dotnet-tool-execute 1.0.8-preview

dotnet-tool-execute (dtx)

A .NET tool which installs and executes .NET tools.

Getting Started

To install the dtx tool, run the following command:

dotnet tool install --global dotnet-tool-execute --prerelease --add-source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json --ignore-failed-sources

This will install dtx globally and add it to your %PATH%.

MCP Servers

You can use the dtx tool to run MCP servers that are available as .NET tools.

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "my-mcp-server": {
        "type": "stdio",
        "command": "dtx",
        "args": [
          "my.package.id",                       // The name of the NuGet package
          "--source",
          "https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json", // Specify feed of your MCP server in case the user doesn't have it in their NuGet config
          "--prerelease",                        // Optionally include pre-release packages
          "--",                                  // Arguments after this '--' are passed to the tool
          "arg1",
          "arg2"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage

dtx <packageId> [options] -- [tool arguments]

Arguments:
  <packageId>  The name of the NuGet package of the tool to install and execute.

Options:
  --version <VERSION>          The version of the tool package to install.
  --configfile <FILE>          The NuGet configuration file to use.
  --tool-manifest <PATH>       Path to the manifest file.
  --add-source <ADDSOURCE>     Add an additional NuGet package source to use during installation.
  --source <SOURCE>            Replace all NuGet package sources to use during installation with these.
  --framework <FRAMEWORK>      The target framework to install the tool for.
  --prerelease                 Include pre-release packages.
  --disable-parallel           Prevent restoring multiple projects in parallel.
  --ignore-failed-sources      Treat package source failures as warnings.
  --no-http-cache              Do not cache packages and http requests.
  --interactive                Allows the command to stop and wait for user input or action (for example to complete authentication).
  -v, --verbosity <LEVEL>      Set the MSBuild verbosity level. Allowed values are q[uiet], m[inimal], n[ormal], d[etailed], and diag[nostic].
  -a, --arch <arch>            The target architecture.
  --allow-downgrade            Allow package downgrade when installing a .NET tool package.
  --allow-roll-forward         Allow a .NET tool to roll forward to newer versions of the .NET runtime if the runtime it targets isn't installed.
  -s, --silent                 Suppress all output while installing the tool.
  -?, -h, --help               Show command line help.

To specify command-line arguments for the tool being executed, use -- followed by the arguments. For example:

> dtx botsay -- Hello from botsay!
You can invoke the tool using the following command: botsay
Tool 'botsay' (version '1.0.0') was successfully installed.

        Hello from botsay!
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Tools are installed to %LocalAppData%\dtx and then executed.