NuGet License Collector

A .NET tool to collect and analyze NuGet package licenses in a solution.

Features

• License Analysis: Automatically detects and analyzes NuGet package licenses across all projects in a solution
• Multiple Output Formats: Supports both text and JSON output formats
• Comprehensive Reports: Generates detailed reports with package information and license details
• Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Global Tool: Install once and use anywhere via command line

Installation

Install as a global .NET tool

dotnet tool install -g EXCEEDSYSTEM.NuGetLicenseCollector

Install from source

git clone https://github.com/exceedsystem/NuGetLicenseCollector.git
cd NuGetLicenseCollector
dotnet pack
dotnet tool install -g --add-source ./bin/Debug EXCEEDSYSTEM.NuGetLicenseCollector

Uninstallation

Uninstall the global tool

dotnet tool uninstall -g EXCEEDSYSTEM.NuGetLicenseCollector

Clean up cache folder

After uninstalling, you may want to delete the cache folder to free up disk space:

Windows:

rmdir /s "%USERPROFILE%\.exceedsystem\NuGetLicenseCollector"

macOS/Linux:

rm -rf ~/.exceedsystem/NuGetLicenseCollector

Usage

Basic Usage

nuget-license-collector path/to/your/solution.sln

Analyze a single project

nuget-license-collector path/to/your/project.csproj

Command Line Options

nuget-license-collector <input> [options]

Arguments

• input - Path to the solution file (.sln) or project file (.csproj, .vbproj)

Options

• -o, --output <output> - Output file path (default: "nuget-licenses.txt")
• -j, --json - Output in JSON format
• -f, --force-refresh - Clear license cache and download fresh license texts
• --help - Show help information
• --version - Show version information

Examples

Generate a text report from solution

nuget-license-collector MySolution.sln

Generate a text report from project

nuget-license-collector MyProject.csproj

Generate a JSON report

nuget-license-collector MySolution.sln --json

Specify custom output file

nuget-license-collector MySolution.sln -o licenses-report.txt

Generate JSON report with custom filename

nuget-license-collector MySolution.sln -j -o my-licenses.json

Force refresh cached licenses

nuget-license-collector MySolution.sln --force-refresh

Output Formats

Text Format

The default text format provides a human-readable report with:

• Package name and version
• Author information
• License type and full license text
• Project URL and license URL (if available)
• License summary grouped by license type

JSON Format

The JSON format provides structured data suitable for further processing:

{
  "packages": [
    {
      "name": "PackageName",
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "author": "Author Name",
      "licenseType": "MIT",
      "licenseText": "License text content...",
      "licenseUrl": "https://...",
      "projectUrl": "https://..."
    }
  ],
  "summary": {
    "totalPackages": 10,
    "generatedAt": "2023-12-01T12:00:00Z"
  }
}

Requirements

• .NET 8.0 or later
• Solution file (.sln) or project file (.csproj, .vbproj) with valid NuGet package references

How it Works

1. Input Analysis: Parses the solution file (.sln) to discover all projects, or analyzes a single project file (.csproj, .vbproj)
2. Package Discovery: Analyzes project assets (obj/project.assets.json) to find NuGet package references
3. License Retrieval: Connects to NuGet.org to retrieve package metadata and license information with intelligent caching
4. Report Generation: Creates comprehensive reports in the specified format

Features

• Intelligent Caching: Licenses are cached locally for 30 days to improve performance
• Multiple Formats: Supports RTF, HTML, and plain text license formats
• Deduplication: Automatically deduplicates packages across multiple projects
• Network Resilience: Implements retry logic for NuGet API calls
• Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a detailed history of changes to this project.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "File not found" - Ensure the path to the solution or project file is correct
2. "Unsupported file type" - Only .sln, .csproj, and .vbproj files are supported
3. "No packages found" - Verify that your projects have NuGet package references and have been restored with dotnet restore
4. Network errors - Check your internet connection as the tool needs to access NuGet.org
5. MSBuild errors - Ensure the project is in a valid state and can be built

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.