Topic: dotnet-skills
228 skills in this topic.
-
migrate-mstest-v3-to-v4
Migrate an MSTest v3 test project to MSTest v4. Use when user says "upgrade to MSTest v4", "update to latest MSTest", "MSTest 4 migration", "MSTest v4 breaking changes", "MSTest v4 compatibility", or has build errors after updating MSTest packages from 3.x to 4.x. Also use for target framework compatibility (e.g. net6.0/net7.0 support with MSTest v4). USE FOR: upgrading MSTest packages from 3.x to 4.x, fixing source breaking changes (Execute -> ExecuteAsync, CallerInfo constructor, ClassCleanupBehavior removal, TestContext.Properties, Assert API changes, ExpectedExceptionAttribute removal, TestTimeout enum removal), resolving behavioral changes (TreatDiscoveryWarningsAsErrors, TestContext lifecycle, TestCase.Id changes, MSTest.Sdk MTP changes), handling dropped TFMs (net5.0-net7.0 dropped, only net8.0+, net462, uap10.0 supported). DO NOT USE FOR: migrating from MSTest v1/v2 to v3 (use migrate-mstest-v1v2-to-v3 first), migrating between test frameworks, or general .NET upgrades unrelated to MSTest.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
migrate-mstest-v1v2-to-v3
Migrate MSTest v1 or v2 test project to MSTest v3. Use when user says "upgrade MSTest", "upgrade to MSTest v3", "migrate to MSTest v3", "update test framework", "modernize tests", "MSTest v3 migration", "MSTest compatibility", "MSTest v2 to v3", or build errors after updating MSTest packages from 1.x/2.x to 3.x. USE FOR: upgrading from MSTest v1 assembly references (Microsoft.VisualStudio.QualityTools.UnitTestFramework) or MSTest v2 NuGet (MSTest.TestFramework 1.x-2.x) to MSTest v3, fixing assertion overload errors (AreEqual/AreNotEqual), updating DataRow constructors, replacing .testsettings with .runsettings, timeout behavior changes, target framework compatibility (.NET 5 dropped -- use .NET 6+; .NET Fx older than 4.6.2 dropped), adopting MSTest.Sdk. First step toward MSTest v4 -- after this, use migrate-mstest-v3-to-v4. DO NOT USE FOR: migrating to MSTest v4 (use migrate-mstest-v3-to-v4), migrating between frameworks (MSTest to xUnit/NUnit), or general .NET upgrades unrelated to MSTest.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
filter-syntax
Reference data for test filter syntax across all platform and framework combinations: VSTest --filter expressions, MTP filters for MSTest/NUnit/xUnit v3/TUnit, and VSTest-to-MTP filter translation. DO NOT USE directly — loaded by run-tests, mtp-hot-reload, and migrate-vstest-to-mtp when they need filter syntax.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
dotnet-test-frameworks
Reference data for .NET test framework detection patterns, assertion APIs, skip annotations, setup/teardown methods, and common test smell indicators across MSTest, xUnit, NUnit, and TUnit. DO NOT USE directly — loaded by test analysis skills (test-anti-patterns, exp-test-smell-detection, exp-assertion-quality, exp-test-maintainability, exp-test-tagging) when they need framework-specific lookup tables.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
crap-score
Calculates CRAP (Change Risk Anti-Patterns) score for .NET methods, classes, or files. Use when the user asks to assess test quality, identify risky untested code, compute CRAP scores, or evaluate whether complex methods have sufficient test coverage. Requires code coverage data (Cobertura XML) and cyclomatic complexity analysis. DO NOT USE FOR: writing tests, general test execution unrelated to coverage/CRAP analysis, or general code coverage reporting without CRAP context.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
coverage-analysis
Automated, project-wide code coverage and CRAP (Change Risk Anti-Patterns) score analysis for .NET projects with existing unit tests. Auto-detects solution structure, runs coverage collection via `dotnet test` (supports both Microsoft.Testing.Extensions.CodeCoverage and Coverlet), generates reports via ReportGenerator, calculates CRAP scores per method, and surfaces risk hotspots — complex code with low test coverage that is dangerous to modify. Use when the user wants project-wide coverage analysis with risk prioritization, coverage gap identification, CRAP score computation across an entire solution, or to diagnose why coverage is stuck or plateaued and identify what methods are blocking improvement. DO NOT USE FOR: targeted single-method CRAP analysis (use crap-score skill), writing tests, general test execution unrelated to coverage/CRAP analysis, or coverage reporting without CRAP context.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
code-testing-agent
Generates comprehensive, workable unit tests for any programming language using a multi-agent pipeline. Use when asked to generate tests, write unit tests, improve test coverage, add test coverage, create test files, or test a codebase. Supports C#, TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Go, Rust, Java, and more. Orchestrates research, planning, and implementation phases to produce tests that compile, pass, and follow project conventions.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
template-validation
Validates custom dotnet new templates for correctness before publishing. Catches missing fields, parameter bugs, shortName conflicts, constraint issues, and common authoring mistakes that cause templates to fail silently. USE FOR: checking template.json files for errors before publishing or testing, diagnosing why a template doesn't appear after installation, reviewing template parameter definitions for type mismatches and missing defaults, finding shortName conflicts with dotnet CLI commands, validating post-action and constraint configuration. DO NOT USE FOR: finding or using existing templates (use template-discovery), creating projects from templates (use template-instantiation), creating templates from existing projects (use template-authoring).
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
template-instantiation
Creates .NET projects from templates with validated parameters, smart defaults, Central Package Management adaptation, and latest NuGet version resolution. USE FOR: creating new dotnet projects, scaffolding solutions with multiple projects, installing or uninstalling template packages, creating projects that respect Directory.Packages.props (CPM), composing multi-project solutions (API + tests + library), getting latest NuGet package versions in newly created projects. DO NOT USE FOR: finding or comparing templates (use template-discovery), authoring custom templates (use template-authoring), modifying existing projects or adding NuGet packages to existing projects.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
template-authoring
Guides creation and validation of custom dotnet new templates. Generates templates from existing projects and validates template.json for authoring issues. USE FOR: creating a reusable dotnet new template from an existing project, validating template.json files for schema compliance and parameter issues, bootstrapping .template.config/template.json with correct identity, shortName, parameters, and post-actions, packaging templates as NuGet packages for distribution. DO NOT USE FOR: finding or using existing templates (use template-discovery and template-instantiation), MSBuild project file issues unrelated to template authoring, NuGet package publishing (only template packaging structure).
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
convert-to-cpm
Convert .NET projects and solutions (.sln, .slnx) to NuGet Central Package Management (CPM) using Directory.Packages.props. USE FOR: converting to CPM, centralizing or aligning NuGet package versions across multiple projects, inlining MSBuild version properties from Directory.Build.props into Directory.Packages.props, resolving version conflicts or mismatches across a solution or repository, updating or bumping or syncing package versions across projects. Also activate when packages are out of sync, drifting, or inconsistent -- even without the user mentioning CPM. Provides baseline build capture, version conflict resolution, build validation with binlog comparison, and a structured post-conversion report. DO NOT USE FOR: packages.config projects (must migrate to PackageReference first) or repositories that already have CPM fully enabled.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
resolve-project-references
Guide for interpreting ResolveProjectReferences time in MSBuild performance summaries. Only activate in MSBuild/.NET build context. Activate when ResolveProjectReferences appears as the most expensive target and developers are trying to optimize it directly. Explains that the reported time includes wait time for dependent project builds and is misleading. Guides users to focus on task self-time instead. Do not activate for general build performance -- use build-perf-diagnostics instead.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
msbuild-server
Guide for using MSBuild Server to improve CLI build performance. Only activate in MSBuild/.NET build context. Activate when developers report slow incremental builds from the command line, or when CLI builds are noticeably slower than IDE builds. Covers MSBUILDUSESERVER=1 environment variable for persistent server-based caching. Do not activate for IDE-based builds (Visual Studio already uses a long-lived process).
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
msbuild-modernization
Guide for modernizing and migrating MSBuild project files to SDK-style format. Only activate in MSBuild/.NET build context. USE FOR: converting legacy .csproj/.vbproj with verbose XML to SDK-style, migrating packages.config to PackageReference, removing Properties/AssemblyInfo.cs in favor of auto-generation, eliminating explicit <Compile Include> lists via implicit globbing, consolidating shared settings into Directory.Build.props. Indicators of legacy projects: ToolsVersion attribute, <Import Project="$(MSBuildToolsPath)">, .csproj files > 50 lines for simple projects. DO NOT USE FOR: projects already in SDK-style format, non-.NET build systems (npm, Maven, CMake), .NET Framework projects that cannot move to SDK-style. INVOKES: dotnet try-convert, upgrade-assistant tools.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
msbuild-antipatterns
Catalog of MSBuild anti-patterns with detection rules and fix recipes. Only activate in MSBuild/.NET build context. USE FOR: reviewing, auditing, or cleaning up .csproj, .vbproj, .fsproj, .props, .targets, or .proj files. Each anti-pattern has a symptom, explanation, and concrete BAD→GOOD transformation. Covers Exec-instead-of-built-in-task, unquoted conditions, hardcoded paths, restating SDK defaults, scattered package versions, and more. DO NOT USE FOR: non-MSBuild build systems (npm, Maven, CMake, etc.), project migration to SDK-style (use msbuild-modernization).
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
incremental-build
Guide for optimizing MSBuild incremental builds. Only activate in MSBuild/.NET build context. USE FOR: builds slower than expected on subsequent runs, 'nothing changed but it rebuilds anyway', diagnosing why targets re-execute unnecessarily, fixing broken no-op builds. Covers 8 common causes: missing Inputs/Outputs on custom targets, volatile properties in output paths (timestamps/GUIDs), file writes outside tracked Outputs, missing FileWrites registration, glob changes, Visual Studio Fast Up-to-Date Check (FUTDC) issues. Key diagnostic: look for 'Building target completely' vs 'Skipping target' in binlog. DO NOT USE FOR: first-time build slowness (use build-perf-baseline), parallelism issues (use build-parallelism), evaluation-phase slowness (use eval-performance), non-MSBuild build systems. INVOKES: dotnet build /bl, binlog replay with diagnostic verbosity.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
exp-test-gap-analysis
Performs pseudo-mutation analysis on .NET production code to find gaps in existing test suites. Use when the user asks to find weak tests, discover untested edge cases, check if tests would catch a bug, or evaluate test effectiveness through mutation-style reasoning. Analyzes production code for mutation points (boundary conditions, boolean flips, null returns, exception removal, arithmetic changes) and checks whether existing tests would detect each mutation. Works with MSTest, xUnit, NUnit, and TUnit. DO NOT USE FOR: writing new tests (use writing-mstest-tests), detecting test anti-patterns (use test-anti-patterns), measuring assertion diversity (use exp-assertion-quality), or running actual mutation testing tools.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
maui-collectionview
Guidance for implementing CollectionView in .NET MAUI apps — data display, layouts (list & grid), selection, grouping, scrolling, empty views, templates, incremental loading, swipe actions, and pull-to-refresh. USE FOR: "CollectionView", "list view", "grid layout", "data template", "item template", "grouping", "pull to refresh", "incremental loading", "swipe actions", "empty view", "selection mode", "scroll to item", displaying scrollable data, replacing ListView. DO NOT USE FOR: simple static layouts without scrollable data (use Grid or StackLayout), map pin lists (use Microsoft.Maui.Controls.Maps), table-based data entry forms, or non-MAUI list controls.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
maui-app-lifecycle
.NET MAUI app lifecycle guidance — the four app states, cross-platform Window lifecycle events (Created, Activated, Deactivated, Stopped, Resumed, Destroying), platform-specific lifecycle mapping, backgrounding and resume behavior, and state-preservation patterns. USE FOR: "app lifecycle", "window lifecycle events", "save state on background", "resume app", "OnStopped", "OnResumed", "backgrounding", "deactivated event", "ConfigureLifecycleEvents", "platform lifecycle hooks". DO NOT USE FOR: navigation events (use maui-shell-navigation), dependency injection setup (use maui-dependency-injection), platform API invocation (use conditional compilation and partial classes).
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
dotnet-maui-doctor
Diagnoses and fixes .NET MAUI development environment issues. Validates .NET SDK, workloads, Java JDK, Android SDK, Xcode, and Windows SDK. All version requirements discovered dynamically from NuGet WorkloadDependencies.json — never hardcoded. Use when: setting up MAUI development, build errors mentioning SDK/workload/JDK/Android, "Android SDK not found", "Java version" errors, "Xcode not found", environment verification after updates, or any MAUI toolchain issues. Do not use for: non-MAUI .NET projects, Xamarin.Forms apps, runtime app crashes unrelated to environment setup, or app store publishing issues. Works on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
exp-test-tagging
Analyzes test suites and tags each test with a standardized set of traits (e.g., positive, negative, critical-path, boundary, smoke, regression). Use when the user wants to categorize, audit, or label tests with traits. Do not use for writing new tests, running tests, or migrating test frameworks.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
exp-test-smell-detection
Deep formal test smell audit based on academic research taxonomy (testsmells.org). Detects 19 categorized smell types — conditional logic, mystery guests, sensitive equality, eager tests, and more — with calibrated severity and research-backed remediation. Use for comprehensive test suite health assessments. For a quick pragmatic review, use test-anti-patterns instead. DO NOT USE FOR: writing new tests (use writing-mstest-tests), evaluating assertion quality specifically (use exp-assertion-quality), or finding test duplication and boilerplate (use exp-test-maintainability).
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
exp-test-maintainability
Detects duplicate boilerplate, copy-paste tests, and structural maintainability issues across .NET test suites. Use when the user asks to reduce repetition, consolidate similar test methods, convert copy-paste tests to data-driven parameterized tests, suggest a better test structure, or identify refactoring opportunities. Identifies repeated construction, assertion patterns, copy-paste methods convertible to DataRow/Theory/TestCase, redundant setup/teardown, and shared infrastructure. Produces an analysis report with concrete before/after suggestions. Works with MSTest, xUnit, NUnit, and TUnit. DO NOT USE FOR: writing new tests (use writing-mstest-tests), reviewing test quality or anti-patterns (use test-anti-patterns), or deep mock auditing (use exp-mock-usage-analysis).
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302
-
dotnet-eslint
Use ESLint in .NET repositories that ship JavaScript, TypeScript, React, or other Node-based frontend assets. Use when a repo needs a configurable CLI lint gate for frontend correctness, import hygiene, unsafe patterns, or framework-specific rules.
managedcode/dotnet-skills 302