9.7 KiB
Content bundled in the app bundle
There are a few items that are automatically included during the build, and that we're supposed to copy to the app bundle somehow:
@(None)
and@(EmbeddedResource)
items with theCopyToOutputDirectory
or theCopyToPublishDirectory
metadata set (to eitherAlways
orPreserveNewest
).CopyToOutputDirectory
doesn't work with directories (for frameworks), in that caseCopyToPublishDirectory
must be used.
@(Content)
and@(BundleResource)
items (theCopyToOutputDirectory
orCopyToPublishDirectory
metadata has no effect on these items).- Runtime packs (our own, or the runtime itself (CoreCLR/MonoVM)). We have some logic to detect this.
- The output from referenced projects (transitively).
- NuGets with a runtimes/RID/native directory. An aggravating issue here is that NuGet will strip the relative path at some point (dotnet publish with a rid flattens Nuget package files).
- The ResolvePackageAssets adds to the NativeCopyLocalItems group
- Then ResolveLockFileCopyLocalFiles adds it to ReferenceCopyLocalPaths
- And of course files added directly to
@(ResolvedFileToPublish)
.
The problem is that we have to decide where to place these files in the app bundle.
For this purpose, we support the PublishFolderType
metadata on items in the
ResolvedFileToPublish
item group, and will place these files accordingly.
Below is a list of known/valid PublishFolderType
values and the
corresponding action taken for each.
In all cases the relative directory is preserved (i.e. we don't follow the behavior in dotnet/sdk#9643.
If the PublishFolderType
metadata isn't set, we'll try to guess. If we guess
wrong, then developers can override the target location by:
- Setting
PublishFolderType=None
on items. - Setting the
TargetPath
metadata on items to specify a different location in the app bundle (ifPublishFolderType
is also set, theTargetPath
path is relative to the folder of the specifiedPublishFolderType
value). - The
Link
metadata can be used just likeTargetPath
. - For some item groups it's also possible to set
CopyToOutputDirectory=Never
on items that shouldn't be copied.
The guessing
@(Content)
or@(EmbeddedResource)
items:PublishFolderType=Resource
@(BundleResource)
items:PublishFolderType=Resource
- Assemblies and their related files (*.dll, *.exe, *.pdb, *.mdb,
*.config):
- If the
PackageDebugSymbols
property is set totrue':
PublishFolderType=Assembly`. - If the
PackageDebugSymbols
is set to something else:PublishFolderType=None
. - If the
PackageDebugSymbols
is not set:PublishFolderType=None
for release builds,PublishFolderType=Assembly
otherwise.
- If the
- A *.resources directory or a *.resources.zip file next to an assembly with
the same name is treated as a third-party binding
(
PublishFolderType=AppleBindingResourcePackage
), and we handle it as such (the exact details are not relevant for this discussion). - Native frameworks (*.framework/*):
PublishFolderType=AppleFramework
- Native xc frameworks (*.xcframework/*):
PublishFolderType=AppleFramework
- Resources (*.jpg, *.png, ...?):
PublishFolderType=Resource
- *.framework.zip and *.xcframework.zip:
PublishFolderType=CompressedAppleFramework
- *.dylib:
PublishFolderType=DynamicLibrary
- *.a:
PublishFolderType=StaticLibrary
- No other files are copied. We show a warning if we find any such files.
Known/valid PublishFolderType values
None
The item won't be copied to the app bundle.
RootDirectory
The item will be copied to the root directory of the app bundle. The Link
metadata can be used to place an item in a subdirectory relative to the root
directory.
Assembly
The item is copied to where the managed assemblies are located in the app bundle.
The assembly will not be AOT-compiled (only assemblies that are reachable by iterating recursively over all assembly references starting with the executable assembly are AOT-compiled), and won't be executable on platforms where AOT-compilation is required.
The target directory is:
- iOS, tvOS: the root directory of the app bundle
- macOS, Mac Catalyst: the
Contents/MonoBundle/
subdirectory (theMonoBundle
name can be customized if desired).
Resource
Items are copied to where resources are located in the app bundle.
The target directory is:
- iOS, tvOS: the root directory of the app bundle
- macOS, Mac Catalyst: the
Contents/Resources/
subdirectory.
AppleBindingResourcePackage
This is a third-party binding resource package, and the actual action performed depends on the contents of the package (we'll link with static libraries, link with and embed dynamic libraries and frameworks).
Setting the TargetPath
or Link
metadata has no effect these items.
CompressedAppleBindingResourcePackaged
Treated as a zipped third-party binding resource (first unzipped, and then
treated as AppleBindingResourcePackage
).
AppleFramework
- If the item is a *.framework or *.xcframework directory, these directories will be copied to the app bundle's Frameworks directory.
- If any of the item's containing directories is an *.xcframework directory, then select that directory instead.
- Otherwise, if any of the item's containing directories is a *.framework
directory, then select that directory instead.
- This means that if a MyFramework.framework/MyFramework file is listed, any other files in the MyFramework.framework directory will also be copied to the app bundle.
- The order is important here: we're checking for *.xcframework before *.framework, because the former will often contain the latter, and we need to link with the former.
- Otherwise an error is shown.
We'll also link the native executable with the framework.
Setting the TargetPath
or Link
metadata has no effect these items.
CompressedAppleFramework
The item is assumed to be a zip file containing one or more *.framework or
*.xcframework directories. The zip file will be decompressed, and the
*.framework and *.xcframework directories treated as AppleFramework
items.
Setting the TargetPath
or Link
metadata has no effect these items.
PlugIns
The target directory is:
- iOS, tvOS: the
PlugIns/
subdirectory. - macOS, Mac Catalyst: the
Contents/PlugIns/
subdirectory.
CompressedPlugIns
The item must be a zip file, which is decompressed, and then treated as
PlugIns
(the contents of the zip file will be copied to the corresponding
PlugIns
directory).
Setting the TargetPath
or Link
metadata has no effect these items.
If a plugin needs to be in a custom subdirectory, then put it in that directory in the zip file.
DynamicLibrary
These are dynamic libraries (*.dylib) files.
We will link with these libraries when linking the native executable.
The target directory is the same as for Assembly
:
- iOS, tvOS: the root directory of the app bundle
- macOS, Mac Catalyst: the
Contents/MonoBundle/
subdirectory.
Warning: The App Store will reject any apps with *.dylib files (for iOS and tvOS, not for macOS or Mac Catalyst).
StaticLibrary
These are static libraries (*.a) files.
We will link with these libraries when linking the native executable.
Static libraries are not copied to the app bundle.
Unknown
We show a warning, and we don't copy the item to the app bundle (i.e. treat it
as None
).
Examples
Example 1
<Content Update="MyImage.png" PublishFolderType="PlugIns" />
would put MyImage.png in MyApp.app/PlugIns/MyImage.png on iOS and tvOS, and MyApp.app/Contents/PlugIns/MyImage.png on macOS and Mac Catalyst.
Example 2
<Content Update="MyImage.png" PublishFolderType="PlugIns" Link="Subfolder/YourImage.png" />
would put MyImage.png in MyApp.app/PlugIns/Subfolder/YourImage.png on iOS and tvOS, and MyApp.app/Contents/PlugIns/Subfolder/YourImage.png on macOS and Mac Catalyst.
Example 3
<Content Update="MyImage.png" Link="Resources/YourImage.png" />
would put MyImage.png in MyApp.app/Resources/YourImage.png on all platforms (and that would be wrong for macOS and Mac Catalyst).
FAQ
I have a file I want to place in the app bundle. How do I do that?
If it doesn't fit any of the existing PublishFolderType
values, you can add
it to the None
items like this:
<None Include="MyFile.bin" CopyToPublishDirectory="Always" PublishFolderType="RootDirectory" />
I want to put a file in a specific subdirectory, not related to any other content type
<None Include="MyFile.bin" CopyToOutputDirectory="PreserveNewest" PublishFolderType="RootDirectory" Link="Subfolder/MyFile.bin" />
I don't want a file to be copied to the app bundle
The easiest way is to set PublishFolderType
to None
:
<EmbeddedResource Include="MyFile.bin" CopyToOutputDirectory="PreserveNewest" PublishFolderType="None" />
References
- .NET: What to do about files in ResolvedFileToPublish
- [maccatalyst] NativeReference results in "bundle format is ambiguous (could be app or framework)"
- [.NET 6] Files copies into MonoBundle get folder structure flattened
- .NET: build fails when referencing BenchmarkDotNet
- Having multiple .frameworks in a nuget package fails to build due to multiple info.plist files
- Automatically include .framework or .a files in the NuGet's runtimes/ios/native folder