How do I import a Github library to my project?

Question

I was thinking about making a simple youtube downloading program in C# Forms. I found this library and decided to use it, although I am having some trouble importing it into my project.

I tried googling "how to import libraries to visual studio c#" but I only found c++ tutorials and the only C# I could find were outdated.

I downloaded the .zip file from github but there was no files which the VS importer could use.

I am sorry if this question is simple, but I started using Visual Studio yesterday.

Answer 1

You can use NuGet to import that library:

Install-Package VideoLibrary -Version 2.0.3

More info: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/quickstart/install-and-use-a-package-in-visual-studio

Answer 2

The easiest way to incorporate libraries into your projects with Visual Studio is as NuGet Packages. Nuget packages are essentially just zip files containing the libraries themselves, meta-data, stuff to help with debugging and potentially other stuff the library might need.

Many projects hosted on GitHub will have a Nuget Package available. Visual Studio will be already set up to search for packages from the most common sources, such as Nuget.org , but sometimes you may need to add an additional package source a.k.a. "feed" to your solution. This can be done by adding a Nuget.config file in your solution directory. More info on that here.

In Visual Studio there are multiple ways to interact with Nuget. You can use Nuget packet manager GUI, which can be accessed by right-clicking on your Project or Solution in the Solution Explorer and clicking Manage NugGet Packages, or you can use the command line interface through PowerShell or the Package Manager Console in Visual Studio.