliable Builds, Part 2"](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/dd483291.aspx). *MSDN Magazine*. Microsoft. Retrieved 11 April 2013.

- Reif, Andreas (10 June 2010). ["Einführung in Microsofts Build-Management-Technik MSBuild"](http://www.heise.de/developer/artikel/Einfuehrung-in-Microsofts-Build-Management-Technik-MSBuild-1017660.html) [Introduction to Microsoft's build management technology, MSBuild]. *heise Developer* (in German). [Heinz Heise](/source/Heinz_Heise). Retrieved 11 April 2013.

- Jones, Mike; Warren, Genevieve; Blome, Mike; Robertson, Colin; Hogenson, Gordon; Cai, Saisang (4 November 2016). ["MSBuild target framework and target platform"](https://docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/msbuild/msbuild-target-framework-and-target-platform). MSBuild. *[Microsoft Docs](/source/Microsoft_Docs)*. Retrieved 2018-02-19.

## External links

- [Official website](https://docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/msbuild/msbuild)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [MSBuild](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSBuild) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSBuild?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.