Automate .NET Package Deployment to NuGet with GitHub Actions

Introduction

In this guide, we’ll walk through how to set up GitHub Actions to automatically publish your .NET package to NuGet whenever you push new changes to your repository. GitHub Actions simplifies the CI/CD process by automating various workflows, and this tutorial focuses on deploying a .NET package with minimal setup.

Step 1: Prepare Your .NET Project for NuGet

Before setting up GitHub Actions, make sure your .NET project is ready for deployment to NuGet. At minimum, you need a .csproj file with relevant metadata.

Here’s an example of what your .csproj file might look like:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
    <PackageId>YourPackageName</PackageId>
    <Version>1.0.0</Version>
    <Authors>YourName</Authors>
    <Description>This is a sample package description.</Description>
    <PackageReleaseNotes>Release notes for version 1.0.0.</PackageReleaseNotes>
    <RepositoryUrl>https://github.com/yourusername/yourrepo</RepositoryUrl>
  </PropertyGroup>

</Project>

Make sure you replace the placeholders like YourPackageName, YourName, and https://github.com/yourusername/yourrepo with real data.

Step 2: Set Up NuGet API Key

To publish a package to NuGet, you’ll need an API key from your NuGet account.

1. Go to NuGet.org.
2. Sign in and navigate to your account settings.
3. Create a new API key with Push permissions for the specific package or set it to allow all packages.
4. Copy the API key—you’ll use it in the GitHub repository as a secret.

Step 3: Add API Key as GitHub Secret

1. Go to your GitHub repository.
2. Click on Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions.
3. Create a new secret with the name NUGET_API_KEY and paste the API key you copied from NuGet.

Step 4: Create GitHub Action Workflow File

Now, we’ll create a workflow file that tells GitHub Actions how to build your .NET project and push the package to NuGet.

1. In your repository, create a folder called .github/workflows.
2. Inside this folder, create a file named deploy.yml.

Here’s a simple example of what the deploy.yml file should look like:

name: Publish .NET package to NuGet

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up .NET
        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
        with:
          dotnet-version: '8.0.x'

      - name: Restore dependencies
        run: dotnet restore

      - name: Build the project
        run: dotnet build --configuration Release --no-restore

      - name: Pack the project
        run: dotnet pack --configuration Release --no-build --output ./nupkg

      - name: Push the package to NuGet
        run: dotnet nuget push ./nupkg/*.nupkg --api-key ${{ secrets.NUGET_API_KEY }} --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

Step 5: Test the Workflow

1. Push changes to your main branch.
2. GitHub Actions will automatically trigger the workflow, build your project, and publish it to NuGet.
3. You can monitor the workflow’s progress under the Actions tab of your repository.

Conclusion

That’s it! With just a few steps, you’ve successfully automated the deployment of your .NET package to NuGet using GitHub Actions. Now, every time you push a new update to the main branch, your package will be published without any manual steps.

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