Assets file project.assets.json not found. Run a NuGet package restore

Question

I'm trying to use nopCommerce(Which is written in .NET Core) but when I want to run the project I face 52 Errors telling me Run a nuget package restore

Assets file ~\obj\project.assets.json' not found. Run a NuGet package restore to generate this file. Nop.Web.MVC.Testsote

when I use the right click on the solution and selecting Restore Nuget Packages I get this message:

All packages are already installed and there is nothing to restore.

but those 52 Errors are still there and in Tools -> NuGet Package Manager -> Manage NuGet Packages for Solution there is nothing installed on the solution,also I Recently updated my VS2017 to 15.5.4

Have you provided consent to NuGet to restore? Go to tools, options, search for NuGet, and the check the "Allow NuGet..." option. — imps, Jan 26 '18 at 00:54
If anyone is on a Mac, we had this problem and fixed it by removing spaces in the repository path (which was created during the git pull): My%20Project becomes MyProject. — David Hague, Jun 03 '20 at 16:08
May take a look here at MS Docs with various workarounds (updated May 2018): https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/consume-packages/package-restore-troubleshooting With nuget things never run smooth as click and go! — hB0, Jun 30 '20 at 16:31
MS guys trying to help again 2019 with same issues: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/consume-packages/package-restore — hB0, Jun 30 '20 at 16:33
@DavidHague thank you for the tip on fixing the repo path with spaces on a Mac - that was my problem - thanks! — AVH, Sep 14 '20 at 02:40
@DavidHague saved a lot of time. Thank you. Space was the issue. — Prabhat Ranjan, Mar 29 '21 at 15:15

score 625 · Accepted Answer · edited May 15 '18 at 04:49

625

To fix this error from Tools > NuGet Package Manager > Package Manager Console simply run:

dotnet restore

The error occurs because the dotnet cli does not create the all of the required files initially. Doing dotnet restore adds the required files.

edited May 15 '18 at 04:49

Matteo Migliore

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answered Jan 25 '18 at 10:35

Mostafa Bouzari

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This was also the fix for the build server. Added a Command Line step to run "dotnet restore" after normal NuGet restore. – Mark Jun 08 '18 at 09:18
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You may do it from MSBuild also: msbuild MySolution.sln /t:Restore – Der_Meister Jul 13 '18 at 08:24
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@Der_Meister's solution to add the /t:Restore option worked for me, however, I had to build the solution twice (two separate build steps). First with the /t:Restore option and then again without it. – Michael Jul 19 '18 at 16:43
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@Michael, try msbuild MySolution.sln /t:Restore;Build – Der_Meister Jul 20 '18 at 10:56
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This is the best, perfect and working solution. Thanks so much – Wai Yan Hein Aug 01 '18 at 15:07
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This fix the issue with Appveyor, thanks. I don't understand why we need to do the restore manually. I tough that the build was automatically doing the restore :/ – Nordes Sep 08 '18 at 13:35
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If you have more than one solution file, you need to do `dotnet restore solutionfilename.sln` – ECH Sep 13 '18 at 08:28
Do you have to run it many times? Do you need to combine it with normal nuget restore? Do you have to run it as administrator? – Anders Lindén Jan 16 '19 at 08:05
This solution was the fix for me. Just don't forget to reopen VS afterwards. – zoidbeck Apr 15 '19 at 08:16
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@Der_Meister had a solution that almost worked for me in Azure Devops Build pipeline. /t:Restore fixed nuget issue but didn't build. Changed slightly to /t:Restore;Clean;Build and everything worked. – BitPusher16 Jul 11 '19 at 16:37
This worked for me. For those saying it doesnt work make sure you are opening the command window from the sln directory or better yet use the package manager console when the sln is open in VS – James Blackburn Aug 22 '19 at 08:13
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I had to create a subfolder named "package", before issuing "dotnet restore", for it to work. – Starnuto di topo Sep 17 '19 at 10:28
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Microsoft strongly recommends using `-t:build -restore` instead of `/t:restore;build` See here: https://docs.microsoft.com/nuget/reference/msbuild-targets#restoring-and-building-with-one-msbuild-command – oderibas Apr 15 '20 at 21:29
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it does not work at all, and how would it be a "perfect solution" since this kind of thing should be dealt by the ide itself...it's a brand new solution, it does not make any sens – user7082181 May 20 '20 at 07:09
Came to reply to this. If you are using AzureDevops Pipeline builds, you don't need a separate task for this, just add /t:Restore to MSBuild arguments on the solution build task. – Akos Feb 03 '21 at 07:51
If you are running this from an ordinary command prompt (e.g. on a build server like CruiseControl.Net), make sure you are in the folder that contains your .csproj or other project files. – humbads Feb 08 '21 at 15:20

score 145 · Answer 2 · answered May 02 '18 at 20:07

145

In my case the error was the GIT repository. It had spaces in the name, making my project unable to restore

If this is your issue, just rename the GIT repository when you clone

git clone http://Your%20Project%20With%20Spaces newprojectname

answered May 02 '18 at 20:07

Sebastian Castaldi

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I thought to myself that this could not possibly be it. After trying for another hour on other proposed solutions i finally tried this out of desperation and it solved my problem. Dammit man! – Stark Dec 01 '18 at 07:32
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This fixed the issue that I was having, thank-you so much! – Sharbel Apr 09 '19 at 15:52
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This answer should be at the beginning of the post not at the end. Solved my issue. – CodeWarrior Apr 16 '19 at 01:18
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You saved my day! Thank you. – mpatel Apr 23 '19 at 22:50
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Wow that was so annoying. Thanks for bothering to comment the issue here. Really appreciate it. - people still need to do dotnet restore on top – Sigex Jun 05 '19 at 17:24
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This worked for me. Removed the space in the Local folder and it worked. – Water Jul 19 '19 at 10:24
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in my case i just renamed my physical folder by remove %20 and replace it with normal space and every thing is working well – hosam hemaily Sep 25 '19 at 08:29
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The %20's in the folder name was the issue. Was so confused why it was failing. Thank you so much! – NiallMitch14 Oct 15 '19 at 10:27
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Agree, this was the problem (and solution) for me too. Aditionally, creating a new .NET Core MVC project in a folder with '%20' also failed to properly create the project file itself (I had to manually include the created Model, View and Controller folders in the project for instance). That should have been my first clue project creation was not done properly. – Céryl Wiltink Dec 29 '19 at 09:44
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thanks! it was the space in the folder that messed it out for us. – meol Feb 05 '20 at 16:24
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This was it - this seems to be an issue in TFS/Azure DevOps where spaeces are allowed. – lohithbb Oct 13 '20 at 13:51
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This is cruel and unusual – IEnjoyEatingVegetables Oct 30 '20 at 20:17
Stack overflow REALLY needs to allow multiple answers to be selected as accepted for a question. And the ability for people who didnt make the question to vote to override the original authors selected answer. – computrius Mar 26 '21 at 16:48

prisan · Answer 3 · 2019-04-05T11:55:28.417

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In case when 'dotnet restore' not works, following steps may help:

Visual Studio >> Tools >> Options >> Nuget Manager >> Package Sources
Unchecked any third party package sources.
Rebuild solution.

edited Apr 05 '19 at 11:55

answered Nov 19 '18 at 08:23

prisan

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I recently encountered this issue for Identity server Quickstart #1: Securing an API using Client Credentials and the above solution worked for me. – Tharindu Jayasinghe May 04 '19 at 12:19
Thank you! I actually removed one source that was not relevant anymore (from another solution) and on the _nuget.org_ and _MSVS Offline Packages_ sources I clicked the **Update** button. After this `dotnet restore` worked. – CPHPython Jul 10 '19 at 10:33
Thank you, that was it! – tdracz Sep 06 '19 at 17:34
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If you need 3rd party package sources or yours own organization over AzureDevOPs then follow this instruction: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/artifacts/nuget/nuget-exe?view=azure-devops – hB0 Jun 30 '20 at 16:02
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In my case there was an entry for Microsoft offline packages and it seemed to be invalid. Took ages to find that out. Thanks. – Robert S. Oct 29 '20 at 10:39
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Yes, I have added some custom NuGet references from the package manager, hence only not resolving that problem. Now works – Hemalatha M.R. Nov 20 '20 at 07:25
Or perhaps investigate WHY it isnt working instead of just blindly hacking away at your package sources... my guess is in your case you had one that was broken and it was causing YOUR restore to fail. In which case its not an issue with HAVING third party package sources; that would be ridiculous. Run dotnet restore from the nuget package manager as suggested above to see what is actually failing. – computrius Mar 26 '21 at 16:51
@computrius What's your solution then? Please share with everyone. – prisan Apr 09 '21 at 11:09
@prisan Looks like my comment hit close to home and you got offended and blinded to the fact that it IS the solution. Plus, you clearly didn’t read past the first sentence. – computrius Apr 10 '21 at 15:58
@computrius haha good one. – prisan May 03 '21 at 04:21

OutstandingBill · Answer 4 · 2020-07-10T05:02:37.477

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Closing and re-opening Visual Studio solved this issue for me, once I had made sure the NuGet packages had been restored as per other answers posted here.

Edit: Sometimes just trying to build again fixes the problem.

edited Jul 10 '20 at 05:02

answered Jun 13 '18 at 09:21

OutstandingBill

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Can't believe this worked for me too after doing dotnet restore and only after this – Gaspa79 Oct 09 '18 at 15:08
I had some separate connectivity issues on my work LAN that were inhibitive for NuGet. Rebooting my PC resolved the issue! – Neo Aug 19 '19 at 08:23
This is really not an answer because sometimes you use CLI tools to `get` and `build` and you don't open VS. I know why it works with VS - because VS automatically resolves project dependencies. – T.S. Oct 24 '19 at 19:48
@T.S. the question is tagged with "Visual Studio 2017", so I'd say this _is_ an answer. You raise an interesting point though, that the problem lies with VS resolving dependencies. If you have any more information on what's going wrong, I'm sure it would make interesting reading : ) – OutstandingBill Oct 25 '19 at 00:48
+1. You caught me! With VS, oh well. His version 15.5 was buggy. I think 15.5/15.6 had host of issues for reference resolution. Now, here is the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/58548856/1704458 – T.S. Oct 25 '19 at 01:17

score 36 · Answer 5 · edited Jan 13 '21 at 14:43

36

To those with the same issue as me in Azure DevOps / VSTS environment encountering a similar message:

C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk\2.2.104\Sdks\Microsoft.NET.Sdk\targets\Microsoft.PackageDependencyResolution.targets(208,5): Error NETSDK1004: Assets file '...\obj\project.assets.json' not found. Run a NuGet package restore to generate this file

Add /t:Restore to your MSBuild Arguments in Build Solution.

edited Jan 13 '21 at 14:43

Uwe Keim

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answered Apr 17 '19 at 18:31

taylorswiftfan

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Thank you! I had to add /t:Restore,Rebuild otherwise it just did a restore without compiling the code. – Rocklan Aug 07 '20 at 02:09
This worked for me when adding a preceding build task to do a dotnet restore did not. – Breeno Dec 17 '20 at 16:34
Might be a rare case, but I had to also remove a property from my .csproj... Remove this if it exists: true... now all is right in the world again. – Tyler Dec 31 '20 at 20:20

score 15 · Answer 6 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

15

For me when i did - dotnet restore still error was occurring.

I went to

1 Tool -> NuGet Package Maneger -> Package Manager settings -> click on "Clear on Nuget Catche(s)"

2 dotnet restore

resolved issues.

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

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answered Mar 13 '19 at 15:58

Speed

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I'm going to try this next time it happens. It could be a better approach than mine (close and reopen VS) which typically takes _ages_ for me. – OutstandingBill Oct 25 '19 at 00:52
`dotnet restore` can be run in package manager console – arun May 27 '21 at 11:57
Wish I could upvote this many times – arun May 28 '21 at 08:30

score 9 · Answer 7 · answered Sep 05 '18 at 07:10

In visual studio 2017 please do following steps:

1) select Tool=>Options=>NuGet Package Manager=> Package Sources then uncheck Microsoft Visual Studio Offline Packages Option.

2) now open Tool=>NuGet Package Maneger=>Package Manager Console. 3) execute command in PM>dotnet restore.

Hope its working...

score 7 · Answer 8 · answered Apr 26 '19 at 17:53

7

For me I upgraded NuGet.exe from 3.4 to 4.9 because 3.4 doesn't understand how to restore packages for .NET Core.

For details please see dotnet restore vs. nuget restore with teamcity

answered Apr 26 '19 at 17:53

user8128167

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Yes - I found this when we started migrating old .Net Framework projects across to the new `.csproj` project format. – StuartLC Jan 06 '20 at 17:28

score 6 · Answer 9 · answered Nov 19 '18 at 19:29

6

Select Tools > NuGet Package Manager > Package Manager Console

And then Run:

dotnet restore <project or solution name>

answered Nov 19 '18 at 19:29

Andre Mesquita

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score 5 · Answer 10 · answered Nov 27 '19 at 12:09

5

Solved by adding /t:Restore;Build to MSBuild Arguments

answered Nov 27 '19 at 12:09

Abdulsamet İLERİ

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For me it does not work to do /t:Restore;Build but /t:Restore /t:Build, but thanks, your answer helped me ! – R13mus Feb 12 '21 at 09:00

score 5 · Answer 11 · answered Mar 24 '20 at 02:23

If this error occurs as part of a build in Azure DevOps (TFS) and your build already has a NuGet restore task, this error may indicate the NuGet restore task was not able to restore all packages, especially if you use a custom package source (such as an internal NuGet server). Adding /t:Restore;Build to the MSBuild Arguments seems to be one way to resolve the error, but this asks MSBuild to perform an additional NuGet restore operation. I believe this succeeds because MSBuild uses the custom package source configured in Visual Studio. A preferable solution is to fix the NuGet restore task.

To configure a custom package source for the NuGet restore task:

Create a NuGet.config file that lists all of the package sources (Microsoft Visual Studio Offline Packages, nuget.org, and your custom package source) and add it to source control.
In the Nuget restore task under Feeds to use: select the option Feeds in my NuGet.config.
Provide the path to NuGet.config.
Remove the /t:Restore;Build option from the MSBuild task.

Additional information is available here.

score 3 · Answer 12 · answered Jun 08 '18 at 10:05

3

little late to the answer but seems this will add value. Looking at the error - it seems to occur in CI/CD pipeline.

Just running "dotnet build" will be sufficient enough.

dotnet build

dotnet build runs the "restore" by default.

answered Jun 08 '18 at 10:05

Sunny Sharma

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Also can be achieved by adding step ".NET core" to pipeline (before build), and selecting "dotnet restore" command from dropdown. I'm talking specifically about VSTS pipeline here. – Lech Osiński Dec 11 '18 at 13:57

score 3 · Answer 13 · answered May 13 '19 at 13:21

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Nothing above worked for me. But simply deleting all 'bin' and 'obj' folders did the trick.

answered May 13 '19 at 13:21

alexbk66

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This issue happend for me when i worked on a Dockerfile. deleting those folders made the dotnet restore in the container work properly. – Johannes May 16 '19 at 15:15

score 3 · Answer 14 · answered May 20 '19 at 20:57

I lost several hours on this error in Azure DevOps when I set the 'Visual Studio Build' task in a build pipeline to build an individual project in my solution, rather than the whole solution.

Doing that means that DevOps either doesn't build any (or possibly some, I'm not sure which) of the projects referenced by the project you've targeted for the build, and therefore those projects won't have their project.json.asset files generated, which then causes this issue.

The solution for me was to swap from using the VS Build task to the MSBuild task. Using the MSBuild task for an individual project correctly builds any projects referenced by the project you're building and eliminates this error.

score 2 · Answer 15 · answered Apr 05 '19 at 21:36

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When using VSTS, check your global.json file. I had entered the sdk version as just "2.2" which caused a parse error (but not when building locally). Adding the full version, "2.2.104" solved the problem.

answered Apr 05 '19 at 21:36

Rob Minnis

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score 2 · Answer 16 · answered Oct 24 '19 at 20:40

This problem happening when your build tool is not set to do restore on projects set to use PackageReference vs packages.config and mostly affect Net Core and Netstandard new style projects.

When you open Visual Studio and build, it resolves this for you. But if you use automation, CLI tools, you see this issue.

Many solutions are offered here. But all you need to remember, you need to force restore. In some instances you use dotnet restore before build. If you build using MsBuild just add /t:Restore switch to your command.

Bottom line, you need to see why restoring can't be activated. Either bad nuget source or missing restore action, or outdated nuget.exe, or all of the above.

score 2 · Answer 17 · answered Jul 22 '20 at 00:57

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It was mentioned earlier but I just wanted to re-emphasize the importance of not have space anywhere in your pathing! This is what was getting me. You've been warned.

answered Jul 22 '20 at 00:57

Mike Homol

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score 1 · Answer 18 · edited Oct 07 '18 at 14:12

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If simply restoring NuGet packages does not work make sure in Tools -> Options -> NuGet Package Manager -> General under Package Restore that the "Allow NuGet to download missing packages" is checked.

Then Restore NuGet Packages again OR just REBUILD after deleting obj and bin folders.

edited Oct 07 '18 at 14:12

Nick Kovalsky

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answered Jul 04 '18 at 15:09

NexX

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score 1 · Answer 19 · answered Dec 19 '18 at 15:13

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If @mostafa-bouzari suggestion doesn't help, check carefully in 'Error list' or 'Output' windows for errors why NuGet cannot restore, e.g. because of net problem if you're behind proxy.

answered Dec 19 '18 at 15:13

flam3

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In my case, Nuget Restore could not connect to our private NuGet repository, because I was not connected to the company VPN. Checking Package Manager Console logs helped. – Alexander Puchkov May 15 '20 at 20:22

score 1 · Answer 20 · answered Jan 31 '20 at 10:09

Very weird experience I have encountered!

I had cloned with GIT bash and GIT cmd-Line earlier, I encountered the above issues.

Later, I cloned with Tortoise-GIT and everything worked as expected.

May be this is a crazy answer, but trying with this once may save your time!

score 1 · Answer 21 · answered Feb 01 '20 at 02:05

Seen this after adding a WinForms Core 3.1 project (from project templates) on VS-2019 vs 16.4.0 and trying to run it out of the box. Clean or Rebuild the entire solution did not work.

I just reloaded my solution.. that is File/Close Solution and then reopening it and rebuilding it solved the problem.

score 1 · Answer 22 · answered Aug 13 '20 at 13:46

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You will get required packages from "https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json". Add this in Package Resources. Also make sure other packages are unchecked for time being. And Click Restore Nuget Package on Solution Explorer

answered Aug 13 '20 at 13:46

Yogesh Dangre

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score 0 · Answer 23 · answered May 21 '18 at 08:17

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I got the error when I created a lambda in dot net core in VS2017. What worked for me was to unload the project and load it back.

answered May 21 '18 at 08:17

boms

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score 0 · Answer 24 · answered Sep 30 '18 at 23:24

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run your VS as administrator after that in package manager console run dotnet restore.

answered Sep 30 '18 at 23:24

Lucas Brito

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score 0 · Answer 25 · answered Feb 13 '19 at 03:50

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Another one, if by any chance you're using Dropbox, check for Conflicted in file names, do a search in your repo and delete all those conflicted files.

This may have happened if you have moved the files around.

answered Feb 13 '19 at 03:50

Jose A

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score 0 · Answer 26 · answered Feb 14 '19 at 10:18

Cause of this defect: you have to remove the injected Nuget in file explorer. Solution: Once you remove that Nuget in your system, then remove from following location. select Tool=>Options=>NuGet Package Manager=> Package Sources then uncheck Microsoft Visual Studio Offline Packages Option

score 0 · Answer 27 · answered Mar 26 '19 at 16:11

0

This worked for me: added this package source: Microsoft and .net https://www.nuget.org/api/v2/curated-feeds/microsoftdotnet/ then run "dotnet restore" in the console

answered Mar 26 '19 at 16:11

Henry L

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score 0 · Answer 28 · answered Aug 28 '19 at 16:57

In my case I had a problem with the Available Package Sources. I had move the local nuget repository folder to a new path but I did not update it in the Nuget Available Package Sources. When I've correct the path issue, update it in the Available Package Sources and after that everything (nuget restor, etc) was working fine.

score 0 · Answer 29 · answered Feb 04 '20 at 10:58

For me it turned out to be a nuget source credentials problem. I had recently changed my password for accessing a nexus server and visual studio was still using the old password when trying to access a nuget on that server through the windows credential manager. To fix it, I had to delete the entry for those outdated credentials in the credential manager and after, when I did a nuget restore, it prompted me for a password letting me enter the new password, which got saved in the credential manager again. You can access the credential manager from the cmd line using CmdKey.exe.

score 0 · Answer 30 · answered Mar 05 '20 at 21:00

0

Try this (It worked for me):

Run VS as Administrator
Manual update NuGet to most recent version
Delete all bin and obj files in the project.
Restart VS
Recompile

answered Mar 05 '20 at 21:00

dalfonsop

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score 0 · Answer 31 · answered May 29 '20 at 17:30

0

You can go for : Tools > NuGet Package Manager > Package Manager Console

And then Run:

dotnet restore

answered May 29 '20 at 17:30

seven

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score 0 · Answer 32 · answered Mar 10 '21 at 19:52

I received one message on Azure DevOps about don't find file

i need to create this on my YAML deployment file, AFTER BUILD TASK

- task: NuGetCommand@2
  inputs:
    command: 'restore'
    restoreSolution: '**\*.sln'
    feedsToUse: 'config'
    noCache: false

Assets file project.assets.json not found. Run a NuGet package restore

32 Answers32

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