dotnet-devops

name	dotnet-devops
description	Configures .NET CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions with setup-dotnet, NuGet cache, reusable workflows; Azure DevOps with DotNetCoreCLI, templates, multi-stage), Git workflow (branch strategies, Conventional Commits, PR lifecycle), containerization (multi-stage Dockerfiles, Compose, rootless), packaging (NuGet authoring, source generators, MSIX signing), release management (NBGV, SemVer, changelogs, GitHub Releases), observability (OpenTelemetry, health checks, structured logging, PII), and .NET version migration (net8→net9→net10→net11, AOT assessment, nullable migration, upgrade strategies). Spans 19 + 5 topic areas. Do not use for application-layer API or UI implementation patterns.
license	MIT
user-invocable	false

dotnet-devops

Overview

CI/CD, packaging, Git workflow, release management, and operational tooling for .NET. This consolidated skill spans 19 topic areas. Load the appropriate companion file from references/ based on the routing table below.

Routing Table

Path resolution: The Companion File column lists filenames relative to this skill's directory. Use Glob to locate the file (pattern: ), then pass the returned absolute path to the Read tool. Do NOT use bare relative paths — the Read tool resolves them relative to the user's project directory, not this skill's location.

Topic	Keywords	Description	Companion File
GHA build/test	setup-dotnet, NuGet cache, reporting	GitHub Actions .NET build/test (setup-dotnet, NuGet cache, reporting)	references/gha-build-test.md
GHA deploy	Azure Web Apps, GitHub Pages, containers	GitHub Actions deployment (Azure Web Apps, GitHub Pages, containers)	references/gha-deploy.md
GHA publish	NuGet push, container images, signing, SBOM	GitHub Actions publishing (NuGet push, container images, signing, SBOM)	references/gha-publish.md
GHA patterns	reusable workflows, composite, matrix, cache	GitHub Actions composition (reusable workflows, composite, matrix, cache)	references/gha-patterns.md
ADO build/test	DotNetCoreCLI, Artifacts, test results	Azure DevOps .NET build/test (DotNetCoreCLI, Artifacts, test results)	references/ado-build-test.md
ADO publish	NuGet push, containers to ACR	Azure DevOps publishing (NuGet push, containers to ACR)	references/ado-publish.md
ADO patterns	templates, variable groups, multi-stage	Azure DevOps composition (templates, variable groups, multi-stage)	references/ado-patterns.md
ADO unique	environments, approvals, service connections	Azure DevOps exclusive features (environments, approvals, service connections)	references/ado-unique.md
Containers	multi-stage Dockerfiles, SDK publish, rootless	.NET containerization (multi-stage Dockerfiles, SDK publish, rootless)	references/containers.md
Container deployment	Compose, health probes, CI/CD pipelines	Container deployment (Compose, health probes, CI/CD pipelines)	references/container-deployment.md
NuGet authoring	SDK-style, source generators, multi-TFM	NuGet package authoring (SDK-style, source generators, multi-TFM)	references/nuget-authoring.md
MSIX	creation, signing, Store, sideload, auto-update	MSIX packaging (creation, signing, Store, sideload, auto-update)	references/msix.md
GitHub Releases	creation, assets, notes, pre-release	GitHub Releases (creation, assets, notes, pre-release)	references/github-releases.md
Git workflow	branch, PR, Conventional Commits, merge strategy	Branch strategies, Conventional Commits, PR lifecycle, merge/squash/rebase, tag-based release	references/git-workflow.md
Release management	NBGV, SemVer, changelogs, branching	Release lifecycle (NBGV, SemVer, changelogs, branching)	references/release-management.md
Observability	OpenTelemetry, health checks, custom metrics	Observability (OpenTelemetry, health checks, custom metrics)	references/observability.md
Structured logging	aggregation, sampling, PII, correlation	Log pipelines (aggregation, sampling, PII, correlation)	references/structured-logging.md
Add CI	CI/CD scaffold, GHA vs ADO detection	CI/CD scaffolding (GHA vs ADO detection, workflow templates)	references/add-ci.md
GitHub docs	README badges, CONTRIBUTING, templates	GitHub documentation (README badges, CONTRIBUTING, templates)	references/github-docs.md

Scope

• Git workflow and branch strategies (GitHub Flow, Trunk-Based, GitFlow)
• Conventional Commits, PR lifecycle, automated review
• GitHub Actions workflows (build, test, deploy, publish)
• Azure DevOps pipelines (build, test, publish, environments)
• Container builds and deployment (Docker, Compose)
• NuGet and MSIX packaging
• Release management (NBGV, SemVer, changelogs)
• Observability and structured logging (OpenTelemetry)
• GitHub repository documentation and CI scaffolding

Out of scope

• API/backend code patterns -> [skill:dotnet-api]
• Build system authoring -> [skill:dotnet-tooling]
• Test authoring -> [skill:dotnet-testing]

Version Upgrade

.NET version migration and project upgrade. Covers net8→net9→net10→net11 migration paths, AOT compatibility assessment, nullable reference migration, and thread-abort migration from .NET Framework.

Principles

1. One version at a time — Don't skip versions. net8→net10 directly risks missing deprecated API warnings.
2. Upgrade tooling before framework — Update SDK, analyzers, and NuGet packages first.
3. Assess before upgrading — Run upgrade assessment tools to identify breaking changes before touching code.
4. Incremental over big-bang — Upgrade one project at a time, starting with leaf dependencies.

Migration Paths

From	To	Key Changes
net8.0	net9.0	STJ 9.0, EF Core 9.0 auto-compiled models, HybridCache stable
net9.0	net10.0	C# 14 field keyword, AddValidation, EF Core 10 bulk ops
net10.0	net11.0	C# 15 preview, enhanced AOT, ASP.NET Core perf improvements

Pre-Upgrade Checklist

1. Audit NuGet packages — dotnet list package --outdated --vulnerable
2. Check global.json — Remove or update SDK version pin
3. Run upgrade assessment — Use .NET Upgrade Assistant
4. Review breaking changes — Check official breaking changes doc
5. Update CI/CD — Ensure build agents use the new SDK version

AOT Compatibility

Before migrating to Native AOT: no Assembly.Load or reflection emit, no dynamic expanded at runtime, source-generated JSON serialization, AOT-compatible packages.

Nullable Reference Migration

Enable incrementally: <Nullable>enable</Nullable> + <WarningsAsErrors>nullable</WarningsAsErrors>. Fix per-project from leaf dependencies.

Anti-patterns

• Big-bang migration — All projects at once = giant PR, impossible to revert
• Skipping versions — Bypasses deprecation warnings
• Upgrading without running tests — Undetected breaking changes
• Mixing migration with feature work — Separate PRs