MSBuild Reference

To learn more about using Dotfuscator with MSBuild see the MSBuild Interface page.

Install Location

Dotfuscator's MSBuild components can be found in the following directories, based on the installation package you used:

where:

• $(MSBuildProgramFiles32) is a reserved MSBuild property pointing to the C:\Program Files (x86) directory on 64-bit versions of Windows and C:\Program Files on 32-bit versions.

• {install dir} is the Dotfuscator installation directory you noted when installing the NuGet package.

Targets Reference

Dotfuscator's MSBuild targets, PreEmptive.Dotfuscator.Common.targets, make it easy to integrate Dotfuscator into a Visual Studio or MSBuild project. The targets are designed to run Dotfuscator immediately following the assembly build process, before packaging.

Available Properties

The following properties are understood by the Dotfuscator MSBuild Targets:

• DotfuscatorEnabled

  • Determines whether the Dotfuscator integration will run.
    • If "true", Dotfuscator will protect the project.
    • If "false", Dotfuscator will be skipped for this build.
  • This property is available in the project file where the Dotfuscator MSBuild Targets are imported.
  • This property defaults to "false".

• DotfuscatorConfigPath

  • Path to the Dotfuscator config file, relative to the same directory as the MSBuild project file.
  • This file does not need to exist if "DotfuscatorGenerateConfigFileIfMissing" is set to "true".
  • This property is available in the project file where the Dotfuscator MSBuild Targets are imported.
  • Defaults to "DotfuscatorConfig.xml".

• DotfuscatorGenerateConfigFileIfMissing

  • Determines what happens during a build if the file specified by "DotfuscatorConfigPath" does not exist.
    • If "true", Dotfuscator generates a new config file at that path using relevant MSBuild properties.
    • If "false", Dotfuscator errors the build.
  • This property is available in the project file where the Dotfuscator MSBuild Targets are imported.
  • This property defaults to "true".

• DotfuscatorAndroidSigningCertFingerprint

  • Specifies the SHA-1 fingerprint of the certificate used to sign the Xamarin Android App. If you are using key rotation and your application requires Android Pie (or later), use the last alias in the rotation, otherwise, you need to provide the first alias in the rotation.
  • Only required when injecting Tamper Check into a Xamarin Android app.
  • This property is available in any Xamarin.Android project file where the Dotfuscator MSBuild Targets are imported.
  • This property is not set by default.

• DotfuscatorLicense

  • Specifies a Dotfuscator license string to activate and use for this run of Dotfuscator. Typically this will be done with a Floating License.
  • The value of this property will be used even if another license is also specified through an environment variable or in the license file.
  • This property is available in the project file where the Dotfuscator MSBuild Targets are imported.
  • This property is not set by default.

• DotfuscatorIncludeAsInput

  • Specifies whether the current project's assembly should be protected by Dotfuscator when Dotfuscator is integrated into another project which references this project. For more information, see Controlling Which Assemblies are Protected.
  • This property is available in project files referenced, directly or indirectly, by the project where the Dotfuscator MSBuild Targets are imported.
  • The property is not available in the project where the Dotfuscator MSBuild Targets are imported.
  • This property defaults to true.

Available Item Metadata

The following metadata are understood by the Dotfuscator MSBuild Targets:

• DotfuscatorIncludeAsInput
  • Specifies whether an external referenced assembly should be included as an input to Dotfuscator. For more information, see Controlling Which Assemblies Are Protected.
  • This metadata is available on Reference items in any project file in your solution, including the project where the Dotfuscator MSBuild Targets are imported. Dotfuscator will error if it is set on ProjectReference or PackageReference items, as this setting is not supported on those kinds of references.
  • This metadata defaults to false.

MSBuild Task Reference

Dotfuscator provides an MSBuild interface through two task libraries.

• Legacy Library: legacy/PreEmptive.Dotfuscator.Tasks.dll

• Modern Library: PreEmptive.Dotfuscator.Tasks.dll

The two libraries contain the same task definitions but target different sets of MSBuild flavors and versions. The table below summarizes what MSBuild installations support each version.

Dotfuscate Task

You can run Dotfuscator from MSBuild using the Dotfuscate task. Below are the properties provided by the Dotfuscate task.