dotnet ef migrations fails with Directory.Build.props

[eddieparker]

Using the attached zip file, I can't get dotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate to work with the given Directory.Build.props. I've tried various incantations of --msbuildprojectextensionspath and they all yield the following error:

D:\dev\personal\csharpsandbox\csharpsandbox.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "GetEFProjectMetadata" does not exist in the project.
Unable to retrieve project metadata. Ensure it's an SDK-style project. If you're using a custom BaseIntermediateOutputPath or MSBuildProjectExtensionsPath values, Use the --msbuildprojectextensionspath option.

If you delete the Directory.Build.props file the sample builds fine however.

Include provider and version information

EF Core version: 5.0.1
Database provider: Sqlite
Target framework: .netcore 3.1
Operating system: Windows
IDE: VS2019 16.8.3

EFMigrateTest.zip

[ajcvickers]

@eddieparker Thanks for reporting this; we will investigate in the new year.

[huoyaoyuan]

If the obj path was changed by Directory.Build.props:
For 5.0.0, it required --msbuildprojectextensionspath option for me. For 5.0.1, it ignores the path and gemerates the targets file in obj (works silently).

[eddieparker]

If the obj path was changed by Directory.Build.props:
For 5.0.0, it required --msbuildprojectextensionspath option for me. For 5.0.1, it ignores the path and gemerates the targets file in obj (works silently).

Can I ask what you set the --msbuildprojectextensionpath to? Using the above zip file I've tried:

dotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate --msbuildprojectextensionspath _intermediate_/Debug/csharpsandbox and I still end up with:

D:\dev\personal\csharpsandbox\csharpsandbox.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "GetEFProjectMetadata" does not exist in the project. Unable to retrieve project metadata. Ensure it's an SDK-style project. If you're using a custom BaseIntermediateOutputPath or MSBuildProjectExtensionsPath values, Use the --msbuildprojectextensionspath option.

[huoyaoyuan]

I haven't downloaded your zip, but seems that you didn't set the base of relative path. For me it was ..\..\Artifact\obj\ProjectName\Debug\. Here..\.. navigates from the project path to the root path.

[bricelam]

Here is the correct way to configure MSBuildProjectExtensionsPath in your project:

<Project> <!-- Note: No Sdk="" here. -->

  <PropertyGroup>
     <!-- Don't use $(Configuration) since it isn't set yet. -->
    <MSBuildProjectExtensionsPath>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\_intermediate_\</MSBuildProjectExtensionsPath>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <!-- MSBuildProjectExtensionsPath must be set before this gets imported. Directory.Build.props is too late. -->
  <Import Project="Sdk.props" Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk" />

  <!-- (Project content goes here) -->

  <Import Project="Sdk.targets" Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk" />

</Project>

Then you can use the option on the command line:

dotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate --msbuildprojectextensionspath _intermediate_

Trying to set it anywhere else will result in very unexpected behavior that you'll probably need to use a tool like MSBuild Log Viewer to understand why it's not working.

[bricelam]

As @huoyaoyuan found, the easiest thing to do is to not touch MSBuildProjectExtensionsPath and just use the defaults.