MSBuild required environment variables

Question

I'm trying to setup .NET (C#) build from the command line. What is the list of environment variables that I need to set up in the MSDOS prompt before I can run MSBuild.exe from the command line?

The path to MSBuild executable would be the most obvious example. I cannot rely on setting variables from MyComputer -> Properties -> Advanced -> Enviroment Variables so I really need a full list if such list exists.

P.S. The build needs to be automated (command line), and I'm not using Visual Studio but building with .NET Framework (v3.5) only.

Answer 1

What is the list of environment variables that I need to set up in the MSDOS prompt before I can run MSBuild.exe from the command line?

MSBuild has a set of reserved properties that are used, but you don't need to do anything to set these up. Any variables that MSBuild needs will be setup within MSBuild. The only environmental variables you need to worry about are ones that you yourself require.

The physical path to MSBuild for your DOS script is:

C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5\MSBuild

Answer 2

In the Visual Studio installation there is the batch file, vsvars32.bat, that will set the environment variables. If you want the list, then record the full list of environment variables before and after calling it, e.g. in a command line window:

set
"D:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\Tools\vsvars32.bat"
set

And find the difference between the two lists.

(Your path to vsvars32.bat may vary...)

Answer 3

You don't need to set any environment variables when calling MSBuild. If your build scripts rely on a set of environment variables, then you will have to set those yourself. As for the default build process no special environment variables are required.