NuGet

NuGet Overview

NuGet is a Visual Studio extension that makes it easy to add, remove, and update libraries and tools in Visual Studio projects that use the .NET Framework. If you develop a library or tool that you want to share with other developers, you create a NuGet package and store the package in a NuGet repository. If you want to use a library or tool that someone else has developed, you retrieve the package from the repository and install it in your Visual Studio project or solution.

When you install the package, NuGet copies files to your solution and automatically makes whatever changes are needed, such as adding references and changing your app.config or web.config file. If you decide to remove the library, NuGet removes files and reverses whatever changes it made in your project so that no clutter is left.

NuGet Packages

Everything necessary to install a library or tool is bundled into a package (a .nupkg file). A package includes files to copy to your project and a manifest file that describes the contents of the package and what needs to be done to add or remove the library. Packages are bundled into feeds that Visual Studio accesses in order to present lists of available packages. There is an official feed that is the default source for NuGet, and you can contribute to that feed or create your own feeds.

NuGet User Interface in Visual Studio

NuGet runs in all versions of Visual Studio 2012, as well as Visual Studio 2010, Visual Web Developer 2010, and Windows Phone Developer Tools 7.1. You can find, install, remove, and update packages by using the Manage NuGet Packages dialog box or by using PowerShell command-line commands in the Package Manager Console dedicated Visual Studio window. Both options are accessible from the Visual Studio main menu; you can also open the dialog box from a Solution Explorer context menu.