How to: Create a SharePoint Solution Package by Using MSBuild Tasks

You can build, clean, and validate a SharePoint package (.wsp) using command-line MSBuild tasks on a development computer. You can also use these commands to automate the build process by using Team Foundation Server on a build computer.

Building a SharePoint Package

To build a SharePoint package

1. Open a Visual Studio command prompt window.

2. Change to the directory where your SharePoint project is located.

3. Type the following command to create a package for the project. Replace ProjectFileName with the name of the project.

   msbuild /t:Package ProjectFileName
   

   For example, you could run one of the following commands to package a SharePoint project called ListDefinition1.

   msbuild /t:Package ListDefinition1.vbproj
   msbuild /t:Package ListDefinition1.csproj
   

Cleaning a SharePoint Package

To clean a SharePoint package

1. Open a Visual Studio command prompt window.

2. Change to the directory where your SharePoint project is located.

3. Type the following command to clean a package for the project. Replace ProjectFileName with the name of the project.

   msbuild /t:CleanPackage ProjectFileName
   

   For example, you could run one of the following commands to clean a SharePoint project called ListDefinition1.

   msbuild /t:CleanPackage ListDefinition1.vbproj
   msbuild /t:CleanPackage ListDefinition1.csproj
   

Validating a SharePoint Package

To validate a SharePoint package

1. Open a Visual Studio command prompt window.

2. Change to the directory where your SharePoint project is located.

3. Type the following command to validate a package for the project. Replace ProjectFileName with the name of the project.

   msbuild /t:ValidatePackage ProjectFileName
   

   For example, you could run one of the following commands to validate a SharePoint project called ListDefinition1.

   msbuild /t:ValidatePackage ListDefinition1.vbproj
   msbuild /t:ValidatePackage ListDefinition1.csproj
   

Setting Properties in a SharePoint Package

To set a property in a SharePoint package

1. Open a Visual Studio command prompt window.

2. Change to the directory where your SharePoint project is located.

3. Type the following command to set a property in a package for the project. Replace PropertyName with the property that you want to set.

   msbuild /property:PropertyName=Value
   

   For example, you could run the following command to set the warning level.

   msbuild /property:WarningLevel = 2
   

See Also

Tasks

How to: Customize a SharePoint Feature

How to: Add and Remove Items to SharePoint Features

Other Resources

Creating SharePoint Features