dotnet-cli.nvim

A full-featured .NET CLI integration for Neovim. Manage projects, solutions, NuGet packages, and SDK versions through a beautiful two-panel UI or individual commands.

✨ Features

• Interactive Manager UI — Two-panel Telescope-style picker with fuzzy filtering, multi-select, and streaming output
• Build / Run / Test / Watch — All common dotnet workflows at your fingertips
• Solution Management — Create, list, add/remove projects from solutions
• NuGet Source Management — List, add, remove, enable/disable package sources
• SDK Version Pinning — Create and update global.json with installed SDK versions
• New Project Scaffolding — Browse and create from all installed templates
• Publish Profiles — Auto-generate FolderProfile.pubxml from bundled template
• Add Package — Quickly add NuGet packages to any project
• Code Formatting — Run dotnet format on projects or solutions
• Hot Reload — dotnet watch integration with streaming output
• Roslyn Auto-Insert — Automatic / trigger for XML doc comments in C#
• Health Check — :checkhealth dotnet-cli validates your environment

📦 Requirements

• Neovim ≥ 0.10
• .NET SDK ≥ 6.0 (any version supported, 7+ recommended)
• comet.nvim — UI library (two-panel picker used by the Dotnet Manager)
• Optional: nvim-web-devicons for file icons

📥 Installation

lazy.nvim

{
  "Orbit-Lua/dotnet-cli.nvim",
  dependencies = { "Orbit-Lua/comet.nvim" },
  cmd = { "DotnetManager", "DotnetBuild", "DotnetPublish", "DotnetGlobalJson" },
  ft = "cs",
  opts = {},
}

⚙️ Configuration

require("dotnet-cli").setup({
  -- Enable Roslyn '/' auto-insert for XML doc comments (default: true)
  roslyn_auto_insert = true,

  -- Available build configurations shown in the UI
  build_configurations = { "Debug", "Release" },

  -- Default build configuration
  default_build_config = "Debug",

  -- Output directory template ({config} is replaced with the build config)
  output_dir_template = "bin/{config}",
})

All options are optional — calling setup({}) or using opts = {} with lazy.nvim uses sensible defaults.

🚀 Usage

Commands

Command	Description
:DotnetManager	Open the interactive Manager UI
:DotnetBuild	Build a project (with notification)
:DotnetPublish	Publish a project (with notification)
:DotnetGlobalJson	Pin SDK version via global.json

Keymaps (suggested)

vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>dp", "<cmd>DotnetManager<CR>", { desc = "Dotnet Manager" })
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>db", "<cmd>DotnetBuild<CR>", { desc = "Dotnet Build" })

Manager UI

The Manager UI is a two-panel floating window:

Panel	Description
Left	Search input (top) + scrollable command/item list
Right	Output panel with syntax-highlighted build output

UI Keybindings

Key	Mode	Action
<CR>	n/i	Execute selected command/item
<C-j>	n/i	Move selection down
<C-k>	n/i	Move selection up
j / k	n	Move selection down/up
<Tab>	n/i	Toggle multi-select mark
<C-l>	n/i	Focus output panel
<C-h>	n/i	Return focus to input
<Esc>	n/i	Cancel sub-selection / close UI
q	n	Same as <Esc>
Type text	i	Filter commands/items

Multi-Select

When a command supports multi-select (e.g., Add/Remove projects from solution):

1. Use <Tab> to mark items (✓ appears)
2. Title shows count: "Remove Project (2 selected)"
3. Press <CR> to confirm — all marked items are processed

Manager Commands

Command	Description
Build	Build with Debug/Release configuration
Run	Run a project
Test	Run tests with minimal verbosity
Watch	Hot-reload with dotnet watch run/test
Restore	Restore NuGet packages
Clean	Clean build artifacts
Publish	Publish for deployment
Format	Run dotnet format
New Project	Scaffold from installed templates
Solution	List/Add/Remove projects, Create solution
NuGet Sources	List/Add/Remove/Enable/Disable sources
Add Package	Add a NuGet package to a project
Global JSON	Pin SDK version
List SDKs	Show installed SDK versions
List Runtimes	Show installed runtimes

Health Check

Run :checkhealth dotnet-cli to verify your environment:

dotnet-cli.nvim
- OK dotnet CLI found: 9.0.100
- OK 3 SDK(s) installed
-   6.0.400 [/usr/share/dotnet/sdk]
-   8.0.100 [/usr/share/dotnet/sdk]
-   9.0.100 [/usr/share/dotnet/sdk]
- OK 5 runtime(s) installed
- OK global.json pins SDK 9.0.100
- OK nvim-web-devicons available (file icons)

Architecture

lua/dotnet-cli/
├── init.lua            -- Public API & setup()
├── config.lua          -- Default config & user options
├── ui.lua              -- Two-panel picker UI
├── job.lua             -- Async job runner
├── project.lua         -- Project/solution file discovery
├── parsers.lua         -- Output parsers (templates, sources, etc.)
├── sdk.lua             -- SDK detection & caching
├── health.lua          -- :checkhealth integration
├── commands/
│   ├── init.lua        -- Command registry
│   ├── build.lua       -- Build command
│   ├── run.lua         -- Run command
│   ├── test.lua        -- Test command
│   ├── watch.lua       -- Watch (hot reload)
│   ├── restore.lua     -- Restore packages
│   ├── clean.lua       -- Clean artifacts
│   ├── publish.lua     -- Publish & profile template
│   ├── format.lua      -- Code formatting
│   ├── new.lua         -- New project scaffolding
│   ├── solution.lua    -- Solution management
│   ├── nuget.lua       -- NuGet source management
│   ├── add_package.lua -- Add NuGet package
│   └── sdk.lua         -- SDK listing & global.json
└── template/
    └── dotnet.csproj   -- Publish profile template

Testing

Tests use plenary.nvim:

# Run all tests
make test

# Lua syntax check
make lint

# Format with StyLua
make format

# Check formatting
make check

Output Highlighting

The output panel automatically highlights lines matching common patterns:

Pattern	Highlight
$ command	Comment (dimmed)
✓ (success)	DiagnosticOk
✗ (failure)	DiagnosticError
Build succeeded	DiagnosticOk
Build FAILED	DiagnosticError
Warning	DiagnosticWarn
Error	DiagnosticError
Restored	DiagnosticOk
Passed!	DiagnosticOk
Failed!	DiagnosticError

API

The plugin exposes submodules for programmatic use:

local dotnet = require("dotnet-cli")

-- Open the manager UI
dotnet.open()

-- Access submodules
dotnet.project.get_csproj_files()  -- string[]
dotnet.project.get_sln_files()     -- string[]
dotnet.sdk.get_major()             -- number?
dotnet.sdk.get_version()           -- string?
dotnet.sdk.is_available()          -- boolean
dotnet.parsers.templates(lines)    -- {name, short_name}[]
dotnet.parsers.sln_projects(lines) -- string[]
dotnet.parsers.nuget_sources(lines)-- {name, url, enabled}[]
dotnet.job.run(cmd, ctx, on_complete?)  -- run async with UI ctx
dotnet.job.run_sync(cmd)                -- string[], boolean

License

MIT

Notice

This plugin primarily wraps the dotnet CLI, allowing lazy developers like myself to avoid manually typing commands. However, its functionality is not yet complete. While it's sufficient for my daily dotnet development, this plugin is suitable for those familiar with the dotnet CLI.

Acknowledgments

• Built for use with NvChad
• Inspired by omnisharp-extended-lsp.nvim and roslyn.nvim