Agent Skills
› dotnet/skills
› msbuild-server
msbuild-server
GitHub指导在命令行中使用MSBuild Server提升增量构建性能。适用于CLI构建慢于IDE或CI场景，通过设置环境变量启用持久缓存，排除IDE环境及构建故障排查场景。
Trigger Scenarios
开发者报告命令行增量构建速度慢
CLI构建明显慢于IDE构建
CI代理运行大量顺序构建
Install
npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill msbuild-server -g -y
SKILL.md
Frontmatter
{
"name": "msbuild-server",
"license": "MIT",
"description": "Guide for using MSBuild Server to improve CLI build performance. Activate when developers report slow incremental builds from the command line, or when CLI builds are noticeably slower than IDE builds. Covers MSBUILDUSESERVER=1 environment variable for persistent server-based caching. Do not activate for IDE-based builds (Visual Studio already uses a long-lived process)."
}
MSBuild Server for CLI Caching
Use the MSBuild Server to cache evaluation results across CLI builds, matching the performance advantage Visual Studio gets from its long-lived MSBuild process.
When to Use
- Small incremental builds from CLI (
dotnet build) are slower than expected - Developers notice that VS builds are faster than CLI builds for the same project
- CI agents run many sequential builds of the same repo
When Not to Use
- IDE-based builds (Visual Studio already uses a long-lived MSBuild process)
- One-off builds where cold-start overhead is acceptable
- Build correctness issues are suspected (disable the server to isolate the problem)
Inputs
| Input | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Shell context | No | The shell where the environment variable will be set (bash, PowerShell, or Windows persistent) |
Workflow
Step 1: Confirm CLI context
Verify the developer is building from the command line (dotnet build), not from Visual Studio or another IDE. The MSBuild Server provides no benefit inside an IDE.
Step 2: Set the environment variable
# Bash / CI
export MSBUILDUSESERVER=1
# PowerShell
$env:MSBUILDUSESERVER = "1"
# Windows (persistent)
setx MSBUILDUSESERVER 1
Step 3: Validate improvement
Run two sequential builds of the same project and compare times:
- First build (cold):
dotnet build-- server starts, no cache benefit - Second build (warm):
dotnet build-- should be noticeably faster
The most noticeable improvement is in repos with many projects or complex Directory.Build.props chains.
Validation
-
MSBUILDUSESERVER=1is set in the shell - Second sequential build is faster than the first
-
dotnet build-server shutdownfollowed by a rebuild confirms the server restarts cleanly
Common Pitfalls
| Pitfall | Solution |
|---|---|
| Expecting improvement in Visual Studio | VS already uses long-lived MSBuild nodes; the server adds no benefit |
| Build correctness issues after enabling | Run dotnet build-server shutdown to reset; if issues persist, disable the server |
| Server process using unexpected memory | The server persists in background; shut down with dotnet build-server shutdown when idle |
Version History
- ce75c35 Current 2026-07-06 00:31
