Referencing an analyzer from a project

This post is part of the series 'Roslyn Analyzers'. Be sure to check out the rest of the blog posts of the series!

• Writing a Roslyn analyzer
• Writing language-agnostic Roslyn Analyzers using IOperation
• Working with types in a Roslyn analyzer
• Referencing an analyzer from a project (this post)
• Packaging a Roslyn Analyzer with NuGet package references
• Multi-targeting a Roslyn analyzer
• Roslyn analyzers: How to
• How to test a Roslyn analyzer
• Useful resources to write Roslyn Analyzers

Once you have created a Roslyn Analyzer, you have multiple ways to consume it in your project:

• Using a Visual Studio extension
• Using a NuGet package
• Using a Project Reference when the Roslyn Analyzer is in the same solution

The first 2 solutions are the most common ones, and are described in the first post of the series: Writing a Roslyn Analyzer. For instance, here's an example of referencing an analyzer from a NuGet package:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>netstandard2.0</TargetFramework>
  </PropertyGroup>
  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="Meziantou.Analyzer" Version="1.0.427">
        <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
        <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers</IncludeAssets>
    </PackageReference>
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

However, the last solution is not the most common one, but it is very convenient when the analyzer is useful only for the current solution:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>netstandard2.0</TargetFramework>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <ProjectReference Include="..\Analyzer1\Analyzer1.csproj"
                      PrivateAssets="all"
                      ReferenceOutputAssembly="false"
                      OutputItemType="Analyzer"
                      SetTargetFramework="TargetFramework=netstandard2.0" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

You can also create a file named Directory.Build.props to declare the analyzer for all projects of the solution:

<Project>
  <ItemGroup>
    <!-- Use MSBuildThisFileDirectory to make the path relative to the current file location -->
    <ProjectReference Include="$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)\Analyzer1\Analyzer1.csproj"
                      PrivateAssets="all"
                      ReferenceOutputAssembly="false"
                      OutputItemType="Analyzer" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

Thanks Nick Craver for the tip: https://twitter.com/Nick_Craver/status/1256365611455840256

Do you have a question or a suggestion about this post? Contact me!