Build .Net Core as an EXE not a DLL

Question

I want to build a .NET Core project as a EXE and not a DLL so it can be executed.

The answer here did not work: How to run a .Net Core dll?

Here is the sample code:

using System;

namespace ConsoleApplication
{
    public class Program
    {
        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Hello World!");
        }
    }
}

Here is my project.json:

{
  "version": "1.0.0-*",
  "compilationOptions": {
    "emitEntryPoint": true
  },
  "buildOptions": {
    "debugType": "portable",
    "emitEntryPoint": true
  },
  "dependencies": {},
  "frameworks": {
    "netcoreapp1.1": {
      "dependencies": {
        "Microsoft.NETCore.App": {
          "type": "platform",
          "version": "1.1.0"
        }
      },
      "imports": "dnxcore50"
    }
  }
}

I'm currently using VSCode, whenever I build the project with the build task, or run dotnet restore I just get a .dll in my bin/Debug folder.

How do you build a .NET Core application as an exe?

Bonus: I do, will that run on a mac or other device?

Answer 1

To produce an EXE instead of a DLL, you need a self-contained deployment. What you are currently doing is a framework-dependent deployment. To convert yours to self-contained, take the following steps in your project.json file.

1. Remove "type": "platform".
2. Add a "runtimes" section for the operating systems your app supports.

When you build, pass in the target operating system. E.g. dotnet build -r osx.10.10-x64.

This is the resultant project.json

{
  "version": "1.0.0-*",
  "compilationOptions": {
    "emitEntryPoint": true
  },
  "buildOptions": {
    "debugType": "portable",
    "emitEntryPoint": true
  },
  "dependencies": {},
  "frameworks": {
    "netcoreapp1.1": {
      "dependencies": {
        "Microsoft.NETCore.App": {
          "version": "1.1.0"
        }
      },
      "imports": "dnxcore50"
    }
  },
  "runtimes": {
    "win10-x64": {},
    "osx.10.10-x64": {}
  }
}

See also: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/articles/core/deploying/#self-contained-deployments-scd