dotnet-ci-foundation

name	dotnet-ci-foundation
description	Patterns for setting up a .NET CI pipeline with GitHub Actions and xUnit test projects
domain	testing
confidence	low
source	earned

Context

When bootstrapping a .NET project's CI pipeline and initial test infrastructure. Applies to any .NET solution using GitHub Actions and xUnit.

Patterns

• CI workflow at .github/workflows/ci.yml with three steps: dotnet restore, dotnet build --no-restore, dotnet test --no-build
• Run at repo root so the solution file is discovered automatically — new projects added to the solution are automatically included in CI
• Use dotnet new xunit template to generate test projects — it produces correct package versions and includes global <Using Include="Xunit" />
• Test projects go in a tests/ directory, added to solution under a /tests/ folder
• Always include a smoke test (Assert.True(true)) so CI has something to run from day one — proves the pipeline is wired end to end
• Set <IsTestProject>true</IsTestProject> in csproj so dotnet test discovers the project

Examples

# .github/workflows/ci.yml
name: CI
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
        with:
          dotnet-version: '10.0.x'
      - run: dotnet restore
      - run: dotnet build --no-restore
      - run: dotnet test --no-build --verbosity normal

Anti-Patterns

• Don't hardcode solution file paths in CI — let dotnet discover them at the repo root
• Don't skip the test step even if no real tests exist yet — the placeholder test validates the pipeline
• Don't use dotnet test without --no-build when a build step already ran — wastes CI minutes
• Don't manually author xUnit csproj files — use dotnet new xunit to get correct, compatible package versions