.NET CLI cheatsheet

Created2025-12-24

This guide explains the most important dotnet commands, grouped logically.
You do not need to memorize everything — learn the structure and look up details when needed.


Mental Model

Think of dotnet as a Swiss Army knife with 5 main categories:

  1. SDK & environment info
  2. Project creation & structure
  3. Build & run (development)
  4. Publish & distribution
  5. Tools & advanced commands

SDK & Environment Information

dotnet --info

Shows:

  • Installed SDKs
  • Installed runtimes
  • OS & architecture
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dotnet --info

dotnet --version

Shows the currently active SDK version.

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dotnet --version

dotnet --list-sdks

Lists all installed SDKs.

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dotnet --list-sdks

dotnet --list-runtimes

Lists all installed runtimes.

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dotnet --list-runtimes

Project Creation

dotnet new

Lists available templates.

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dotnet new

Common templates

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dotnet new console     # Console application
dotnet new webapi      # ASP.NET Core Web API
dotnet new classlib    # Class Library
dotnet new sln         # Solution file

Create project with name

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dotnet new console -n MyApp

Solution & Dependencies

dotnet sln add

Adds a project to a solution.

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dotnet sln add MyApp/MyApp.csproj

dotnet add package

Installs a NuGet package.

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dotnet add package Newtonsoft.Json

dotnet remove package

Removes a NuGet package.

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dotnet remove package Newtonsoft.Json

dotnet restore

Restores NuGet dependencies.

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dotnet restore

Usually runs automatically.


Build & Run (Development)

dotnet build

Compiles the project (does not run).

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dotnet build

dotnet run

Builds and runs the project.

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dotnet run

dotnet clean

Deletes bin/ and obj/ folders.

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dotnet clean

Testing

dotnet test

Runs unit tests.

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dotnet test

Publishing & Distribution (Very Important)

dotnet publish

Creates a distributable output.

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dotnet publish -c Release

Self-contained (no .NET required on target PC)

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dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true

✔ Runs on any Windows x64 machine
❌ Larger output size

Single-file executable

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dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 \
  --self-contained true \
  /p:PublishSingleFile=true

✔ One .exe file
✔ Easy to distribute 

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dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true

✔ No installer
✔ Fewer runtime issues


Runtime Identifiers (RID)

Platform RID
Windows x64 win-x64
Windows x86 win-x86
Linux x64 linux-x64
macOS Intel osx-x64
macOS Apple Silicon osx-arm64

Global Tools

Install global tool

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dotnet tool install -g dotnet-ef

List global tools

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dotnet tool list -g

Update global tools

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dotnet tool update -g dotnet-ef

Entity Framework Core (Quick Overview)

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dotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate
dotnet ef database update

What You Should Memorize

  • dotnet new
  • dotnet run
  • dotnet build
  • dotnet publish
  • --self-contained
  • -r win-x64

Everything else is reference knowledge.


Final Advice

ASP.NET and .NET are designed to be modular and discoverable.

Learn the structure.
Look up the details.
Build real projects.