dotnet-publish

deployment package builder and publisher

TLDR

Publish for deployment

$ dotnet publish

Publish Release build

$ dotnet publish -c Release

Publish self-contained app

$ dotnet publish -r [linux-x64] --self-contained

Publish single file

$ dotnet publish -r [linux-x64] -p:PublishSingleFile=true

Publish to directory

$ dotnet publish -o [./publish]

Publish trimmed (smaller output)

$ dotnet publish -r [linux-x64] -p:PublishTrimmed=true

SYNOPSIS

dotnet publish [project] [options]

dotnet publish compiles and packages an application for deployment. It produces a directory containing the application, dependencies, and optionally the .NET runtime itself.
Self-contained deployment includes the runtime, eliminating target machine .NET requirements. Framework-dependent deployment assumes .NET is installed, producing smaller output.
Advanced options like single-file publishing and trimming optimize output for specific deployment scenarios.

PARAMETERS

PROJECT

Project or solution to publish.

-c, --configuration CONFIG

Build configuration.

-r, --runtime RID

Target runtime identifier.

--self-contained [BOOL]

Include .NET runtime.

-o, --output DIR

Output directory.

-p:PROP=VALUE

Set MSBuild property.

--no-build

Skip build, use existing output.

--help

Display help information.

CAVEATS

Self-contained apps are larger. Trimming may remove needed code. Runtime identifiers must match target system. Cross-platform publishing may need additional SDKs.

HISTORY

dotnet publish is part of the .NET CLI, providing standardized deployment artifact creation across platforms. It replaced platform-specific deployment methods in legacy .NET.