How to Simultaneously Update All .NET Projects?

1/22/2025 MVC Core(en)
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One recurring challenge I face is that every time a new version of .NET is released, I need to install it on my system and then update my older projects to the new .NET version. While this often brings new features and removes some old ones, the process remains cumbersome.

Wouldn’t it be simpler if there were a way to update .NET packages with a single CLI command? In this post, I’ll share a solution that makes the process significantly easier.

Step 1: Install the Required Tool

To manage and update NuGet packages in your .NET projects, you need the dotnet-outdated-tool. Install it globally on your system using the following command:

 

dotnet tool install --global dotnet-outdated-tool

Step 2: Create a Script for Automation

Instead of manually updating each project, you can use a PowerShell script to automate the process. This script scans all .csproj files in your directory and updates them with minimal effort.

  1. Create a file named Update-NuGet.ps1 in the root directory of your projects.
  2. Add the following code to the file:
# Get all .csproj files in the current directory and subdirectories
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter *.csproj | ForEach-Object {
    $project = $_.FullName
    Write-Host "Updating packages for project: $project"
    dotnet outdated $project --upgrade
}

Write-Host "All projects updated!"

 

Step 3: Run the Script

Navigate to the folder where you saved the Update-NuGet.ps1 file and run the script using the command:

./Update-NuGet.ps1

The script will locate all .csproj files in the directory and its subdirectories, update the NuGet packages, and display a message once all projects are updated.

 

Benefits of This Method

  1. Time-Saving: No need to manually update each project.
  2. Automation: Simplifies the process for managing multiple projects.
  3. Efficiency: Updates all your projects in one go with a single command.