How to run a PowerShell script before my .NET project is transfered into memory and built?

Question

I already know how to run arbitrary PowerShell script before building starts.

<Target Name="BeforeBuild">
  <Exec Command="powershell.exe -executionpolicy bypass -command &quot;&amp; {.\script.ps1 '$(SolutionDir)'}&quot;" />
  <Sleep Delay="3000"/>
</Target>

My problem is that the script I want to run modifies part of a .cs file. But this script above runs after the code was already copied into memory and when it builds, it uses the content of .cs file before it was modified.

Is there a way to start buidling process but run PowerShell script earlier, before my code is copied into memory? You could say I want to run a preprocessor that will call an external executable before any compilation process even begins.

If not, is there a way to build the project twice in a row without having to click Build in my IDE twice? (dirty hack that would fix my issue)

Quick note about <Sleep Delay="5000"/>. Because my PowerShell script is starting a process that is asynchronous and very short I also added a Delay task I found posted here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/41213107

jalsh · Accepted Answer · 2020-11-24 06:22:39Z

3

BeforeBuild target happens after compilation happens, so your code will already be compiled by then... to achieve the desired functionality, you should try using BeforeCompile target:

<Target Name="BeforeCompile">
  <Exec Command="powershell.exe -executionpolicy bypass -command &quot;&amp; {.\script.ps1 '$(SolutionDir)'}&quot;" />
  <Sleep Delay="3000"/>
</Target>

See this Microsoft Docs link for more info

answered Nov 24, 2020 at 6:22

jalsh

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Scholtz · Accepted Answer · 2025-07-13 11:52:36Z

0

for me worked

  <Target Name="GenerateABI" BeforeTargets="BeforeCompile">
    <Exec Command="powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File &quot;$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\Scripts\GenerateABI.ps1&quot;" />
  </Target>

answered Jul 13 at 11:52

Scholtz

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