Export list of used NuGet packages for a given project

Posted by on 3/12/2012 01:23:00 AM

This one is as simple as the title says… I just wanted to get a list of all NuGet packages I’m currently using in my ASP.NET MVC 4 project.

If you look at the NuGet Package Manager window that you can access by right clicking a project in Solution Explorer and then selecting Manage NuGet Packages… you’ll see that there’s an Installed packages option on the left vertical menu. This is good and all but the manager doesn’t have an option to export the list of installed packages to a simple .txt file.

NuGet Package Manager listing Installed Packages for the projectFigure 1 - NuGet Package Manager listing Installed Packages for the project

One interesting thing is that NuGet uses a .XML file called packages.config that resides in the root folder of every project to actually fill the above window. Every time you add or delete a NuGet package this file is updated to reflect the changes.

This is the content of my packages.config file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<packages>
  <package id="AttributeRouting" version="1.5.4426" />
  <package id="DataAnnotationsExtensions" version="1.0.1" />
  <package id="DataAnnotationsExtensions.MVC3" version="1.0.1" />
  <package id="jQuery" version="1.7.1" />
  <package id="jQuery.Ajax.Unobtrusive" version="1.0" />
  <package id="jQuery.UI.Combined" version="1.8.17" />
  <package id="jQuery.Validation" version="1.8" />
  <package id="jQuery.Validation.Unobtrusive" version="1.0" />
  <package id="jquery-globalize" version="0.1.0" />
  <package id="knockoutjs" version="1.2.9.0" />
  <package id="log4net" version="1.2.10" />
  <package id="Microsoft.Web.Optimization" version="0.1" />
  <package id="microsoft-web-helpers" version="1.15" />
  <package id="Modernizr" version="2.0.6" />
  <package id="MvcSiteMapProvider" version="3.2.1.0" />
  <package id="Newtonsoft.Json" version="4.0.8" />
  <package id="NLog" version="2.0.0.2000" />
  <package id="RavenDB-Embedded" version="1.0.700" />
  <package id="System.Web.Providers" version="1.0.1" />
  <package id="T4MVC" version="2.7.0" />
  <package id="WebActivator" version="1.2.0.0" />
</packages>

This file serves the purpose of this post but it’d be a nice addition to the NuGet manager if it had a button to export the list of installed packages in a better formatted way. Just an idea.

Just let me take the opportunity to say “I Love You NuGet”. You let me explore the plethora of knowledge of fellow developers scattered all over the world in an easy way with the push of a button. I have no better words to describe you! You contribute enormously to the world development. Keep evolving!


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