actions / actions/setup-dotnet
dotnet-quality applies to every entry in dotnet-version, so "stable current + preview of next" is not expressible
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Description
Description
dotnet-quality is a single input for the whole step, and it applies to every version listed in dotnet-version. That makes a very common combination impossible to express: the current released SDK, plus a preview of the upcoming one.
- uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v6
with:
dotnet-version: |
10.0.x
11.0.x
dotnet-quality: preview
The intent here is "released 10.0, preview 11.0". What actually happens is that both are resolved at preview quality:
install-dotnet.ps1 -SkipNonVersionedFiles -Channel 10.0 -Quality preview
dotnet-install: .NET Core SDK with version '10.0.100-rc.2.25502.107' is already installed.
install-dotnet.ps1 -SkipNonVersionedFiles -Channel 11.0 -Quality preview
dotnet-install: .NET Core SDK with version '11.0.100-preview.7.26381.103' is already installed.
Even though 10.0 has shipped, the 10.0 request resolves to a release candidate. Combined with the "is already installed" short-circuit, a runner that once had the RC never moves to the released SDK.
Why we want both
We build against the current released SDK, and additionally install the next preview to compile a small amount of code with the upcoming C# language preview features (<LangVersion>preview</LangVersion>). That is a normal thing to want: production builds on the stable toolchain, plus early exposure to the next language version. It is not "give me previews of everything".
Impact beyond picking the wrong SDK
The knock-on effect is easy to miss. Because no released 10.0 SDK is ever installed, the only Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App runtimes present are the prerelease ones bundled with the RC and the next preview:
Framework: 'Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App', version '10.0.0' (x64)
The following frameworks were found:
10.0.0-rc.2.25502.107
11.0.0-preview.7.26381.103
A WPF test host targeting net10.0-windows asks for GA 10.0.0 and will not roll forward onto a release candidate, nor across a major version, so it fails to launch. The build still succeeds, because selecting an SDK and finding a matching runtime are different things - which makes this fail late and confusingly.
Workaround
Two steps, which works but is more verbose and easy to get wrong:
- uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v6
with:
dotnet-version: 10.0.x
- uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v6
with:
dotnet-version: 11.0.x
dotnet-quality: preview
Possible resolutions
- Allow quality to be attached per version, for example
11.0.x:previewalongside a plain10.0.x. - Accept a matching list for
dotnet-quality, aligned by position withdotnet-version. - At minimum, document clearly that
dotnet-qualityis step-wide and that mixing qualities requires separate steps - the current README reads as though it qualifies each requested version.
Option 1 seems the smallest change for callers and keeps everything in one step.
Contributor guide
No contributing guide indexed for this repository
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the README's documentation of dotnet-version and dotnet-quality, then trace how those inputs are handled by the action. Done means one step can request released 10.0 and preview 11.0 independently, while the existing separate-step workaround and runtime behavior remain correct.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- github-actions, typescript
- Domain
- ci-cd
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Active
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 45/100