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Microsoft.Windows.CsWinRT NuGet Package

Overview

Please visit Microsoft.Windows.CsWinRT for official Microsoft-signed builds of the NuGet package.

The Microsoft.Windows.CsWinRT NuGet package provides WinRT projection support for the C# language. Adding a reference to this package causes C# projection sources to be generated for any Windows metadata referenced by the project. For details on package use, please consult the Microsoft.Windows.CsWinRT github repo's readme.md.

C#/WinRT detects Windows metadata from:

  • Platform winmd files in the SDK
  • NuGet package references containing winmd files
  • Other project references producing winmd files
  • Raw winmd file references

For WinRT types defined in winmd files discovered above, C#/WinRT creates C# projection source files for consuming those WinRT types. These sources can then be compiled into a projection assembly for client projects to reference, or compiled directly into an app.

Details

C#/WinRT sets the following C# compiler properties:

Property Value Description
AllowUnsafeBlocks true Permits compilation of generated unsafe C# blocks

Customizing

C#/WinRT behavior can be customized with these project properties:

Property Value(s) Description
CsWinRTEnabled *true | false Enables projection-related targets, can be set to false to customize build behavior
CsWinRTMessageImportance low | *normal | high Sets the importance of C#/WinRT build messages (see below)
CsWinRTInputs *@(ReferencePath) Specifies WinMD files (beyond the Windows SDK) to read metadata from
CsWinRTExcludes "Windows;Microsoft" Specifies types or namespaces to exclude from projection output
CsWinRTExcludesPrivate "Windows;Microsoft" Specifies types or namespaces to exclude from projection output
CsWinRTIncludes "" Specifies types or namespaces to include in projection output
CsWinRTIncludesPrivate "" Specifies types or namespaces to include in projection output as internal types
CsWinRTFilters "" **Specifies the -includes and -excludes to include in projection output
CsWinRTPrivateFilters "" **Specifies the -includes and -excludes to include in projection output as internal types
CsWinRTParams "" ***Custom cswinrt.exe command-line parameters, replacing default settings below
CsWinRTComponent true | *false Specifies whether to generate a component (producing) projection from project sources
CsWinRTEnableLogging true | *false Generates a log.txt file to help with diagnosing issues with generating the metadata file and sources for a C#/WinRT authoring component
CsWinRTWindowsMetadata <path> | "local" | "sdk" | *$(WindowsSDKVersion) Specifies the source for Windows metadata
CsWinRTGenerateProjection *true | false Indicates whether to generate and compile projection sources (true), or only to compile them (false)
CsWinRTGeneratedFilesDir *"$(IntermediateOutputPath)\Generated Files" Specifies the location for generated project source files
CsWinRTIIDOptimizerOptOut true | *false Determines whether to run the IIDOptimizer on the projection assembly
*Default value

**If CsWinRTFilters is not defined, the following effective value is used:

  • -exclude $(CsWinRTExcludes)
  • -include $(CsWinRTIncludes)

***If CsWinRTParam is not defined, the following effective value is used:

  • -target $(TargetFramework)
  • -input $(CsWinRTWindowsMetadata)
  • -input @(CsWinRTInputs)
  • -output $(CsWinRTGeneratedFilesDir)
  • $(CsWinRTFilters)

Windows Metadata

Windows Metadata is required for all C#/WinRT projections, and can be supplied by:

  • A package reference, such as to Microsoft.Windows.SDK.Contracts
  • An explicit value, supplied by $(CsWinRTWindowsMetadata)
  • The default value, assigned from $(WindowsSDKVersion)

If a Windows SDK is installed, $(WindowsSDKVersion) is defined when building from a VS command prompt.

Consuming and Producing

The C#/WinRT package can be used both to consume WinRT types, and to produce them (via CsWinRTComponent). It is also possible to combine these settings and do both. For example, a developer might want to produce a library that's implemented in terms of another WinRT runtime class (consuming it).

Troubleshooting

The MSBuild verbosity level maps to MSBuild message importance as follows:

Verbosity Importance
q[uiet] n/a
m[inimal] *high
n[ormal] normal+
d[etailed], diag[nostic] low+
*"high" also enables the cswinrt.exe -verbosity switch

For example, if the verbosity is set to minimal, then only messages with high importance are generated. However, if the verbosity is set to diagnostic, then all messages are generated.

The default importance of C#/WinRT build messages is 'normal', but this can be overridden with the CsWinRTMessageImportance property to enable throttling of C#/WinRT messages independent of the overall verbosity level.

Example:

msbuild project.vcxproj /verbosity:minimal /property:CsWinRTMessageImportance=high ...

For more complex analysis of build errors, the MSBuild Binary and Structured Log Viewer is highly recommended.