What is msbuild?

MSBuild is the build system that Microsoft uses to compile and package .NET applications. When you build a project in Visual Studio, MSBuild is the underlying tool doing the work. It is also available as a standalone command-line tool, so you can build .NET projects on machines that do not have Visual Studio installed, which is common in automated build and deployment pipelines. The system works by reading project files, which are XML files that describe what source code files exist, what libraries the project depends on, and what the final output should look like. MSBuild processes these instructions and runs the necessary steps to turn source code into a working application or library. It handles tasks like compiling code, copying files, running tests, and packaging output for distribution. MSBuild supports Windows, macOS, and Linux through the .NET runtime. On Windows, the full-featured version has historically been tied to Visual Studio, but cross-platform support has grown significantly as .NET itself became cross-platform. This repository contains the open-source code for MSBuild. It accepts contributions from the public, and the maintainers tag certain issues as good starting points for new contributors. The project includes detailed documentation on how to build MSBuild itself, how to run its tests, and how to debug it on different platforms. A changelog in the repository tracks what changed in each release. MSBuild is a foundational piece of the .NET ecosystem. Most .NET developers interact with it indirectly through their IDE or command-line tools rather than configuring it directly.