.NET Project Toolkit

All-in-one project toolkit for .NET developers - deployment, watch, and debug management

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Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Quick Start
• Usage Guide
  • Publish Profiles
  • Profile Management
  • Deployment
  • View Logs
  • Watch Management
  • Debug Management
  • Deployment History
• Configuration
• Security
• Troubleshooting

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Features

Publish & Deployment

Note: Currently supports IIS Web Deploy (MSDeploy) via .pubxml profiles. Docker and other targets are planned.

• Profile Detection: Scans workspace for .pubxml files per project.
• IIS Deployment: One-click deploy to Staging, Production, or Dev environments.
• Credential Management: Securely encrypted password storage.
• Profile Editor: Direct UI for managing publish profiles.
• Auto Browser Launch: Opens site after successful deployment.
• IIS Log Viewer: Download and view logs from the server.
• Web.config Modifier: Adjust settings during deployment.

Watch & Debug (Local Dev)

• Multi-Project Watch: Run multiple dotnet watch instances.
• Groups: Manage sets of projects (e.g., "Full Stack") to watch or debug together.
• Status Tracking: Visual indicators for running processes.

Deployment History

• Tracking: Log of all deployments with status and duration.
• Organization: Grouped by date (Today, Yesterday, etc.).

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Installation

1. Download the latest .vsix from Releases.
2. Open VS Code, press Ctrl+Shift+P, and run Extensions: Install from VSIX.

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Quick Start

1. Open Workspace: Open a folder with your .NET projects.
2. Access Toolkit: Click the .NET Toolkit icon in the Activity Bar.
3. Deploy: Expand a project, find a profile, and click the Deploy (rocket) icon.

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Usage Guide

1. Publish Profiles

The extension organizes profiles hierarchically:

📦 .NET Project Toolkit
├── 📂 Server
│   ├── 🌐 MyApp.Api
│   │   ├── 📄 DEV-API [DEV]
│   │   ├── 📄 STAGING-API [STAGING]
│   │   └── 📄 PROD-API [PROD]

Environment Badges:

• DEV: Development (Green)
• STAGING: Staging (Blue)
• PROD: Production (Red)

2. Profile Management

Create Profile: Right-click a project -> Create Publish Profile.

• Environments: DEV, STAGING, PROD.
• Log Path: Optional path to IIS stdout logs.

Edit Profile: Click any profile to open the Profile Info Panel.

• Modify URL, credentials, or settings.
• Enable Open in browser or Stdout logging.

3. Deployment

Deploy to Staging/Dev: Click the Deploy icon next to the profile.

Deploy to Production: Click Deploy. A confirmation dialog is required for safety.

Process: Build -> Publish -> Deploy (MSDeploy) -> Verify -> Launch Browser.

4. View Logs

View IIS stdout logs directly within VS Code:

1. Open a publish profile to view the Profile Info Panel.
2. Scroll to Deployment Options.
3. Ensure Log Path is set (e.g., C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles\W3SVC1).
4. Click the View Logs button.
5. Logs are downloaded and displayed in the Output panel.

5. Watch Management

• Start: Click Play on a project or group.
• Groups: Click + to create a group of projects to watch simultaneously.

6. Debug Management

• Debug: Click Debug icon on a project or group to attach debugger.
• Groups: Create groups to debug microservices together.

7. Deployment History

View past deployments in the History view.

• Shows status (Success/Failure) and duration.

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Configuration

Settings (Ctrl+, -> search "dotnet toolkit"):

Setting	Default	Description
dotnetToolkit.passwordStorage	secret	Use secret (encrypted) or envvar (environment variables).
dotnetToolkit.openBrowserOnDeploy	true	Open browser after deployment.
dotnetWorkspace.dotnetPath	dotnet	Path to dotnet CLI.

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Security

• Credentials: Stored using OS-secure storage (Credential Manager/Keychain) by default.
• Production Safety: Explicit confirmation required for PROD deployments.

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Troubleshooting

• Project Not Found: Ensure .csproj builds successfully. Refresh the view.
• Credentials: If saving fails, check if your OS Keychain is unlocked.
• Logs: If logs are empty, verify the Log Path on the server and ensure the user has read permissions.

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are always welcome!

• Report Bugs: Open an issue to report bugs or request features.
• Submit PRs: Fork the repo, simplify your workflow, and submit a Pull Request.

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☕ Support Me

If you find this extension helpful, consider supporting its development!

• Ko-fi
• Paypal

Made with ❤️ for .NET developers