Add new dotnet tool packages Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm and Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm by Copilot · Pull Request #121282 · dotnet/runtime

Copilot · 2025-11-03T00:42:16Z

Status: Implementation Complete ✅

Successfully implemented RID-specific tool packages for Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm and Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm as new separate packages, following the design at https://github.com/dotnet/designs/blob/main/accepted/2025/rid-specific-tool-packages.md.

Important: The existing Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm and Microsoft.NETCore.ILDAsm packages remain unchanged as content packages to avoid breaking downstream consumers.

Implementation

New Dotnet Tool Packages (Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm and Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm)

Configured as DotnetTool package type
RID-specific packages include native binaries in tools/net10.0/<rid>/
Primary packages dynamically generate tool manifest with $(PackageVersion) substitution
Hardcoded RID list to support distributed builds across multiple machines
TargetRid entry with Exclude pattern for automatic community platform support
Separate from existing packages - no breaking changes to Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm and Microsoft.NETCore.ILDAsm

Existing Packages Preserved (Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm and Microsoft.NETCore.ILDAsm)

Remain as content packages in their original format
No breaking changes for existing consumers
Continue to work as before for projects using Microsoft.NET.Sdk.IL and other SDK consumers

Tool Manifests

DotnetToolSettings.xml - RID-specific package manifest with executable runner type
Primary manifest generated dynamically during build to use current $(PackageVersion)
Includes all supported RIDs including community platforms (FreeBSD)
Automatically includes $(TargetRid) using Exclude="@(_OfficialRID)" pattern

Package Names and Commands

Package: Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm → Command: dotnet-ilasm
Package: Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm → Command: dotnet-ildasm

Supported RIDs

Windows: win-x64, win-x86, win-arm64
Linux: linux-x64, linux-arm, linux-arm64, linux-musl-x64, linux-musl-arm64
macOS: osx-x64, osx-arm64
Community platforms: freebsd-x64, freebsd-arm64
Plus any $(TargetRid) not in the official list (automatically excluded if duplicate)

Package Structure

Primary Packages (Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm and Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm):

tools/net10.0/any/DotnetToolSettings.xml (generated with RID list and current version)

RID-Specific Packages (e.g., runtime.linux-x64.Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm):

tools/net10.0/linux-x64/DotnetToolSettings.xml
tools/net10.0/linux-x64/ilasm

RID-Specific Packages (e.g., runtime.linux-x64.Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm):

tools/net10.0/linux-x64/DotnetToolSettings.xml
tools/net10.0/linux-x64/ildasm

Benefits

✅ Smaller downloads (only RID-specific package for current platform is downloaded)
✅ No managed wrapper overhead - native binaries run directly
✅ Native performance with executable runner type
✅ Consistent with .NET tool packaging design
✅ No hardcoded versions - automatically uses build system version
✅ Works in distributed build environments (different RIDs on different machines)
✅ Includes community platform support (FreeBSD)
✅ Automatically supports new community RIDs via $(TargetRid) with simple Exclude pattern
✅ Clear usage documentation in package descriptions
✅ Simple, maintainable implementation following ILCompiler pattern
✅ Both ILAsm and ILDAsm now available as dotnet tools
✅ Existing packages unchanged - no breaking changes for downstream consumers

Verification

New dotnet-ilasm package:

Package ID: Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm
Command: dotnet-ilasm
Supports RID-specific tool package pattern
No conflicts with existing Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm package

New dotnet-ildasm package:

Package ID: Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm
Command: dotnet-ildasm
Supports RID-specific tool package pattern
No conflicts with existing Microsoft.NETCore.ILDAsm package

Existing packages preserved:

Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm - unchanged content package format
Microsoft.NETCore.ILDAsm - unchanged content package format

Usage

dotnet-ilasm

# Install the tool (uses new package name)
dotnet tool install -g Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm

# Invoke the tool (uses new command name)
dotnet-ilasm mycode.il -dll -output:myassembly.dll

# Get help
dotnet-ilasm -?

dotnet-ildasm

# Install the tool (uses new package name)
dotnet tool install -g Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm

# Invoke the tool (uses new command name)
dotnet-ildasm myassembly.dll

# Get help
dotnet-ildasm -?

Building Locally

# Build CoreCLR runtime and packages
./build.sh -subset clr.runtime+clr.packages -c Release

# Or build just the packages if runtime is already built
./build.sh -subset clr.packages -c Release

Packages will be in: artifacts/packages/Release/Shipping/

💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

Co-authored-by: jcouv <[email protected]>

src/coreclr/tools/dotnet-ilasm/Program.cs

jkotas · 2025-11-03T06:03:34Z

src/coreclr/tools/dotnet-ilasm/Program.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+// Licensed to the .NET Foundation under one or more agreements.


This wrapper should not be needed.

Instead, we should create RID specific tool packages - https://github.com/dotnet/designs/blob/main/accepted/2025/rid-specific-tool-packages.md .

You're right - I'll update the implementation to use RID-specific tool packages instead of a managed wrapper. This will eliminate the wrapper and directly use the native ilasm binary as the entry point with the executable runner type as described in the design document.

jcouv · 2025-11-04T05:26:18Z

@copilot src/coreclr/tools/dotnet-ilasm/dotnet-ilasm.csproj:6

Could we instead use .NET 6.0 as TargetFramework and the RollForward attribute, as explained in https://andrewlock.net/using-and-authoring-dotnet-tools/#ensuring-compatibility-by-multi-targeting ? #Closed

Copilot · 2025-11-04T05:46:44Z

@copilot src/coreclr/tools/dotnet-ilasm/dotnet-ilasm.csproj:6

Could we instead use .NET 6.0 as TargetFramework and the RollForward attribute, as explained in https://andrewlock.net/using-and-authori...

Since we're switching to RID-specific tool packages based on @jkotas's feedback, there won't be a managed wrapper anymore - the native ilasm binary will be the entry point directly. The target framework concern will no longer apply. #Closed

…kages Co-authored-by: jcouv <[email protected]>

jcouv · 2025-11-04T08:14:13Z

@copilot Please proceed with the next steps you listed

Co-authored-by: jcouv <[email protected]>

Copilot · 2025-11-04T08:40:57Z

@copilot Please proceed with the next steps you listed

Implemented RID-specific tool packages in commit 5b66f25. The solution:

Creates RID-specific packages (e.g., runtime.linux-x64.Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm) with native ilasm binary as direct entry point
Primary package (Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm) includes tool manifest referencing all RID-specific packages
Uses executable runner type - no managed wrapper needed
Verified working: tool installs and executes ilasm successfully

The packages can now be installed with dotnet tool install -g Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm and the native ilasm binary runs directly without any wrapper overhead.

am11 · 2025-11-04T09:53:44Z

Should ildasm be also packed as tool?

ps - it's sad that single package doesn't support multiple commands dotnet/sdk#16708, otherwise we could have Microsoft.NETCore.ILTools with both ilasm and ildasm packed together.

src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm/DotnetToolSettings.primary.xml

…mers Co-authored-by: jcouv <[email protected]>

Copilot · 2025-11-11T05:29:06Z

@copilot Change of plans... The conversion from a content package to a dotnet-tool package breaks downstream consumers.
Let's put the existing packages back the way they were and introduce separate p...

Implemented in 5de2013. Created new separate packages:

New Packages:

Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm (command: dotnet-ilasm)
Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm (command: dotnet-ildasm)

Existing Packages:

Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm - reverted to original content package format
Microsoft.NETCore.ILDAsm - reverted to original content package format

This approach avoids breaking existing consumers that use the packages as content packages while providing new dotnet tool packages with the requested naming.

jcouv · 2025-11-11T06:28:39Z

@copilot Can we use PackAsTool functionality and avoid manual package creation (why we have to create your own dotnet tool settings.xml files?)

Copilot · 2025-11-11T06:49:23Z

@copilot Can we use PackAsTool functionality and avoid manual package creation (why we have to create your own dotnet tool settings.xml files?)

The manual DotnetToolSettings.xml files are necessary because ilasm and ildasm are native binaries, not managed .NET assemblies. PackAsTool only works for managed executables (C# projects).

For native binaries, we need to:

Use runner="executable" in the manifest (instead of the default dotnet runner for managed tools)
Manually create RID-specific packages with the native binaries
Follow the RID-specific tool packages design (https://github.com/dotnet/designs/blob/main/accepted/2025/rid-specific-tool-packages.md)

This is the same approach used by other native tools in the .NET ecosystem that need to be packaged as dotnet tools.

jkotas · 2025-11-11T07:19:01Z

src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm.pkgproj

+    <_OfficialRID Include="linux-musl-arm64" />
+    <_OfficialRID Include="osx-x64" />
+    <_OfficialRID Include="osx-arm64" />
+    <_OfficialRID Include="freebsd-x64" />


freebsd RID is not necessary here per earlier discussion #Resolved

jkotas · 2025-11-11T07:20:50Z

src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm.proj

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+<Project Sdk="Microsoft.Build.Traversal">
+  <PropertyGroup>
+    <IsILToolPackage>true</IsILToolPackage>


What is the IsILToolPackage property for? Delete it? (It can be deleted from the existing project files as well.) #Resolved

If I remove it, things build fine locally in a local build.

Apparently, the property only matters in specific cross-compilation scenarios when BuildHostILTools=true, which is used during certain infrastructure builds where you need the tool for a different architecture than the target.
Since the existing project files have it, I think it's safer to keep.

Copilot

Pull Request Overview

This PR adds new dotnet tool packages Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm and Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm that provide RID-specific native tool packages following the design pattern used by ILCompiler. These are separate from and do not replace the existing Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm and Microsoft.NETCore.ILDAsm content packages.

Key changes:

New RID-specific dotnet tool packages with native binaries and dynamic manifest generation
Publishing configuration for artifact distribution in VMR builds
Hardcoded RID lists with automatic $(TargetRid) inclusion for community platform support

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 8 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated 8 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/coreclr/.nuget/coreclr-packages.proj	Adds project references for the two new dotnet tool packages
src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm.proj	Traversal project configuration for ilasm tool package with IsILToolPackage property
src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm.pkgproj	Package project with metadata, RID-specific binary inclusion, and dynamic manifest generation for ilasm
src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm/DotnetToolSettings.xml	Tool manifest for RID-specific ilasm packages defining command name and executable runner
src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm/Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm.proj	Traversal project configuration for ildasm tool package with IsILToolPackage property
src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm/Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm.pkgproj	Package project with metadata, RID-specific binary inclusion, and dynamic manifest generation for ildasm
src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm/DotnetToolSettings.xml	Tool manifest for RID-specific ildasm packages defining command name and executable runner
eng/Publishing.props	Adds artifact visibility configuration for the new tool packages in VMR builds

src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm.pkgproj

src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm/Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm.pkgproj

src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm.pkgproj

src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm/Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm.pkgproj

src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm/DotnetToolSettings.xml

src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm/DotnetToolSettings.xml

jkoritzinsky

Generally LGTM, but I'd prefer if we could make this work without using the .pkgproj tooling and instead use the .NET SDK NuGet targets.

Is there any way we can adjust this to use the .NET SDK targets instead?

dotnet-policy-service · 2026-01-07T12:16:00Z

Draft Pull Request was automatically closed for 30 days of inactivity. Please let us know if you'd like to reopen it.

Copilot AI self-assigned this Nov 3, 2025

Initial plan

e95560e

Copilot AI assigned jcouv Nov 3, 2025

Copilot started work on behalf of jcouv November 3, 2025 00:42 View session

jkotas added the area-ILTools-coreclr label Nov 3, 2025

Copilot AI and others added 3 commits November 3, 2025 01:18

Add dotnet-ilasm tool wrapper for native ilasm binary

0c9236f

Co-authored-by: jcouv <[email protected]>

Update Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm package to publish as dotnet tool

80c73b2

Co-authored-by: jcouv <[email protected]>

Add musl detection for Linux RID resolution

860365e

Co-authored-by: jcouv <[email protected]>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Update the ilasm package to publish ilasm a dotnet tool~~ Add dotnet tool support to Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm package Nov 3, 2025

Copilot AI requested a review from jcouv November 3, 2025 01:33

Copilot finished work on behalf of jcouv November 3, 2025 01:33

teo-tsirpanis reviewed Nov 3, 2025

View reviewed changes

src/coreclr/tools/dotnet-ilasm/Program.cs Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

This was referenced Nov 3, 2025

The Operation will be canceled. The next steps may not contain expected logs. dotnet/dnceng#3008

Open

Failed to install runtime_python_requirements #114924

Open

jkotas reviewed Nov 3, 2025

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of jcouv November 4, 2025 05:26 View session

Remove managed wrapper based on feedback to use RID-specific tool pac…

a970702

…kages Co-authored-by: jcouv <[email protected]>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~Add dotnet tool support to Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm package~~ [WIP] Investigate RID-specific tool packages for Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm Nov 4, 2025

Copilot finished work on behalf of jcouv November 4, 2025 05:50

Copilot started work on behalf of jcouv November 4, 2025 08:14 View session

Implement RID-specific tool packages for Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm

5b66f25

Co-authored-by: jcouv <[email protected]>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Investigate RID-specific tool packages for Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm~~ Implement RID-specific tool packages for Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm Nov 4, 2025

Copilot finished work on behalf of jcouv November 4, 2025 08:41

jcouv reviewed Nov 4, 2025

View reviewed changes

src/coreclr/.nuget/Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm/DotnetToolSettings.primary.xml Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

Copilot started work on behalf of jcouv November 4, 2025 10:34 View session

Create separate dotnet tool packages to avoid breaking existing consu…

5de2013

…mers Co-authored-by: jcouv <[email protected]>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~Implement RID-specific tool packages for Microsoft.NETCore.ILAsm and ILDAsm~~ Add new dotnet tool packages Microsoft.dotnet-ilasm and Microsoft.dotnet-ildasm Nov 11, 2025

Copilot AI requested a review from jcouv November 11, 2025 05:31

Copilot finished work on behalf of jcouv November 11, 2025 05:31

Copilot started work on behalf of jcouv November 11, 2025 06:29 View session

Copilot finished work on behalf of jcouv November 11, 2025 06:51

jkotas reviewed Nov 11, 2025

View reviewed changes

Julien Couvreur and others added 2 commits November 11, 2025 00:08

Copy previous approach

15653eb

Various fixes

572f34b

This was referenced Nov 11, 2025

slow macOS - "##[error]The job running on agent Azure Pipelines 9 ran longer than the maximum time of 60 minutes." dotnet/dnceng#1883

Open

System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates.Tests fails on Linux #120527

Closed

jcouv pushed a commit to jcouv/dotnet that referenced this pull request Nov 13, 2025

Port dotnet/runtime/pull/121282 for validation (don't merge)

b0f9ad7

jcouv mentioned this pull request Nov 13, 2025

Port dotnet/runtime/pull/121282 for validation (don't merge) dotnet/dotnet#3344

Closed

jcouv moved this to Active/Investigating in Compiler: Julien's umbrellas Nov 18, 2025

jcouv added this to Compiler: Julien's umbrellas Nov 18, 2025

jcouv marked this pull request as ready for review November 18, 2025 10:32

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings November 18, 2025 10:32

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of jcouv November 18, 2025 10:33 View session

Copilot finished reviewing on behalf of jcouv November 18, 2025 10:37

Copilot AI reviewed Nov 18, 2025

View reviewed changes

jkoritzinsky reviewed Dec 1, 2025

View reviewed changes

jcouv marked this pull request as draft December 8, 2025 07:24

dotnet-policy-service bot closed this Jan 7, 2026

jcouv removed the status in Compiler: Julien's umbrellas Jan 8, 2026

github-actions bot locked and limited conversation to collaborators Feb 7, 2026

		@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
		// Licensed to the .NET Foundation under one or more agreements.

Conversation

Copilot AI commented Nov 3, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Status: Implementation Complete ✅

Implementation

Benefits

Verification

Usage

dotnet-ilasm

dotnet-ildasm

Building Locally

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

jkotas Nov 3, 2025

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Nov 4, 2025

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

jcouv commented Nov 4, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Copilot AI commented Nov 4, 2025 • edited by jcouv Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

jcouv commented Nov 4, 2025

Uh oh!

Copilot AI commented Nov 4, 2025

Uh oh!

am11 commented Nov 4, 2025

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Copilot AI commented Nov 11, 2025

Uh oh!

jcouv commented Nov 11, 2025

Uh oh!

Copilot AI commented Nov 11, 2025

Uh oh!

jkotas Nov 11, 2025 • edited by jcouv Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

jkotas Nov 11, 2025 • edited by jcouv Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

jcouv Nov 11, 2025

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Pull Request Overview

Reviewed Changes

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

jkoritzinsky left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

dotnet-policy-service bot commented Jan 7, 2026

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

7 participants

Copilot AI commented Nov 3, 2025 •

edited

Loading

jcouv commented Nov 4, 2025 •

edited

Loading

Copilot AI commented Nov 4, 2025 •

edited by jcouv

Loading

jkotas Nov 11, 2025 •

edited by jcouv

Loading

jkotas Nov 11, 2025 •

edited by jcouv

Loading