dotnet-restore

Restore NuGet package dependencies for a .NET project

TLDR

Restore dependencies for the project in the current directory

$ dotnet restore

Restore a specific project

$ dotnet restore [project.csproj]

Restore from a specific NuGet source

$ dotnet restore --source [https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json]

Restore without using HTTP cache

$ dotnet restore --no-cache

Restore for a specific runtime (RID)

$ dotnet restore --runtime [linux-x64]

Restore in lock-file mode (fails if any package version drifts)

$ dotnet restore --locked-mode

Restore with verbose logging

$ dotnet restore --verbosity detailed

SYNOPSIS

dotnet restore [project|solution] [options]

dotnet restore downloads and installs all NuGet package dependencies declared in a project, solution, or dotnet-tools.json. It reads PackageReference entries from .csproj/.fsproj/.vbproj files, queries the configured NuGet sources, and writes restored assets to obj/project.assets.json.Other commands like dotnet build and dotnet run trigger an implicit restore by default, so explicit invocation is mainly useful in CI pipelines (where you want to cache the restore step), when troubleshooting package resolution, or when --no-restore is being used downstream.

PARAMETERS

-s, --source SOURCE

NuGet package source to use during restore (overrides nuget.config).

--packages DIR

Directory in which to install the restored packages (default: ~/.nuget/packages).

--no-cache

Don't cache HTTP requests; always re-fetch from the source.

--no-dependencies

Restore only the root project, ignoring project-to-project references.

--force

Force all dependencies to be re-resolved even if a cached lock exists.

--locked-mode

Don't allow updates to packages.lock.json — fail if it would change.

--use-lock-file

Generate or update packages.lock.json.

--runtime RID

Target a specific runtime identifier (e.g. linux-x64, win-x86).

--configfile FILE

NuGet config file to use instead of the default chain.

--disable-parallel

Disable parallel downloads.

-v, --verbosity LEVEL

Verbosity: q[uiet], m[inimal], n[ormal], d[etailed], diag[nostic].

-?, -h, --help

Display help.

CAVEATS

Restore obeys the standard NuGet config chain: machine-wide, user, and per-directory NuGet.config files. --source replaces (not adds to) configured sources. Setting --locked-mode without an existing packages.lock.json fails immediately.