How do I programmatically list all projects in a solution?

Question

How do I programmatically list all of the projects in a solution? I'll take a script, command-line, or API calls.

Solution 1

Here's a PowerShell script that retrieves project details from a .sln file:

Get-Content 'Foo.sln' |
  Select-String 'Project\(' |
    ForEach-Object {
      $projectParts = $_ -Split '[,=]' | ForEach-Object { $_.Trim('[ "{}]') };
      New-Object PSObject -Property @{
        Name = $projectParts[1];
        File = $projectParts[2];
        Guid = $projectParts[3]
      }
    }

Solution 2

    var Content = File.ReadAllText(SlnPath);
    Regex projReg = new Regex(
        "Project\\(\"\\{[\\w-]*\\}\"\\) = \"([\\w _]*.*)\", \"(.*\\.(cs|vcx|vb)proj)\""
        , RegexOptions.Compiled);
    var matches = projReg.Matches(Content).Cast<Match>();
    var Projects = matches.Select(x => x.Groups[2].Value).ToList();
    for (int i = 0; i < Projects.Count; ++i)
    {
        if (!Path.IsPathRooted(Projects[i]))
            Projects[i] = Path.Combine(Path.GetDirectoryName(SlnPath),
                Projects[i]);
        Projects[i] = Path.GetFullPath(Projects[i]);
    }

Edit: Amended the regex to include the ".*" as per the comment by Kumar Vaibhav

Solution 3

You can use the EnvDTE.Solution.Projects object to programmatically get access to the projects in a solution.

One gotcha though is that if you have any SolutionFolders in your solution, any projects in these folders are not shown in the above collection.

I've written an article including a code sample on how to get all projects regardless of any solutionfolders

Solution 4

The trick is to choose the right MsBuild.dll. Under VS2017 it is indeed "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Professional\MSBuild\15.0\Bin\amd64\Microsoft.Build.dll" (Dont use the standard Msbuild ddl in references. Browse to this path)

c#:

var solutionFile =    
SolutionFile.Parse(@"c:\NuGetApp1\NuGetApp1.sln");//your solution full path name
var projectsInSolution = solutionFile.ProjectsInOrder;
foreach(var project in projectsInSolution)
{
   switch (project.ProjectType)
   {
      case SolutionProjectType.KnownToBeMSBuildFormat:
     {
         break;
     }
     case SolutionProjectType.SolutionFolder:
     {
         break;
     }
  }
}

powershell:

Add-Type -Path (${env:ProgramFiles(x86)} + '\Microsoft Visual 
Studio\2017\Professional\MSBuild\15.0\Bin\amd64\Microsoft.Build.dll')

$slnPath = 'c:\NuGetApp1\NuGetApp1.sln'
$slnFile = [Microsoft.Build.Construction.SolutionFile]::Parse($slnPath)
$pjcts = $slnFile.ProjectsInOrder

foreach ($item in $pjcts)
{

    switch($item.ProjectType)
    {
        'KnownToBeMSBuildFormat'{Write-Host Project  : $item.ProjectName}
        'SolutionFolder'{Write-Host Solution Folder : $item.ProjectName}
    }
}  

Solution 5

Currently you can use Package Manager Console in VS to obtain that info. Use powershell Get-Project command

Get-Project -All

View more solutions

Comments

[Kumar Vaibhav]

The above works but there is a little problem. If your projects are named like "AB.CD" - I mean when the '.' is there then the regex would not recognize those. The following little change would make it work - Regex projReg = new Regex( "Project\(\"\\{[\\w-]*\\}\"\) = \"([\\w _]*.*)\", \"(.*\\.(cs|vcx|vb)proj)\"" , RegexOptions.Compiled);

[default locale]

@Kiquenet I'm afraid I didn't understand your comment

[Kiquenet]

not any Parser C# class for read sln files ? Similar like stackoverflow.com/questions/707107/… stackoverflow.com/questions/1243022/…

[Kiquenet]

Which Visual Studio version ?

[Alex]

This can only be used in a VS extension, so it useless for anybody who wants a stand alone tool for reading source projects in a solution.

[Scott Mackay]

You can get a reference to a running instance of VS or you can access $dte from the package manager console. If you dont have VS running at all then you need an alternative solution. The new MSBuild packages now contain classes for parsing solution and project files but these are still pre-RTM

[ncooper09]

I know this is old, but it is beautiful. Saved me a bunch of time.

[alastairs]

If you need to, you can filter out solution folders by adding an additional Select-String between lines 2 and 3 as follows: Select-String "{2150E333-8FDC-42A3-9474-1A3956D46DE8}" -NotMatch |

[demokritos]

For VS2017, it is under VS2017 "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Professional\MSBuild\15.0\Bin\amd64\Microsoft.Bu‌​ild.dll" And annoying, but for sqlprojs files, project type is Unknown [SolutionProjectType]::Unknown

[PatrickR]

updated link: wwwlicious.com/envdte-getting-all-projects-html

[Badhon Jain]

Works like a charm!