Reinstalling NuGet packages with NuGet installed as VS Extension

Question

I would like to be able to install all of the NuGet packages in the packages.config, as per The NuGet docs. NuGet is installed as a VS Extension, and I can't seem to find nuget.exe. Is it possible to run:

nuget i packages.config -o Packages

Without maintaining a seperate copy of nuget.exe on a per project basis?

Answer 1

Reinstall all packages in all projects of the current solution:

Update-Package -Reinstall 

You can find more information about reinstalling nuget packages here

Answer 2

Warning - using

Update-Package -Reinstall 

or

Update-Package -Reinstall -IgnoreDependencies 

may remove all of your packages and package.config files!

Always make sure that you have your backups performed first.

Scenario:

• Solution with multiple projects
• Each contains their own Nuget entries, some with the same packages (e.g., SharpRepository, Entity Framework)
• Now copy folder without the packages folder for "distribution" somewhere else
• Assume the packages folder wasn't included with the distribution
• Now try the command Update-Package -Reinstall or if you have some alpha packages and/or are sure your dependencies are good, try Update-Package -Reinstall -IgnoreDependencies

Result:
Because the packages folder doesn't exist, the entries for your packages methodically go away, too. This can surprise some people - so be careful, is all I'm saying.