Is there a way to list all the build targets available in a build file?

Question

Given a build file (.csproj or msbuild.xml or whatever), I'd like to run a msbuild command that lists all the available, defined targets.

Does that function exist?

I know I could do an Xpath search or something, on the build file, but that wouldn't find targets that are defined in included files.

Answer 1

Using MSBuild 2.0/3.5 : Custom Task

You could write a custom msbuild task like this :

using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using Microsoft.Build.BuildEngine; using Microsoft.Build.Framework; using Microsoft.Build.Utilities;  namespace MSBuildTasks {   public class GetAllTargets : Task   {     [Required]     public String ProjectFile { get; set; }      [Output]     public ITaskItem[] Targets { get; set; }      public override bool Execute()     {       var project = new Project(BuildEngine as Engine);       project.Load(ProjectFile);        var taskItems = new List<ITaskItem>(project.Targets.Count);       foreach (Target target in project.Targets)       {         var metadata = new Dictionary<string, string>                         {                           {"Condition", target.Condition},                           {"Inputs", target.Inputs},                           {"Outputs", target.Outputs},                           {"DependsOnTargets", target.DependsOnTargets}                         };         taskItems.Add(new TaskItem(target.Name, metadata));       }        Targets = taskItems.ToArray();        return true;     }   } } 

That you'll use like that:

<Target Name="TestGetAllTargets">   <GetAllTargets ProjectFile="$(MSBuildProjectFile)">     <Output ItemName="TargetItems" TaskParameter="Targets"/>   </GetAllTargets>    <Message Text="Name: %(TargetItems.Identity) Input: %(TargetItems.Input) --> Output: %(TargetItems.Output)"/> </Target> 

Using MSBuild 4.0 : Inline task

With MSBuild 4 you could use the new shiny thing : the inline task. Inline task allows you to define the behavior directly in msbuild file.

<UsingTask TaskName="GetAllTargets"            TaskFactory="CodeTaskFactory"            AssemblyFile="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.Build.Tasks.v4.0.dll" >   <ParameterGroup>     <ProjectFile ParameterType="System.String" Required="true"/>     <TargetsOut ParameterType="Microsoft.Build.Framework.ITaskItem[]" Output="true"/>   </ParameterGroup>   <Task>     <Reference Include="System.Xml"/>     <Reference Include="Microsoft.Build"/>     <Reference Include="Microsoft.Build.Framework"/>     <Using Namespace="Microsoft.Build.Evaluation"/>     <Using Namespace="Microsoft.Build.Execution"/>     <Using Namespace="Microsoft.Build.Utilities"/>     <Using Namespace="Microsoft.Build.Framework"/>     <Code Type="Fragment" Language="cs">       <![CDATA[         var project = new Project(ProjectFile);                  var taskItems = new List<ITaskItem>(project.Targets.Count);         foreach (KeyValuePair<string, ProjectTargetInstance> kvp in project.Targets)         {           var target = kvp.Value;           var metadata = new Dictionary<string, string>                           {                             {"Condition", target.Condition},                             {"Inputs", target.Inputs},                             {"Outputs", target.Outputs},                             {"DependsOnTargets", target.DependsOnTargets}                           };           taskItems.Add(new TaskItem(kvp.Key, metadata));         }          TargetsOut = taskItems.ToArray();       ]]>     </Code>   </Task> </UsingTask>  <Target Name="Test">   <GetAllTargets ProjectFile="$(MSBuildProjectFile)">     <Output ItemName="TargetItems" TaskParameter="TargetsOut"/>     </GetAllTargets>    <Message Text="%(TargetItems.Identity)"/> </Target>