.NET Project Initialization Skill

This skill discovers everything about a .NET solution needed for DotnetPilot to operate effectively.

Discovery Protocol

1. Solution File

• Search for *.slnx (modern) or *.sln (legacy) in current directory
• If multiple solutions: stop and return [HALT: which solution — <list>?] so the invoking command asks the user; don't pick one
• Parse project references from solution file

2. Per-Project Analysis

For each project in the solution:

dotnet list <project.csproj> reference    # project references
dotnet list <project.csproj> package      # NuGet packages

Parse .csproj for:

• <TargetFramework> → net8.0, net9.0, net10.0, etc. Multi-targeted projects use <TargetFrameworks> (plural, ;-separated) — record every entry, and pass -f <tfm> to dotnet ef / dotnet test when a command must target one
• Properties can be inherited: check Directory.Build.props up the directory tree for TargetFramework, Nullable, LangVersion, and so on
• <OutputType> → Exe, Library
• <Sdk> → Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web (web), Microsoft.NET.Sdk (classlib)
• <IsPackable> → library intended for NuGet distribution
• <RootNamespace> → namespace convention

Central Package Management: when Directory.Packages.props exists with <ManagePackageVersionsCentrally>true</ManagePackageVersionsCentrally>, <PackageReference> items carry no Version. Versions live in <PackageVersion> items in that file, and new packages must be added there, not in the .csproj. dotnet list package still reports the resolved versions.

3. Framework Detection

4. Architecture Style Detection

Analyze project reference graph:

Clean Architecture:

• Domain has 0 project references
• Application references only Domain
• Infrastructure references Domain + Application
• Api references Application + Infrastructure

Vertical Slices:

• Feature folders within a single project
• No strict layer separation

Flat:

• Single project or 2 projects (app + tests)

5. EF Core Context Discovery

Search for classes inheriting DbContext:

class *DbContext : DbContext
class *Context : DbContext

For each context, identify:

• Project location
• Database provider (from Use* call or package: Npgsql, SqlServer, Sqlite)
• Migrations assembly location